“I didn’t know what it was to be serious and just say to yourself, ‘Stop. It’s time for you to leave this stuff alone. It’s just making you miserable.’ And that’s what it did for a long time.”

Alcohol and drug use seemed like a normal part of being a teenager when Lisa was growing up in the housing projects of Spanish Harlem. Over the years, however, the occasional partying became regular, then continuous. By her late 30s she was homeless, out of work, and estranged from her family. She was, in her words, “a walking skeleton.” 

During a difficult 10-month stay on Rikers Island, she pondered the decisions that led her there. “I said, ‘Lisa, what do you want to do? Do you want to continue being homeless, continue being miserable?’ I just had to make some changes.”

Lisa left Rikers in 2013 for Providence House’s re-entry program, where she was welcomed by a supportive group of peers, skilled and dedicated staff, and a core community of Sisters of St. Joseph who also lived there. There she found the footing to turn away from the self-destructive patterns that previously shaped her life.

Her choices changed. A lot. She readily accepted staff’s guidance and support, throwing herself wholeheartedly into new opportunities she found. Eighteen months after leaving Rikers, she was employed full time and had found permanent housing as one of our first community rental tenants at Bishop Sullivan Residence in Brooklyn, where she still resides.

Today, Lisa radiates positivity. She has been working in the maintenance department at Brooklyn Bridge Park for over a year and could not be happier. “I couldn’t work in an office. I love that I’m active and outdoors and can meet new people every day. It’s just the best!”

And, the feeling is mutual! In March, Lisa’s hard work and great attitude were acknowledged after her supervisors kept hearing compliments about her from coworkers and visitors alike. “That’s just who I am. I love to smile and talk to people. It’s nice to be recognized for that.”