Linda's Story: Brighter and Brighter

“It’s going to look impossible to go on. It's going to look continuously dark, and dark, and dark in life, but you’re going to get that little night light...and it's going to keep getting brighter and brighter and brighter.”
 
In a single metaphor, Linda, an AHW resident for the past several years, described how her outlook on life shifted from a dark, depressive one, to one that was filled with hope and optimism. While holding her cat, Jojo, in her one-bedroom AHW Weybridge Street apartment, she shared her story with an AHW board member and a Middlebury College student. Her story is shared in hopes of transforming “ mental illness and housing insecurity” into a conversation rather than an identity.

Linda began her story describing the abusive and unstable household that she grew up in. Her father suffered from substance abuse and frequently moved his children across the country, leading to a traumatic upbringing for Linda and her siblings. After turning eighteen, Linda spent time in and out of a psychiatric ward as a young adult, usually involuntarily admitted. As she recounted her story, the complexity of her challenges became apparent. At one point, Linda said ruefully, “people label you,” referring to the negative perceptions that accompany mental illness and a low-socioeconomic status. 
 
Her struggle with her mental health and lack of a stable home prevented her from holding a consistent job and forming supportive relationships. And during hospitalizations and afterwards, she had no control over her finances. These barriers, along with the instability, danger, trauma, and dehumanization that Linda faced for years, contributed to her “black heart” or what she described as her “anger and hatred towards the world.”
 
But Linda’s life began to turn around as she found that “night light” as she developed strong relationships with her treatment team at CSAC. Once she experienced a consistent treatment plan for her mental health and moved into a stable and safe apartment with AHW, Linda has been better able to address the stress, emotional triggers, and barriers that she has had to face.
 
Now she spends her time making crafts, taking care of her cat companion Jojo, and she has a strong desire to support her fellow community members. When asked what she wants the Middlebury and greater Middlebury community to know, Linda said, “No matter what’s going on, don’t give up.”
 
We are grateful that Linda shared her time and story to shed light on the barriers that individuals experiencing the traumas of homelessness, substance abuse, and mental illness face. Her message and story are powerful and impactful, describing how the combination of mental health support, housing stability, and resilience can truly transform an individual’s life for the better.