Carl and Nicole Glendinning watched as their little white dog bounced off the walls of their new apartment — the first apartment they’ve been able to rent in five months.
Just a few days before, they lived in a tent under a bridge.
“We called ourselves the bridge trolls,” Carl said. “It took a lot to get out. A lot of perseverance, I'd have to say, to get out from underneath the bridge. And now, the hard part is staying out from underneath the bridge.”
The Glendinnings were homeless in Des Moines during this winter’s cold snap.
They couldn’t access temporary shelters, like Central Iowa Shelter & Services (CISS), because shelters typically don’t allow pets.
“It took a lot to get out. A lot of perseverance, I'd have to say, to get out from underneath the bridge. And now, the hard part's staying out from underneath the bridge.”Carl Glendinning
“If it wasn't for our dog, my wife would’ve gone crazy,” Carl said. “Without her dog, quite honestly, I don't know if she would have made it once her mom passed away.”
Joppa, a housing nonprofit, found them living near the largest Des Moines homeless encampment while on weekly food delivery routes. After working with the Glendinnings, Joppa helped them secure an apartment.
The Glendinnings are also now enrolled in a Veterans Administration housing program administered by another Des Moines nonprofit, Primary Health Care, which helps pay deposits, rent, utilities, and some money towards household items.
Now, volunteers will visit the couple each week to check in on their living situation as part of Joppa's program known as aftercare.
As Des Moines continues to seek out solutions to homelessness, people can now be cited for camping downtown and in other public areas.
The city is dealing with a chronic shortage of affordable housing, but providing affordable housing is only one part of the equation to solve homelessness. What happens after individuals get into housing also matters, especially as these individuals adjust to being in a permanent home.
Homeward, Polk County’s homelessness planning organization, analyzes how different housing solutions will affect the community. CEO Angie Arthur said that people experiencing homelessness have a higher level of need than they did five years ago.
“We're going to need partnerships from the county, from cities, from employers, from nonprofits, from service providers, from private citizens,” Arthur said. “This is going to take a community response.”
Affordable housing with supportive services
Homeward conducts a vulnerability assessment to gauge the levels of need of people experiencing homelessness, and to determine who needs the most help the fastest. High scorers need more intensive support, like multiyear permanent supportive housing, as opposed to short-term support, like rental assistance.
In 2019, 34% of assessment takers scored highly, Arthur said. In 2024, that percentage rose to 58%. That means more people are more vulnerable and need more help.
“Housing with supportive services will be the answer for our community.”Angie Arthur, Homeward CEO
Arthur said she has seen an example of what can happen when people get into affordable housing, but don’t have any case managers to provide support. During the pandemic, emergency housing vouchers were issued to people at risk of or experiencing homelessness, and still have not ended. However, people were not successful staying housed, Arthur said.
“Housing with supportive services will be the answer for our community,” Arthur said.
Last September, at least 750 highly vulnerable people were on a wait list to receive support. Some of them had been on the list for at least two years, according to Joppa CEO Joe Stevens.
Whether a person is defined as “chronically homeless, “literally homeless” or “at risk of homelessness” determines what types of federal funding and resources they can receive.
But there are others who don’t meet those definitions, which cuts them off from those resources.
That’s why Joppa elects not to rely on government funding. Stevens said Joppa helps connect people to all the available services they can apply for. Using private funding, Joppa can fill in the gaps, such as “working with landlords, covering applications fees … and other barriers to housing.”
The organization provides resources for people who are currently homeless through street outreach, and is working to build a tiny village to provide a housing option for people who are unhoused. It also runs an aftercare program for people struggling with housing transitions.
The transition from a tent to a home
When Joppa was first founded in 2008, Penny Schramm began volunteering with its aftercare program. She saw many people struggling to adjust to the new responsibilities that come with housing, things like: paying bills, getting medical care and maintaining a living space.
“Those are transitions for them,” Schramm said. “They really need people around them that are going to help them to make those transitions safely.”
Schramm said some people have trouble believing that they now have a permanent place to stay. She remembered one woman who kept a tent in her closet, despite being housed for years.
“They don't allow a home to become a home because they've lived without one for too long, and they worry that they're going to lose it,” Schramm said. “When you don't allow it to become your home, then it's much easier for you to let that home go.”
“They really need people around them that are going to help them to make those transitions safely.”Penny Schramm, Joppa volunteer
On one of Schramm’s routes, she recalled a man who explained what the responsibility of staying housed felt like.
“He said, ‘The hardest thing is I am always one step away from being homeless again,'” Schramm recounted. “‘I'm one drink or one drug away from being back out on the street again if I can't stay in the right space, if I can't stay clean and I can't make the right choices.’”
Schramm said the most important aspect of support is that she’s available to listen. For people like the Glendinnings, Schramm wants to alleviate issues before they become full-blown crises.
“We have to voice our concerns to Joppa or to our case worker so they can reassure us. ‘Here, listen, this is what we're going to do,' or 'here are the steps,’” Nicole Glendinning said. “‘We're here for you. We're not going to leave you.’”
While the Glendinnings have more challenges ahead, for now, they have their own apartment. They were able to host their grandchildren for a meal.
“When you're born, you were never handed an instruction manual on, ‘this is the way life is gonna go,’ or, ‘this is how you're supposed to raise your kids,’ and ‘this is how you're supposed to be,’” Nicole said. “You're doing it on your own, and you just hope for the best.”
This story has been updated to mention support Nicole and Carl Glendinning are receiving through another housing program.
