My brother invited me to go to lunch with him in February, 2012. After eating, he said that he wanted to introduce me to a woman who knew a lot about finances and budgeting. Since I was only getting $90/month from my Belk pension, things were very tight. He took me to her office on Rosewood. It was in a building called MIRCI, which stood for Mental Illness Recovery Center Inc. We walked in, and I spoke to her about my situation. She suggested I speak to someone else, as I was dealing with trying to find another place to live. This person was the housing coordinator. She explained that the majority of people in the program had some form of mental illness. She suggested that I talk with the doctor on duty.
I told the doctor about my severe depression and anxiety. About the last time I tried to kill myself in 2009. About the worry of losing my apartment. He listened to me, and then asked me to wait outside of his office. The housing coordinator talked with the doctor, and they felt that I was a candidate for MIRCI and housing. This was definitely an answer to prayer. She told me that there was an opening at one of their properties called Dena Bank off Broad River Road. When I got back home, I got a call from the Columbia Housing Authority saying that there was an opening for an apartment at Carriage House off of Broad River Road. I felt that I needed to check out these places before making a decision.
I took the bus out to the nearest stop. It was four blocks down a hill to Dena Bank. As luck would have it, Carriage House was right across the street. I walked into the Dena Bank parking lot and saw the apartment that they were offering me. The blinds were open, so I looked in to see an empty apartment. It looked nice. A man walked up to me and asked if he could help me. He introduced himself as Greg. I told him that I was thinking about moving in, but I needed to get some details about the place. We sat and talked for about 20 minutes. Greg had been a semi-professional baseball player who suffered with seizures. He told me that the apartments were nice, and most of the people were easy to get along with. There were 16 one-bedroom apartments in the complex. It was owned by MIRCI and subsidized by HUD. I told him that I had been offered a place at Carriage House, too. He told me not to take it, because there was a lot of crime over there. Our place was safer. It was also in a good location being near drug stores and a grocery store. An antique mall was up the street. And, a library was nearby. Greg convinced me that Dena Bank was the best spot for me.
I went back to USC Supportive Housing and told them of my decision about going with MIRCI. It would take until May 1st before everything was done for me to move into my new apartment. Columbia Housing moved my stuff from Fairfield Road over to my new digs. I left a couple of things there, including a large round table and chairs. During the move across town, they broke a lamp. Oh well. Everything else got there in one piece. I was in a van driven by the Housing Authority head. When we got to Dena Bank, there were two sheriff's deputies talking in their cars at the entrance to the parking lot. The Housing lady asked me if I was sure I wanted to move here, and I said yes. And, one thing that the MIRCI housing coordinator told me was that I could live here the rest of my life, if I wanted to. Finally, I had a safe place that was mine. No more worrying about being homeless again. No more worrying about living in a storage unit. At last...
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