Somewhere in the woods on the outskirts of Kissimmee, Troy had set up a small tent in the middle of winter. At 50 years old, he was cold, depressed, and alone. He had no income and was grieving the loss of his mother. Things couldn’t get much worse, he thought. And then one day, his appendix burst.
By God’s grace, Troy made it to the hospital in time. Nurses there recommended that Troy visit Talbot House Ministries while he recovered from surgery. The homeless shelters he had stayed at before had been full of crime, and Troy preferred living on his own. But Talbot House sounded different.
“The main reason it appealed to me is because it was God-centered,” Troy remembered. Troy shared that as a Christian, the faith-based aspect of Talbot House Ministries gave him hope that it would be different – safer – than the other places he had stayed. He was right.
At Talbot House, each meal was blessed before serving. Troy attended spiritual group meetings that helped him come to terms with his mother’s death. With the guidance of his case manager and Solutions staff, Troy found not one, but two, jobs. He began saving his money.
When the coronavirus pandemic began, Troy wasn’t worried.
“They provide the masks. We always have sanitized wipes and rubber gloves, they’ve really come through on all of that stuff.” With the support of our community, Talbot House has been able to quickly adjust its operations and provide PPE to our clients. He said he never worried that he would get sick: “There’s really no risk there.”
As Troy recovered, he began to miss the family in Wisconsin that he hadn’t seen in over 30 years. A few weeks ago, Troy left Talbot House Ministries on good terms in order to reunite with his family.
“The good Lord blessed me,” Troy emphasized before departing. His journey from isolation to reunification with his loved ones demonstrates the mental, physical, and spiritual healing that takes place at Talbot House Ministries every single day. We ask that you pray for Troy’s ongoing safety and health as he makes the journey to Wisconsin.