Glenn’s journey from homelessness to housing

The road to housing wasn’t always straightforward, but Glenn now has a place to call his own at Churches United’s Silver Linings Apartments

Glenn pictured in his Silver Linings apartment wearing a jacket that he knitted.

Less than a year ago, Glenn was in a shelter; now he’s experiencing things he hadn’t for years: quiet, safety and privacy.

For Glenn, the path toward housing was a multi-year journey, one that wasn’t always straightforward, but now, surrounded by his knitting supplies and handmade jackets and shirts, Glenn has a place to call his own at Silver Linings Apartments.

Before he was homeless, Glenn had an apartment and was working a steady job, but medical issues – and the associated costs – eventually overwhelmed him, and he lost his apartment.

“I had worked for a while, and I got some medical issues that went on,” he said. “It was either pay bills or figure out (stuff), and I lost my apartment.”

For several years, Glenn stayed at various shelters in the Fargo-Moorhead area, at friends’ places and outside. In the beginning, while staying with friends, he continued to work, but eventually, he became overwhelmed and left his job.

He took a lot of pride in his work, impressing his coworkers with his ability to memorize each of his regular customers’ orders, starting them right as they walked in the door. He even recalled a time he butt heads with a co-worker when he went above and beyond for a customer that he felt had been let down by poor service.

“(People will look at you) and think, why don’t you have a job? Why aren’t you doing something to better yourself?” I can’t emotionally do it,” Glenn said of how homelessness is perceived. “I did that. I went to work every single day. I handled my life and then I got overwhelmed … I couldn’t do it.”

At one point, while he was homeless, Glenn was assaulted. The assault not only left him with injuries but also medical bills that piled on top of the hardship he was already experiencing. Being on the streets is not only dangerous but also isolating.

“When you go downtown, and you’ve got a bag, you’ve got a backpack, you’ve got extra things, people will be staring. Because one, yes, you’re homeless, and two, you might look like you’re not kept up,” he said.

Homelessness can happen for any reason, and for most, it’s typically the confluence of many factors that sends people into instability. One bad day, one instance of bad luck can change everything in a moment.

“It (being homeless) can happen to anyone. … I know people that are homeless that are working,” Glenn said. “Now they’re staying at the shelter because they can’t afford to get into an apartment, because they don’t have credit, they don’t have money saved up …”

A 2021 University of Chicago study found that about 53% of people experiencing sheltered homelessness were employed, while about 40% of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness were employed.

Fast-forward to this last July, Glenn got an unexpected piece of good news: he was getting an apartment at Silver Linings.

He moved in August, and the first night there, Glenn experienced something he hadn’t had in a long time.

“Quiet. It was quiet,” he said.

While certainly taking advantage of his newfound privacy and quiet, he still socializes with Silver Linings’ other tenants, some of whom he met at various shelters, including Micah’s Mission.

After years of housing instability, having four walls to call his own has come with something of an adjustment period.

“It took a while to get used to the fact that it was mine,” he said.

Now that he has his own place, gone are the days of towing his belongings with him on every journey he takes. He can leave them behind, and the staring that was once common has ceased.  

The weight of being overwhelmed still falls on his shoulder from time to time, but on the whole, he’s doing better these days, keeping busy with knitting and trips around town. Each month he’s been at Silver Linings, he’s knitted a shirt or jacket.

“(I’m) just getting used to being here and, you know, being able to be (myself).”

About Silver Linings

Silver Linings is a 36-unit permanent supportive housing complex designed for individuals aged 55 and older who have faced chronic homelessness and/or long-term housing instability, and who are very low income.

Silver Linings broke ground in May 2024 and welcomed its first tenants in July 2025.