08/17/2026
Michele survived liver and kidney failure, but her life forever changed after her double transplant.
“Everything was great till I got sick, and then I had no money,” she said.
As she recovered, her income dramatically changed. She could no longer stand on her feet long hours at one of her jobs, in food service. One of her other employers, a facility where she had lived and worked, closed.
Michele was still recovering from her surgery, and she was now homeless.
“The last two years have been really, really hard,” she said. “I had accomplished a lot and then I lost everything. I never thought that would happen to me, ever.”
At True North, Michele moved into our Torres Shelter and began working with her case manager and one of our Housing Navigators, Chris.
“I wanted my own place, and I was going to keep fighting for it,” she said. “And Chris didn’t give up either. I said, ‘Whatever you can find, I’ll be grateful.’”
In her 55 years of life, Michele has never lived on her own. Today, she’s excited to finally be able to afford her own place. She said her health is doing great. She just settled into her apartment and she’s looking forward to continuing online schooling for medical billing.
Michele said she wants other community members who need help “not to feel ashamed” to ask for it or to stay at the Torres Shelter. “The people that stay here want change, want to change their life, want to get housing.”
“Everybody is great here at True North Housing Alliance—whatever you need, they’re right there to help with it, and they don’t treat you any different than the fellow staff members here. We’re all important.”
Thank you for supporting our programs so that we can help people like Michele. 💙 - truenorthbutte.org/donate
