Sandra: I'm Sandra.

UHC: Nice to meet you Sandra. I'm Danielle. And...

UHC2: I'm Tiana.

UHC: We're going to ask you a few questions, okay?

Sandra: Okay.

UHC: You're first question is: Tell me how you came to be homeless.

Sandra: I was an abused wife, and I had to flee for my life from my husband and our home.

UHC: Could you describe the events that lead to or preceded you homelessness?

Sandra: My husband had jumped on me on more than one occasion, but the last time is when I had decided I had had enough.

UHC: Could you describe a typical day in your life as a homeless person?

Sandra: I really can't. But then again, I can because I was at the safe home, and it was like being in prison. I left home for another home with rules and regulations, and I was confined. So that's why I call it prison.

UHC: Who, if anyone, influenced your actions?

Sandra: Steve Compton.

UHC: And who was that?

Sandra: He was my agent with the Upstate Homeless Coalition. I had had a discussion with him to let him know, while I was at the safe home, that I had a house and furniture, and it was going into foreclosure. And I didn't want my stuff sitting on the side of the road, so if he could help me in anyway possible, to please do so, and he did.

UHC: So that was a positive experience with him?

Sandra: Yes.

UHC: All right, tell me about how you went about finding food and shelter while you were homeless?

Sandra: Shelter. Like I said, I stayed at the safe home. Food. I had went and signed up for food stamps since I was going to be on my own.

UHC: And was that enough at the time?

Sandra: Yes.

UHC: Okay. How would you describe the person that you were then?

Sandra: Timid, frightened, battered, frightened (laughs.) I keep saying frightened because I was scared for my life back then. The least little thing reminded me of him and how he abused me.

UHC: How did you get involved with the Upstate Homeless Coalition?

Sandra: Through the safe home. They introduced me to Steve Compton, and like I told you, I explained my situation to him. And he said, "I think I can help you out." And I was like, "Thank you Jesus, Thank you Jesus." So it was mainly through him and prayer.

UHC: Could you explain your shift from being homeless to your current situation in transitional housing?

Sandra: Yeah, I have peace in my house now, whereas I didn't have peace, and I didn't even consider where I lived my home. It was just a dwelling place. Now, I feel at home. There is peace. There's quiet. There's contentment. It is all the things that I was longing for that I didn't have at the other place.

UHC: Where do you see yourself in five years?

Sandra: In my own mansion. (Laughs.)

UHC: (Laughs.) Describe the person you hope to be then.

Sandra: Self-sufficient, self-reliant, no self-doubt and self pity. I want to be a stronger Christian than...I want to be stronger in my faith.

UHC: How do you compare the person that you want to be with the person that you were and the person that you hope to be?

Sandra: The person that I see myself as now is a long way from the person that I was because I'm not as scared or as timid or frightened because I pray constantly. And I just feel that the person that I've become now is the person that God intended me to be at this particular point in my life, but I still know that he has something greater in store for me.

UHC: Who has been the most helpful to you during the transition?

Sandra: I have several people. Crystal, the girl that lives across the hall, Sherry, my case worker, and Stacey Frick, and Steve Compton. They've been, like, a support system for me. When times got to the point where I was ready to give up and just throw in the towel and say I'm through with it, they were there to remind me where I came from as to where I am now and all the things I've overcome.

UHC: After having these experiences, what advice would you give to someone who is homeless?

Sandra: Don't give up. Don't give up the fight. Keep praying day and night, and God does answer prayers.

UHC: Is there anything that you might not have thought of before that occurred to you during this interview?

Sandra: Yeah, when I first was asked these questions, it made me realize - I was homeless. You know, I didn't have... if they had told me at the shelter that I had to get out right then, I wouldn't have anywhere to go, you know. And thinking back on that, that made... because I never thought of myself as being homeless until just a few minutes ago (laughs) when I was asked that question because I always had a roof over my head. But I realized that if it hadn't been for there being a shelter, that I would have been out in the cold.

UHC: Is there anything else you think I should know to understand your experience better? What caused you to decide that you'd had your fill with your husband and just to go?

Sandra: I just got tired of being beat on. I had done nothing. It took nothing for him to come in and act the way that he did, and I was just tired. You just get to the point where you say, "Enough is enough." And I had stayed in the abusive marriage for six years, and I was tired. I was just tired and fed up with everything going wrong. So I prayed to the Lord and begged him to either deliver me from it or take my life because either way I wasn't going to be in it no more. And I asked him that whatever he decided for me to do, to make me willing and acceptable to take it on. And he did.

UHC: The choice that you made to move out of your home, how far did that take you from your home? How far away was your home from here?

Sandra: It's right on the other side of town. (Laughs.)

UHC: Oh, (laughs) really, okay. That's great. Did you have any other people besides yourself that were affected by your decision?

Sandra: My children, my grandchild - though it was a positive effect because they were tired of seeing their momma being abused, tired of hearing me complain about how he treats me and not doing anything about it. And then it got to the point where my kids wouldn't bring my grandkids around me because of my husband. So, when I got into the transitional housing, I got to spend time with my kids and my grandchildren which is what I wanted, but he wouldn't allow.

UHC: So, you're able to see your children now a lot more?

