When she saw the sign on the door, “Welcome Home, Sharon,” she began to cry.
Sharon Davis had never had her own place before that moment. A space where she could calm down, reset and care for herself. Sharon moved in to Moore Place shortly after it opened in 2012. Two years later in a HousingFest interview with Executive Director Dale Mullennix, she told him she’d gone from a “mess to a miracle!” And housing has helped her continue the miracle.
Sharon graduated from West Mecklenburg High School in 1975, and shortly after found herself in an abusive marriage. Eventually, she turned to drinking and drugs to cope with the pain. Sharon’s family, especially her sister and two daughters, worried about her. They wouldn’t hear from her for months while she cycled in and out of homelessness and addiction.
In 2011 a local shelter in partnership with Anuvia helped her find her way to Moore Place. Moving there has changed Sharon’s life. She admits it helps her stay sober to have a place of peace, a place where she can cool down after a disappointment or disagreement.
Best of all, it’s helped her build community.
Shortly after moving to what she calls “the penthouse” (because it’s on the third and top floor of the building) Sharon met volunteers from Covenant Presbyterian. They were there to help beautify the grounds and provide one of the many activities Moore Place offers for tenants. When another tenant asked if they provided transportation to church, members arranged to come back on Sunday for a pick-up. Sharon was the only one to show up. The rest is history. Covenant Presbyterian became her church.
In addition to spending her Sundays at Covenant, Sharon began volunteering with them weekly. She helped host Room In The Inn every Tuesday for two years and build houses in their partnership with Habitat for Humanity. That’s where she met fellow member and volunteer Hugh McColl. He was impressed with how active she was with the church and decided to help her with her transportation. Mr. McColl, the church and other members gave her a car. They also helped her with the necessary expenses to go with it—registration, insurance, etc. She fondly named the car “Hugh Bell,” but Bell is what stuck. Everyone still asks her, “how’s Bell?” She takes good care of 
Bell and added a front plate that says “God Did It!” to remind herself and others the reason for her blessings.
With the foundation of housing, Sharon’s been able to maintain her sobriety, manage a new congestive heart failure diagnosis, and stay connected to her family, including her six, soon to be seven, grandchildren.
Sharon says, “I don’t have much money, but I have plenty of time to give.” That’s the other beautiful benefit of the stability found in permanent, affordable housing with supports—it can put people in a position to be thriving, contributing members of our community.
In fact, we all win because Sharon went from a mess to a miracle.
A group of our generous friends, recognizing the urgency of this work and the need for affordable housing with supports, have pledged $100,000 to match $1 for $1 any donations made before May 15 to support these efforts. Donate Now
