I was homeless off and on for five years, until BACS did not give up on me and helped me twice. I have been very comfortable in my new apartment for a record-breaking 5 months. I have a great, great manager who helped me adjust to this new environment. As a two-time award-winning writer, I had never thought I’d be homeless.

I want to thank Bay Area Community Services for finding me permanent housing, and Yolanda for nominating me for the Resilience and Determination (RAD) Hero Award, presented by The Alameda County Community Consumer Advisory Board.

I specifically want to mention two great ladies. The first is Holland House Director, Ms. Yolanda Hichks, one of the sharpest, individuals I ever met. I was called the Blob and my mother imitated me for 17 years. Nobody cared about me until I met Ms. Yolanda, who never tired of my ambiguities, anger, and fright. She showed me guilt is a subjective feeling, Yolanda was here for all, even award-winning writers who are broke, who are sleeping in their car with suicidal thoughts. Miss Yolanda refused to let me bail out on myself. She gave me the help I never thought I deserved, which was a major part of my confusion…

The RAD Awards events was one of the proudest moments of my life. Bay Area Community Services is the best. What gets me is you have helped me before! That’s when I met Jackie! I will never forget her goodness and graciousness, she had been in recovery once and knew perfectly, like Yolanda, how to “Perfectly” manage a broken person. We thought Arizona would work, but the Bay Area is my home. Now, that I am home, I would like for you to let Ms. Hichks and Jackie know I am eternally grateful to their incredible genius and the agency, for helping all people, even a person like me who was called the Blob; and was ostracized at home, one who had no one.

Now, as I am enjoying my new place, I deserve to rest and enjoy the rest of my life, I can say that now. Many thanks to your excellent staff and you. BACS you are right up there with St. Vincent DePaul with me. I am very happy to have received the RAD Award, you will not be disappointed.

Thank you,

Carol D. Mitchell, author