James and his family faced a difficult decision.
His wife and their teenage twins, a boy and a girl, had the chance to move from their small town, an hour and a half away, to Columbia for better opportunities. But James couldn’t come with them. A past legal barrier prevented him from being on their lease, and so the family made the painful choice to go ahead without him. He was left behind.
Determined to be close to his family, he made his way to Columbia. He tried another shelter first and was turned away. Then he found Transitions. He walked through our doors and was met with open arms. For James, that was all he needed.
His First Thirty Days
James entered our Men’s Emergency program, the first step in Transitions’ program designed to meet people exactly where they are. In Emergency, the focus is on stability and getting the foundational pieces in place so a person can begin to move forward.
Case manager Cianna worked alongside James in those early weeks, helping him access healthcare, get his documentation in order, and apply for the benefits he qualified for. He got his first job at a nearby McDonald’s and began saving.
He also received a referral to Transitions’ Homeless Court program, where staff began helping him navigate a legal barrier that had followed him for years: a suspended license from out of state that he had never had the resources or guidance to resolve.
Moving Up
After the full 30 days in Emergency, James moved up into Men’s 100, the next step in Transitions’ program. Here, clients begin taking on more responsibility while still receiving the support and structure they need to keep moving forward. Case manager Cianna continued walking alongside him as he settled into this next chapter.
When a higher paying position opened at a local poultry processing plant, Cianna helped him apply online and his wife drove him to the interview. He started work that same night.
James kept showing up. He kept working. He kept saving.
With steady progress and consistent work, James moved into Transitions’ Extended program, where clients who are employed and saving are guided to take that final step toward independence.
It was here that he met case manager Elandra. Everything shifted into high gear.
Someone in His Corner
When James moved into Extended, he began working with case manager Elandra. At Transitions, case managers meet with their clients every two weeks, sitting down together to review budgets, track progress, and work through whatever comes next. James worked the overnight shift at the plant. Before going to sleep, Elandra’s desk was his first stop.
“He came here with the mindset that he wanted to do better,” Elandra says. “Every time we met, we talked about that and he just kept going. He made it easy.”
At each meeting, Elandra and James sat down together and went through his budget, reviewing his income, his expenses, and his savings. They worked through his legal situation, tracking deadlines and the next steps of the process. And every time, Elandra made sure James left with a clear picture of where he stood and what was coming next.
The legal process was ongoing and complex. The suspended license was from North Carolina, which meant Transitions’ Homeless Court program could only go so far. Elandra went online and researched the hearing process from scratch, something she had never done before. She tracked down the right forms, coordinated an FBI background check and a SLED check, and helped James stay on top of every appointment and deadline. She learned alongside him, every step of the way.
Residents at Transitions follow a curfew and are expected to return each night. Elandra saw how hard James was working and made a special exception for him, giving him permission to spend every weekend with his wife and twins, who lived just 4 minutes away. James was so committed to doing everything by the book that he kept asking her every week, until Elandra finally told him he didn’t need to ask anymore.
Finding the Right Place
James had a vision, and he had held onto it since the day he arrived. He didn’t want another apartment. He wanted a home for his family, one they didn’t have to move from anymore.
He started researching on his own and found a manufactured home company he wanted to work with. What he needed was land. He had been searching in Richland County, but prices were out of reach. Elandra advised him to look further out toward Lexington County, where land was more affordable. She connected him with a realtor who showed him around, and James found exactly what he was looking for.
He saved his down payment and closing costs entirely on his own, over the course of his time at Transitions. Eighteen months after walking through our doors, James passed the inspection and received his keys.
He didn’t just find a place to live.
He bought a home. With land. In Lexington County.
Coming Home
James is moving in this month. His wife has already started bringing things over, getting the house ready for the day they are all together again. When the school year ends, the whole family will move in together.
For the first time in his life, James owns a home. And it is already full of the people he loves.
“I wanted a home I didn’t have to move from anymore.”
He got exactly that.
Your Support Made This Possible
James’s story is remarkable. But it didn’t happen by accident. It happened because Transitions accepted him when other places turned him away. It happened because case managers connected him to resources he didn’t know were available and walked alongside him through a complex legal barrier. It happened because staff sat down with him every two weeks to go over his budget line by line. It happened because a case manager saw what James needed and made a special exception, giving him permission to spend every weekend with the family he was working so hard to get back to.
None of it happens without you.
For just $44, you can give someone 24 hours at Transitions with access to all our on-site services. Double or triple it and give even more people the chance to turn their life around.
Give today at transitionssc.org/donate.