Chonrie

Chonrie and her beloved cat, Baby

Just before the end of August 2021, Chonrie had accepted a job offer from a telephone company and was looking forward to starting this opportunity when Hurricane Ida hit. At the time, she and her beloved cat, Baby, were staying on the second floor of a motel on Airline; that offered month-to-month housing. They made it through the hurricane, and the following sweltering weeks, without power, but the owner of the motel raised the rent to an unaffordable level to recoup his losses from the storm. Chonrie scrambled to find a place to stay, and looked at other places, but they, too, were in bad condition and unaffordable. At age 60, Chonrie found herself homeless.

For some time, she and Baby took to making camp in state parks and staying for as long as they could before needing to migrate for food and further resources. And old friend who had been helping her during this period ended up leaving her stranded in St. Bernard Parish. Chonrie didn’t know where to go or what to do, so she started walking towards New Orleans with nothing but Baby, their food, and what they could carry with them. When it started to rain, a kind stranger pulled over and offered her a ride to the city, dropping her off at a shelter. However, when she learned that her cat was not allowed in, she made her way to the public library downtown to sleep for the night.

She tried to get beds at the overnight shelters in town, but few would accept pets, and the ones that did warned her that her cat may cause issues with the dogs who accompanied their owners overnight. Baby is the single most important relationship in Chonrie’s life. He’s has been a source of comfort, love, and stability for 11 years now, and for her, protecting him is equivalent to protecting herself, so she stayed outside.

Chonrie receiving Ash Wednesday blessing from Fr. Ed. Murphy, C.M.

By January 2023, Chonrie met another guest of the HTC, who brought her to our Center for the first time. She was taken aback by the beauty of our space, the friendliness of our staff, and the abundance of supplies and resources available. She was delighted that Baby was more than welcome. She began coming daily and sleeping in front of the doors of the Rebuild Center, the proximity to our space made her feel safer. She developed a routine, starting her weekdays off at HTC to shower and charge her phone before grabbing snack and lunch from our partners at Lantern Light. She’d use our WIFI to plan the day ahead and navigate her route to community resources. On weekends, she’d walk to Churches Without Walls for dinner. Her days became organized around making sure that she and Baby had enough food, water, and provisions to survive another night out on the street. When asked about sleeping outside, Chonrie explained:

“When you get on that ground level you can’t sleep at night for fear of be attacked. I didn’t have a tent, but I eventually got a camping chair to sleep in. I’d try to stay up as late as I could before dozing off. The LSU security officers started checking on me at night, making sure I was okay in my spot across from the Rebuild.”

As time went on, Chonrie became an established figure in the homeless community. People knew her and Baby, and they’d work together to keep each other safe. They braved extreme heat, illness, flooding, and rats. They saved food for each other and looked after each other. At the Center, Chonrie was active in Lantern Light’s art program, helping the facilitator, Gaelyn, set up every week. She learned how to use coupons with extraordinary proficiency at CVS (where Baby was allowed) and brought wafer cookies to class each week. She is beloved by our staff and volunteers not only for these moments where she goes above and beyond for other guests, but because despite her many setbacks and challenges, she’s always remained kind, steadfast, and composed.

“I’m disappointed that people can be so critical of homeless people. They seem to only ever see the bad stuff, but not the good that happens in those encampments like people sharing food or caring for each other when they are sick. A lot of people are just trying to get by, trying to keep clean, and not looking for trouble. I wish people knew how hard it is to get out [of homelessness] once you’re in it.” Chonrie reflected.

In October 2023, Chonrie saw a glimmer of hope in the city’s initiative to house individuals living in encampments. Eager not to miss this opportunity, Chonrie sought support with a nearby agency and with the help of her new case worker, she set herself up to be one of the number of people receiving housing.

Chonrie had made a couple of friends outside of the homeless community, including Mercedes, who volunteers at a local taco truck that fed the homeless for free every Tuesday right across from the Rebuild Center, Ivana and Nana, women who works nearby our Center. She confided in them that housing should be coming soon, and they helped care for her throughout the winter, bringing her hot chocolate and taking her to warming stations when the temperature dipped below freezing. 

Chonrie and Baby on housing day!

It was early January 2024 when she was transferred to a different case manager, who didn’t get  back to her about housing, for a very long time. Simultaneously, she became very sick. She couldn’t travel to her normal places for several weeks and appeared weak and unwell during her visits at the Center.

Assistant Director, Eva Sohl, took notice, setting Chonrie up with our medical team to get help. Chonrie recalls that Nurse Cathy Brown went out of her way to pick up a prescription for her, and that it she heavily relied on the support from our team and her friends during this time. It was then that she started talking more seriously with Eva about the housing resources available at HTC and completed an intake with our case manager, Katey Lantto.

Katey helped gather Chonrie’s homelessness documentation, was able to have her meet with Dr. Lee for a psychiatric evaluation that resulted in her being on medication which has improved her mental health and overall function, and within four months, she was approved for housing! Her friend Mercedes joined her and Katey as they went to sign the lease and retrieve the keys for her very own apartment.

Affordable housing is incredibly difficult to find in New Orleans, especially with additional barriers such as having a pet. HTC was able to help overcome these barriers by getting Baby registered as an Emotional Support Animal as well as paying for the pet deposit. Lantern Light also provided her groceries on the day of her lease signing, so that she could make it through her first weekend without worrying about food.  Ivana and Mercedes took turns bringing household goods and setting up her new apartment.

“Baby and I pull together all the time, but without the Rebuild and the support from you guys, LSU security, and my friends, I don’t know how or if I would have made it.”

Now, a month into her new residence, Chonrie said that she’s still adjusting to life off the streets. Her next step is to apply for retirement benefits. In the meantime, she stays busy by volunteering every Tuesday with Mercedes at the taco truck and making weekly visits to the Center to help with art class, check in with our staff, and encourage her friends who are still homeless to keep going.