A Room of His Own

Eighteen-year-old Shadow, a member of the DES Division of Developmental Disabilities, recently moved into a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom apartment in Phoenix with his mother, Jerilyn. Having been homeless for a couple of years, the family “tried to find places to stay,” said Jerilyn. “We [stayed] in a motel, but it was too expensive.” At one point, mom and son lived with Jerilyn’s daughter, then more recently with her mother. Then DDD case manager, Nilli Ismalli, told the family about the DDD Affordable Housing Program.

“It all went fast,” said Jerilyn. Even Nilli was surprised how quickly the process went. Shadow and Jerilyn were referred to the Housing Program on January 13, 2021. Shortly thereafter, Jerilyn received an email informing her that the family had been accepted in the DDD Affordable Housing Program and an apartment unit was available. Jerilyn signed a lease on February 8, 2021. She chose the location because it was the first available.

“I was just so anxious to get into a home. It was the first one [Nilli] told me about, so I just grabbed it.” Two other pluses: Shadow has his own bedroom, and the apartment complex is conveniently located near family. “It’s close to my daughter who lives in Laveen. [Her daughter’s family is] so happy that it’s right here. It’s not very far from them. We didn’t see them often because, we stayed in Mesa and we stayed in Sacaton, which was a little bit too far for them. Now we’re just right here.”

“[Shadow] loves it. He has his own room – he’s always in his room.” Jerilyn describes Shadow as “a very loving and kind person … [and] a jokester.” Jerilyn’s reaction to their new home? “I really like it. I don’t have the money to put furniture in here, so it’s pretty empty, but everything’s OK.”

So far, Jerilyn has met one neighbor. The neighbor saw Jerilyn, who uses a walker, trying to get up the stairs to the second-floor apartment unit. The neighbor offered to help. “I told her ‘no, I have to do it myself.’” Jerilyn is going through physical therapy so eventually, she’ll be able to walk on her own. “So, [the neighbor] stood there at the end of the stairway – she watched me until I got up. That was so sweet of her. And she lives right across from us.”

In addition to the housing program, Shadow receives respite and habilitation services from DDD. He attends the Sequoia Deaf School where he’s learning American Sign Language to communicate. “He’s also learning the value of money,” said Jerilyn. “He can go to the store himself and buy a bag of chips and a soda; he’ll come back and he’ll have change. He does little things like that on his own.” He also helps his mother around the house and has learned how to take care of his room. “He keeps it clean. He vacuums his own room. He does a good job!”

And now, with the privacy of a room of his own, the teen can further develop other life skills.