Oz Manor Resident Has Plenty to Smile About

“Anything having to do with poultry, you absolutely have to be in compliance. Any time you go from poultry to vegetables, you have to change your gloves. When it comes to cleaning your station, you have to follow the rules exactly.”

Karen, second-time Ozanam Manor resident, speaks with excitement and intensity as she shares about the specifics of her new job as a cook at Arizona State University. Her face lights up with pride as she recalls the time her cooking station was the only one to pass the health inspection the first time around.

She says she is excited to go to work each day and hopes that she’ll have this job for a long time. In fact, things are looking up for Karen in more ways than one. And her enthusiasm and energy is contagious to those around her. But life hasn’t been easy for Karen.

She had been chronically homeless since 2006 and first came to Ozanam Manor, St. Vincent de Paul’s temporary shelter, in 2013. She didn’t stay long. With great determination, she found a job and a new apartment within seven months. Though she admits her new life wasn’t easy, she was very happy to have a place to call her own. But sadly, misfortune struck. A fire broke out in her apartment complex and she suffered severe smoke inhalation, aggravating her asthma. She lost both her housing and her job because of this health issue and returned to the shelter system.

This time she stayed at Central Arizona Shelter Services (CASS). Asthma isn’t the only health condition she struggles with. Karen shares that as a child she suffered from rheumatic fever, which caused permanent deformities in her mouth. Her permanent teeth had to be removed and she needed dentures early in her adult life.  She also had painful bunions on each foot, both requiring surgery. After her first surgery, while recovering at Circle the City, a respite care center for the homeless, Karen was referred to Ozanam Manor again.

She was glad to start over in a familiar setting and resolved to literally and figuratively, get back on her feet again. On her arrival at SVdP’s shelter, she signed up for St. Mary’s Food Bank Community Kitchen 16-week food service training program, not knowing what to expect.

This program changed everything for her.

She graduated with perfect attendance and passed the County Food Manager test with flying colors. With her new certificate, she quickly found a job through Aramark staffing as an omelet station cook in one of ASU’s cafeterias.

“I love it,” she says. “It’s like going back to work at age 58, finding a new career and absolutely loving it. But not only that, I found that I’m quite talented at it.”

Karen works fives days a week at ASU and takes pride in keeping her station organized, efficient and clean.

But her new job wasn’t the only thing causing Karen’s excitement. She recently received a set of new dentures from SVdP’s Dental Clinic, after going without them for a year and a half. Her last set had been stolen during one of her shelter stays and it has taken a long time to replace them.

Dr. Jeff Rushlo, SVdP assistant clinical dental director, worked with her over the past year to do a lot of preliminary work in her mouth, such as bone removal and nerve relocation, to ensure that this new set of dentures would fit her comfortably and last a long time.

“There is a lot that has to be just right if you have all your teeth extracted,” she says. “And Dr. Rushlo is an expert at this. It’s been a long, complicated process, but I’m just so happy that I’ll be able to eat again.”

“I was in so much pain for a long time and I would ask myself, ‘Am I ever going to look normal again? Or eat properly again? Or not be in pain?’ I feel so lucky to have everyone here.”

It was a joyous sight watching Karen receive her new dentures and seeing the sweet hug between her and Dr. Rushlo after their long journey of healing and fixing her mouth.

Karen smiles easily and happily after her dental appointment, as she prepares to head into work. She’s smiling not only because of her dentures, but also shares that she has plans of moving into her own apartment by the end of May. This bit of news definitely had us smiling too and we wish Karen the very best in her new journey.

*Name changed to protect privacy