Sandra: Uh-hmm.

UHC: How often do you get to see your family?

Sandra: Oh, every week. It used to be everyday when I first moved in because I was so scared. You know, because I was afraid, because he had just got out of prison when I first moved here, and I was afraid he was going to come back and try to finish what he had tried to do. When he... because he tried to kill me. He meant for me to be dead that night, but by the grace of God, I'm still here.

UHC: How long was the process after you met with the Homeless Coalition?

Sandra: I think it was a week or a week and a half that Steve had this apartment ready for me.

UHC: That's great, and what...do you have a job now? Do you work?

Sandra: I have...I am currently trying to get my disability. .

UHC: Oh, okay.

Sandra: I'm a breast cancer survivor.

UHC: Oh, wow. Oh, well, that is great.

UHC2: That is great.

UHC: Is there any questions you have for us?

Sandra: No, I asked Danielle earlier when she came in what y'all interviewing about had to do with y'all lesson. Is there anything else y'all want to ask me that isn't on the paper?

UHC: I wanted to ask you what finally gave you the courage to walk away? Because I know in this kind of situation, it is very hard to leave. What made you make up your mind?

Sandra: Like I said, I didn't. Like I said, I didn't because if it had been me, I probably would have stayed there. I feel that it was the Lord that said, "Okay, I'm ready to deliver. I'm ready to answer your prayer. Are you ready to receive it?" And I just said, "I can't take it no more." And I left. I couldn't take it, and I refused to take it anymore because I'm better than that. I mean, at first I didn't know that I was better than that. I felt that whatever I got from him I deserved because he was the head of the household. But as soon as I had made up in my mind that is not the way God wanted me to live my life, it was easy to walk away and not look back.

UHC: How long have you been in this apartment?

Sandra: It will be two years in March.

UHC: And no problems?

Sandra: No.

UHC: As far as your husband goes?

Sandra: No. I've gotten my divorce since I've been here.

UHC: Okay.

UHC2: Great.

Sandra: We are...I mean, I filed for divorce as soon as I got away from the homeless...I mean, as soon as I got away from the shelter. I filed for my divorce, and I had got it last year, praise God.

UHC: That's great.

UHC2: How long have you been away from him?

Sandra: Ever since February 1st, 2006.

UHC2: Good.

UHC: Now, is he still a threat in your life now, do you feel?

Sandra: Yeah. Because, as a matter of fact, I was telling them that Sunday night the police came to my door asking me did I know where he was? I was like, "No, I know he stays at such and such place or his momma and them's place." And I got frightened, and I started going back to that scared, frightened individual because what if he had done something which was bad? And what if he runs over here for me to shelter him? Or what if he comes over here all mad and upset and want to abuse me again? And I was like, "No, I will not be a prisoner of him anymore." I was like, "Dear God, I hope you let the police find him so he can do whatever, make amends, or do whatever he has to do, but just keep him away from me."

UHC: What precautions do you take in your home now to assure your safety?

Sandra: I stay locked in, and we have a buddy system in the building. Everyone has seen him, a picture of him, to know what he looks like. So if they see him in the neighborhood, they know to call 911 because I have a restraining order on him.

UHC: Okay.

UHC2: Are you afraid to go outside?

Sandra: Sometimes.

UHC2: Sometimes.

Sandra: Because he still lives in the same area, which isn't far. Clinton is a small place.

UHC: Right.

Sandra: And it's not hard to run into each other, but, luckily, and gracefully, our encounters have been cordial. You know, it's like, it's not like I just freeze like I did at first. I'm just like, "Hey, how are you doing? You need to get away from here" (Laughs.)

UHC: That's good.

UHC2: And, do they offer you any therapy through the Homeless Coalition?

Sandra: Yes, they do. I have a psychiatrist that comes to talk to me every two weeks to help me with the transitions from the abuse and from being homeless and all of that, plus the day to day struggle.

UHC: As far as your belongings when you moved everything that we see in here, is this all of yours, or did you have build this up once you moved into an apartment?

Sandra: It's all mine. This is the furniture that I did not want to see on the side of the road because our house was going into foreclosure because he refused to pay the bills - because he wanted me to be homeless. That was his intentions, for me not to have anything. But, you see, I serve... y'all are going to see that I refer to the Lord a lot, but I serve God. He didn't close one door without opening up another one. When I needed a place to go, he had made it possible because I had sold most of the stuff out of my house while my husband was incarcerated. Because I didn't know what I was going to do or where I was going to go, I started selling stuff left and right. But I saved just enough to be able to furnish me somewhere to stay. It wasn't my doing, though, because it was my intentions to sell everything and take the money and run. (Laughs.)

UHC: (Laughs.)

Sandra: Is that it?

UHC: Do you have any more questions?

UHC2: I think that's it.

UHC: That's it.

Sandra: Did you have any questions?

UHC3: No, I asked mine. They asked all of them for me.

Sandra: Oh, okay.

UHC: Okay.

Sandra: So, does this conclude my interview?

UHC2: Yes, it does.

UHC: I believe this is the conclusion of your interview.

Sandra: Alrighty.

UHC: Thank you very much.

Sandra: You're welcome.