From Room in the Inn to Housing
Innkeeper Jayne Barto and Ms. Faulk-Sanders
Room in the Inn is an interfaith ministry that provides emergency winter shelter for people experiencing homelessness. Since 1996, Roof Above has invited faith groups, colleges and other organizations to participate in Room in the Inn as hosts. Innkeeper Cher Lindblom shares that “Room in the Inn is a vehicle that gives our neighbors a transitional place to stay while they are moving toward finding permanent housing.”
Navy veteran Ms. Faulk-Sanders found herself experiencing homelessness for the first time this year. When she found her way to the Day Services Center and the Room in the Inn program, she sensed that “God knew what he was doing.” Ms. Faulk-Sanders used services at the Day Services Center to move from Room in the Inn to housing. Within three weeks, she and her housing navigator Leon Dilligard had found an apartment, using SSVF (supportive services for veteran families) funding from the VA.
“You guys have gone up and beyond for me,” Ms. Faulk-Sanders said to RITI Innkeeper Jayne Barto. “These people help me to gather myself, my mental thoughts, my mental capabilities. They gave me a mind that I know I can go out here and do anything I want to do.”
Ms. Faulk-Sanders plans to “keep it going” by one day opening a housing program for female veterans with PTSD. “If it wasn’t for you guys, I wouldn’t have made it there. So you will always be a part of my growing, my life, my company, my plan… Love you, and mean it.”