The faces of the county's homeless

Editor's note: This is part 1 of a three-part series on Chesterfield's homeless population. Parts 2 and 3 will run in the Sept. 3 and 10 issues.

Julia Torres Barden/Chesterfield Observer After being left homeless, Jennifer and her son, Alexander, are living temporarily at the Daughters of Zelophehad's group home.

Jennifer's dream of a happy home life fell apart the moment her husband was convicted of a felony and sent to jail. As her husband moved into his temporary home behind bars, she became homeless while caring for their 4-month-old baby, Alexander.

Jennifer is one of Chesterfield County's homeless. About 6 percent of greater Richmond's homeless population is in Chesterfield, according to Homeward, a regional provider of services for the homeless.

"It's difficult to define homelessness numbers in each locality," says Kelly King Horne, Homeward's executive director, "and that's why we work together regionally. Homeless people don't know the county boundaries of which locality they are in."

According to Homeward statistics, 32.9 percent of the region's homeless population report having had a mental health problem sometime in their lifetime and 10.7 percent have children living with them.

Jennifer falls into both of those categories.

Life had been good after she graduated from Manchester High School in 2000 and then married at age 19.

"We weren't great financially, but we were pretty happy," she says while reminiscing about that hopeful time when she worked in a floral shop and then became a preschool teacher at a big church.

Things started to go downhill after she suffered a dangerous ectopic pregnancy, triggering an episode of severe depression. Around the same time, she began having marital problems with her husband.

Another miscarriage followed, and this time "the issue of aborting my baby was very difficult to deal with," she explains, citing her strong Christian faith.

Jennifer was ecstatic when she carried her third pregnancy to term in 2006. It was a shortlived happiness. Her husband was sentenced to jail, and as his incarceration began, so did her odyssey into homelessness.

"Our income was gone, so I moved in with my aunt for a month, but then I had to move back in with my parents because my depression returned, and I needed help with the baby."

Moving in with her parents was a last resort because "I don't like their home environment," she says. "I am a Christian, and they don't practice the same values. They believe in Jesus, but they watch and listen to things I don't approve of for my son. If it was just me, I'd still be there [living with them] because I have a good relationship with my parents, but this is about my son."

Jennifer changed churches and asked the congregation to pray for her during the search for a more suitable place to live with her baby. Her prayers were answered when a friend gave her an application for a shelter run by the Daughters of Zelophehad (DOZ). The DOZ is an ecumenical Christian-based ministry that runs a group home for the homeless in a suburban Chesterfield neighborhood.

"Our goal is to offer mothers and their children a safe, healthy place that is not re-traumatizing," says Paula Owens Parker, DOZ's executive director. "We don't take government or federal funding, so we can be more flexible about what defines homelessness."

In fact, defining "homeless" varies from one government agency or nonprofit organization to another. There are three standard definitions in the region, according to Homeward. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development defines homeless as a person in a shelter or sleeping in a place that is not meant for human habitation, such as a car, park, sidewalk or on the street. The U.S. Department of Education's definition is a person who lacks a fixed, regular or adequate address, and the Bureau of Primary Healthcare defines the homeless as people who are actually homeless or who are at risk of becoming homeless.

While some might say Jennifer wasn't technically "homeless" because she could live with her parents, she disagrees. "When I moved back in with Mom and Dad, it wasn't 'home.' I lived in the living room, and my son had the dining room. The home was in disrepair, and there was a lot of mold."

"I had a plan to get married, have children and work together [with my husband] to raise our family," continues Jennifer. "And now, I guess the bubble was just popped, and it's a mental struggle more than anything. It's just really been a struggle to try and make it."

It will be tough for Jennifer to earn the $15.15 hourly wage needed* to afford a standard two-bedroom apartment in the county, especially when there are fewer housing options  here for people living on low incomes. She begins a new job this week.

"I'm concerned that we'll see more homelessness because of the loss of jobs and increased foreclosures, and more struggling, especially amongst the 18-25 year olds. This group is really struggling, trying to piece together enough part-time jobs to pay rent somewhere," says Parker.

"Chesterfield County doesn't offer enough housing that is affordable to people in poverty," says Horne, "and homelessness may get worse if we don't crack the nut of providing affordable rental housing."

The homeless often feel deeply rooted to the place they come from and try hard to remain in those areas.

"I meet people who are from Chesterfield. They go to the city [Richmond] to get services, but they really have deep connections in Chesterfield and want to stay here," says Erika Jones-Haskins, Homeward's director of program analysis.

Jennifer is from Chesterfield, and this is where she wants to raise her son. She will be allowed to stay in the DOZ's brick home with its yard and nice neighbors for up to two years. There, she will share a secured bedroom with her child.

There is a fleeting moment of disappointment in her voice when she says, "I feel bad that I can't give my son his own room. It's just hard to explain."

"I feel very comfortable and grateful to be here," continues Jennifer as she relaxes in the cozy living room of the house she can call home - at least temporarily. "I was very excited to get my son out of the environment we were in and to actually feel like I am taking care of him myself. I know God has some great plans for my son."

*According to Homeward Homeless resources Chesterfield County Social Services www.chesterfield.gov 748-1100 Homeward www.homewardva.org 343-2045 Daughters of Zelophehad www.zelophehad.org 714-0007