(Community Matters 192) Run-Up to Roofsit 5: A Safe Place to Start Over

This is the fifth and final in a series of interviews shedding light on The Haven of Rest's mission and programs ahead of its annual Roofsit fundraiser. The Haven marks its 70th anniversary in 2026.

"Sheree" talks about how incarceration led to losing housing, months of couch hopping, and the moment she finally chose the Haven of Rest for help. We also dig into the real barriers to getting housed again and why Roofsit donations keep the path open for families in Battle Creek. 

Episode Resources

The Haven of Rest Ministries Website

ABOUT COMMUNITY MATTERS
Former WBCK Morning Show host Richard Piet (2014-2017) returns to host Community Matters, an interview program focused on community leaders and newsmakers in and around Battle Creek. Community Matters is heard Saturdays, 8:00 AM Eastern on WBCK-FM (95.3) and anytime at battlecreekpodcast.com.

Community Matters is sponsored by Lakeview Ford Lincoln and produced by Livemic Communications.

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Transcript

Roof Sit And Why It Matters

Richard Piet 0:02

This is Community Matters. Richard Piet with you at the service of Lakeview Ford Lincoln. We're with you on the radio 95.3 on Saturdays. And we look forward to that in the eight o'clock hour. We're with you anytime you want at Battle Creek Podcast.com or wherever you get podcasts, just go there, type Community Matters Calhoun County in the search space, and search for us and follow us. You'll get a nice little alert when our episodes come available. If you've been with us over the last few weeks, you know it's the run-up to roof sit at the Haven of Rest. You might even remember if you've been a longtime listener, back in our morning show days, and really days that predate that. We talked a lot about the annual event to support the Haven of Rest and In As Much House in Battle Creek. Battle Creek's homeless shelter has been doing its thing, its mission to help folks who need it, who are homeless, for 70 years this year, 1956 is when that mission was realized, and the outcome of that realization began. And we've been talking to folks about the Haven and imploring you to support the Haven running up to Roof Sit on June 12 and 13.

Sheree’s Road To Homelessness

Richard Piet 1:24

And here with us today is Sheree. She is someone who has needed that help and has come forward and is talking to us today about her experiences at the Haven. Hello, Sheree.

Sheree 1:38

Hello.

Richard Piet 1:39

Thank you for uh sharing your story. This is a pretty fresh story. You've gone through some things in your life uh more recently, and you came to the Haven only a couple of months ago, right?

Sheree 1:51

Yes.

Richard Piet 1:52

So talk about what led up to your coming to the Haven.

Sheree 1:56

Well, I ended up being incarcerated pretty much the end of last year. So I got out on December 31st. I pretty much lost my apartment due to me being incarcerated. Like I have a 15-year-old son at home. I have also have a 20-year-old daughter, but she's in job core. I didn't come to the haven until April. Like I was pretty much like going from couch to couch or sleeping in cars. Pretty much, you know, trying to get back on my feet on my own. I've always been the type of person that don't ask people for help because I thought they sort of kind of belittle you in a way or they look at you different. But I ended up just like figuring out everything. Like with my son, I asked him what he wanted to do, pretty much. And we ended up here.

Richard Piet 2:44

So he inspired you to come to the Haven.

Sheree 2:46

We were living in Indiana for like three years. We're from Michigan. So I pretty much know about the Haven like I used to volunteer here, like back in the day. But he wanted to come back to Michigan instead of staying in Indiana. So like it was pretty much his choice.

Richard Piet 3:01

Well, sometimes uh a fresh perspective from a young person is what we need, isn't it? Yes. Yeah. So you decided to come to the Haven.

Walking Into The Haven’s Doors

Richard Piet 3:12

And what were you met with? What happened when you came in the door?

Sheree 3:16

I was pretty much welcome. Like I used to volunteer here as well. Like after I got on my own feet, I used to come and do they used to do the grill with the hot dogs and whatever else when they used to do the um LRP car wash. So I used to come down and volunteer all the time, like me and my daughter. And then like I just ended up pretty much not parting ways, but working and everything else. So I stopped doing that. But I know this is always a place that you can come to if you're down and you need help. Like even if you don't have to live here, if you are on your own feet, like you can come here and talk to someone, and they're very uplifting.

Richard Piet 3:57

Yeah, LRP Life Recovery Program. We've talked uh a few times now about the LRP, and you came over to try and help support that program. And now knowing that that opportunity was there for you, you came through the door.

