A cactus rests by the windowsill, perched above eight large plastic bins packed with most of Karen McDonald s belongings.
The plant, McDonald said, brings her peace as she moves through a revolving door of homes. It s a symbol of survival in the transient and often unforgiving world of navigating homelessness in the Philadelphia suburbs.
In February, hope for a more permanent home came in a Housing Choice Voucher, what many consider the holy grail of subsidized housing. McDonald felt her days drifting through shelters, friends’ homes and cars would soon come to an end.
Yet, like many holding the same document, she soon learned that the federal safety net created to rescue people from homelessness and serve as a springboard to independent living holds little value in a competitive housing market, where landlords are not required to accept vouchers and, when they do, bureaucracy often stalls or derails their chances.
Between Friends Outreach, an all-volunteer group that helps neighbors in crisis across Bucks and Montgomery counties, has opened a home named in honor of the man who inspired the group s creation.
Jerry s Place opened last week as a refuge and temporary home for men, who typically are last in line for a shelter bed and are often out in the cold the longest, said Tara Grippi Stoop, founder of the Doylestown-based nonprofit. Jerry s Place is a healing house, a safe, comfortable place where residents can live and get help with anything they will need to get them on their journey to self-sufficiency, said Stoop, adding that the home’s three residents will have access to budget counseling, mental health counseling, job placement and other basic life skills. Instead of living in a car or couch surfing, they are in a safe environment where they will have structure and a mentor helping them on this journey.