Mike Finds Hope
Back in 2002, Mike was living with and caring for his terminally ill mother. Following her death, Mike was forced to sell his mother’s home and was put out on the streets.
Mike’s first visit to Journeys happened in November of 2004. He met with a case manager, completed an intake, and developed goals of seeking employment and applying for public benefits. He stated that within the past few days he was experiencing severe abdominal pain. Mike’s case manager directed him to Hines Hospital where he underwent numerous tests. Mike ended up being admitted and was there for about a month. The doctors had a diagnosis and they prescribed medication to manage the pain. Mike was discharged from Hines and out on the streets again. He realized that his stay at Hines really put a damper on his goal plan but with his health problems under control, Mike was more prepared to plug away at his goals
The next step for Mike was to apply for disability benefits with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Mike’s case manager at Journeys advised him to acquire his medical records as soon as possible. Mike followed through and in September of 2005 he filed for disability. Mike was told it could take up to 3 months to process the application.
In October, Mike contracted a serious infection, which put him in a nursing home for 3 months.Although Mike was absent from our program, he never lost touch with us. Mike kept the communication open with his case manager at Journeys and in November reported that he was approved for disability.
After Mike was discharged from the nursing home, he was able to move into an apartment in Elgin. Mike was extremely grateful for all of the support he had received at Journeys.
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