Parenting Classes And Community Help

Richard Piet 4:14

You've also been, just in the short time you've been there, you've been taking advantage of some of the other opportunities that we've been hearing about from other folks, like parenting and things of that nature. Is that true?

Sheree 4:25

Yes. Miss Lisa runs classes every Wednesday and Thursday from 9 to 11, and they work with parenting. Well, they talk about parenting, budgeting, like pretty much how to stay in your house. Um, she also talks about mental health. They have various people come, like we had the Secretary of State come and people got IDs free of charge. They also had the CA come and they talk about lit-based paint and what they're trying to do in those type homes. So it's pretty informative, like whether you're here or it's it's I would say like what when they do stuff, they pretty much try to help the whole community.

Richard Piet 5:06

That's an interesting point, right? Because uh some of the things they're they're offering you have ripple effects in the community. Yes. So what do you want to have happen, Cherie? You've reached this uh turning point where you you came to the Haven and now you've been you've been getting your footing there.

Housing Goals And Real Barriers

Richard Piet 5:25

What's the goal?

Sheree 5:26

My ultimate goal is housing. Like I do work today. Is my day off. So start you trying to get me in here, but no, I do work right now. I'm currently working six days. So when Wednesdays are my only day off. I'm pretty much just focused on housing. They also have neighborhoods come, so I have my appointment with neighborhoods inc to try to see like what they can help me with, or like what do I need to do to find more help. There are a lot of people in here that have previous evictions, so that is a big barrier for a lot of people in here. That's why a lot of people come here because people don't like taking chances on that. Like, you can't, you don't know what people go through. So it could have been running from a domestic dispute, or it could have been like me, I got incarcerated and had no choice but to get put out. Like I can come get out, move my stuff. Like, so they do help with a lot of things. I'm just focused on housing at this moment. I have a few leads, but I don't know. It just depends on the landlord and if they would expect me or not.

Richard Piet 6:33

And I presume that these situations, the one you're in, and you referred to others too, this would be difficult for you to maneuver without help at the Haven. Is that right?

Sheree 6:45

Yes. I tried since I got out and I was pretty much getting nowhere, like uh word, uh, you know, application fees are a lot. They're they range from $25 to $140. So if you're not pretty much stable and you're trying to pay that money to get into place, it's pretty like much like a waste of money. So here, like they do, they teach you the budgeting, and like she just said today, like if you don't have the income, then the application fees are just pretty much like a waste of money.

Richard Piet 7:20

Right. You you have to have everything um sorted out ahead of time because why pay a hundred dollars for an application that's not gonna go anywhere?

Sheree 7:29

Exactly. And I've been there, like I was doing that before I came here and then learning how to budget and taking a budget in class and doing all that, it's pretty much I'm at a point where if it's not a free application, I'm not gonna apply. But then there's hidden agendas behind that too, because they say it's free, but then you have to pay $35 for a screening fee.

Richard Piet 7:52

So to just call it something else.

Sheree 7:54

Yes.

Richard Piet 7:54

Uh-huh. So this is part of the reason why the Haven and is where it is, of course, but also offers a case management help because this would be very difficult. Imagine this. You're trying to work, take care of your son in your case, and navigate all of these ups and downs without help. This would be really tough.

Sheree 8:19

Yes, it is.

Richard Piet 8:20

And it's not easy now.

Sheree 8:22

No, it's not. But I know, like at the end of the day, their door is always open. So if I do have a problem or issue and I do need to talk about it, I can always come to somebody in staff. Like before, I would literally just give up if I feel like I'm not getting anywhere. And here I know I have the help. So I pretty much more laid back and just focusing on everything takes time. It's not gonna move when I want it to move.

Richard Piet 8:51

What if you had given up? What do you think would happen?

Sheree 8:54

I would still probably be sleeping in the car.

Richard Piet 8:57

And let's just point out, you mentioned that you were released on December 31st of last year. Happy New Year, right? And uh you didn't come to the haven until April, and you mentioned sleeping uh at folks' homes whom you knew, but sleeping in a car, this is not warm.

Sheree 9:16

No, it's not. And if I did do that, like I will leave my son with like my sister, like my family is in Indiana. I'm from here, but everybody moved, so it's kind of like a struggle to not have your people here with you. So if I want to be around my family, I'll drive the hour and a half to go be around them. Like, but my son didn't want to continue to be there. So I had to put my big girl pants on and make a better move and a better choice for us.

Richard Piet 9:44

And if you think about it, he could very well be rooting for you. He wants to be with you. Yes.

