Paige has been leaning on Share Ourselves for nearly a decade
As she celebrates her birthday, she looks forward to a brighter future.
Paige’s cheeks flushed bright pink as she grinned ear-to-ear. She was celebrating her 64th birthday surrounded by her Share Ourselves family. She had not experienced a birthday like this one since grade school.
Paige grew up in Northern California. Her family was well-off and she went to a good school but her life quickly derailed after a series of unfortunate events. The youngest of five children, she and her siblings all struggled with drug addiction at some point in their lives. Paige’s older brother introduced her to drugs at a very young age, which marked the beginning of a continuous battle.
In 2007, Paige moved to Newport Beach for rehab after spending 23 days in jail. Her experience in rehab extended far beyond getting sober–she was ready to restore purpose to her life. After finishing the program, she got certified and worked at the rehab center until she was laid off in 2013.
At this point in her recovery, Paige was motivated to finish her college degree. She had studied communications at St. Mary’s College of California but was two courses shy of finishing her degree. At the age of 54, she returned to her studies and received a bachelor’s degree from Cal State Long Beach.
During that period, Paige was living in a small studio in Seal Beach until a drastic rent increase in 2015. “I didn’t just decide to go live on the streets. It doesn’t really happen quite like that,” said Paige. She attempted living with an acquaintance in Long Beach but the situation was far from ideal. Struggling to find both housing and work, Paige spent most nights sleeping in her car. That is, until she fell asleep at the wheel and got in a terrible crash and ended up on the streets.
Finding support in the darkest times
While going through the succession of terrible experiences, Paige discovered Share Ourselves. She would stop by every day for food, clothes, blankets–whatever she needed, she knew she could turn to Share Ourselves for help. “The people are so wonderful, they have such personalities, and you can see how much they care,” Paige said, referring to volunteers and care managers.
“It’s not just about the food, it’s about the fact that something’s open where people care.”
Paige
The level of stress and trauma Paige went through while being homeless was remarkable. What she found at Share Ourselves was a sense of community. She connected with the staff and volunteers on a deep level. She even discovered that she went to the same high school in Northern California as one of our volunteers, Kathy Stefano. Kathy and others check in on Paige frequently. Care manager Michael McGlinn has helped Paige receive the support she desperately needed in attempting to find permanent housing. Paige has also visited the Share Ourselves dental clinic and noted that Dr. Nikkah is a kind soul who goes out of her way to greet Paige.
Paige is now housed and thriving. If there is one word to describe Paige, it would be ‘resilient’. “You have to show up. They’re not going to put it in your lap,” said Paige. After putting in the work to change her life around, Paige sees a bright future ahead. Instead of sleeping with a fork in her hand to protect herself and wondering if she even had $3 to get a meal, she is now sleeping in her own apartment equipped with simple luxuries like a bed, a TV, and a coffee maker.
While many of her experiences in life have been far from happy, Paige remains as optimistic as ever. Her birthday wish this year? To work with animals. Paige has always loved animals and is looking forward to volunteering soon.
While the group sang happy birthday and shared chocolate cupcakes, Paige was filled with joy knowing that she found true, supportive friends who want to see her succeed. With this new outlook on life, Paige is ready to tackle whatever comes next.