Sheree 9:50

I mean, if you think about it, like just being incarcerated and you know, a couple phone calls a day, that's totally different. Like I've never been without my kids. Like they go with their their dad's side or whatever during the summer or holidays, and you know, I could still pop up, see him, all that, but just one or two phone calls a day, like that did put a toll on him. So I could understand why he would want to stay together.

Richard Piet 10:15

Absolutely. So the housing happens, let's say, and and what other goals can you see yourself reaching? I mean, it so I understand you're probably taking these things one thing at a time, right? So the the housing thing is the next lift. And then when you think about what the future is like, what do you see? What do you imagine can be true?

School Plans And Career Dreams

Sheree 10:41

Honestly, in school right now, I want to be, I wanted to start off being uh going into accounting, but then I kind of switched it to business management because accounting is a part of that. But I think I'm just gonna go back and lean towards accounting. So I am in school. I start my next set of classes June 8th. So I'm focusing on that because I don't want to just work my life away. I mean, working yeah, it does pay the bills and uh do all that, but I really want a career behind my dough.

Richard Piet 11:10

Well, and let me just tell you, as a small business owner, accounting people are needed.

Sheree 11:15

I love math, I love numbers.

Richard Piet 11:18

I am so glad you do because I don't, and I'm so glad that people like you are out there who can help me through this. So, right, it could very well be a career for you in this uh direction. So here's why I ask that. You clearly have had some struggles, but look at the opportunity that the Haven has provided. It's given you an opportunity to get out of the car and start to imagine some possibilities and help you get there. Isn't that right?

Sheree 11:51

Yes, like we you get a room, you get showers, they give you toiletries, they provide food, they pretty much provide like anything you can ask for besides rides, but you know, that's another story. Anything else, like when I came in, I pretty much bought a lot of the stuff because that's what I'm used to. And they like, no, this is what we're here for. We're here to help you get on your feet and stay on your feet. If you need anything, come to us.

Richard Piet 12:21

Well, think about what that's like. If you can remove the demands that life puts on us financially for things like you've just described, food and and other stuff, if we could just take that away for a moment, that allows you to focus on the big goal, doesn't it?

Sheree 12:38

Yes, it really does. Because I'm not coming out of pocket, having to worry about how I'm gonna wash our clothes and how we're gonna eat, because not everybody gets food assistance. I don't get food assistance. I got cut off and I'm like, how I'm living in a shelter. So I am glad that I do get breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day.

Richard Piet 12:59

Right. And it allows you to think about what you have to do to be successful when you leave the haven. Yeah. So I wonder, folks are listening to this.

What Donations Make Possible

Richard Piet 13:09

We're asking them to give what they can toward the haven, and it supports exactly what you're talking about. Talk about what this has meant to you and uh say whatever you want to folks who might be thinking about giving a donation.

Sheree 13:26

It's meant a lot to me. Like I said before, like I've never really been the type of person that I asked for help. I always try to figure it out on my own. And by me coming here, I'm glad that I do have that help. I'm glad that I do have people that I can talk to. It's non-judgmental. It's like what's what we say in a room pretty much stays in a room. They give me good motivation, like they help me however they can. They help me with housing leads, like they have a housing board, they have job boards. So they pretty much try to help us with everything. Like they feed us, they give us laundry detergent, our toiletries. They pretty much help us with anything that we would pretty much do on the outside world on our own. We get that help here. We're just not paying for it. So that way we're saving to be able to be ready to get on our own feet.

Richard Piet 14:23

And that means uh the opportunity to be on your own feet from this point forward.

Sheree 14:30

Yes. Because you know, not everybody has help, not everybody has family around, not everybody knows all the resources. They do every lead they get, they tell us or they put it on the board. Um, I know a lot of people come from different areas, so they're not actually from Battle Creek, they don't know anything about Battle Creek. So by being here and getting the help and the understandings of like where this is and what's going on, and how can we help you get on your feet? It's pretty much it's a blessing.

Richard Piet 15:02

And that is uh where we'll leave it. So you can help uh folks like Sheree and uh the Haven of Rest and its mission to help folks like Sheree by making a donation for Roofsit. And you don't have to wait till Roofsit if you're hearing this before then. Just go to thehavenbc.org. There's a green button on the upper right. It says donate on it, and you can click that and follow the steps and uh offer your support. I want to thank you for sharing your story and congratulate you on the future.

Sheree 15:37

Thank you.

Richard Piet 15:38

Thanks so much. Our run up to roof sits interviews here on Community Matters. Thanks for listening.