Homeless and addicted to drugs, she longed for another chance. That’s when the cops stepped in

For the last three years, Arlene Oswalt was homeless and slept in the streets of Bradenton, battling with a years-long drug addiction.

Now, Oswalt, 55, is in a park in Mississippi, pushing her god-daughter’s children on the swings on a sunny Thursday afternoon. She has been living in Southaven with her god-daughter since March 1, thanks to grant funding provided to Bradenton police.

It was a blend of services, the Bradenton Police Department and grant funds that got Oswalt away from the place and people that fed her addiction.

Oswalt came to a Bradenton halfway house 12 years ago from Orlando and said she ended up staying in town. She was clean from drugs for about five years and had an apartment, truck and dogs.

“It was a wonderful life. I had a good life,” Oswalt said over the phone from Mississippi.

But she started using crack cocaine and said that’s when her life “started going downhill again.”

For three years, she was addicted to drugs and lived on the streets of Bradenton, sleeping where she could. She made money by prostituting.

Oswalt said it was hard on the streets as a woman — she was attacked and raped once. Police confirmed she reported the rape in 2017.

She spent six months of 2018 in jail for violating her probation and said that time helped her to get clean from drugs and gave her the realization that it was time to “get her life together.”

But, she said, she knew she couldn’t do it in Bradenton.

“It wasn’t a good place for me because I went downhill there,” Oswalt said.

Oswalt had been in touch with her god-daughter.

“I had been tired of living in Bradenton and she said, ‘Just come home,’ ” Oswalt said.

In February, she worked with Bradenton police to apply for grant funding that would allow her to get to Mississippi and be with her god-daughter.

“Thank God for the police having the outreach program. That really gave me a chance to get my head together and stick to my sobriety,” Oswalt said.

Bradenton police receive grant money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that they are able to use for ongoing outreach efforts with the homeless. It allows police to help those in need finding temporary housing but it can also be used to help someone get back home to relatives.

“A big part is housing,” Bradenton Police Capt. Brian Thiers said. “Help get them on their feet. We can pay for transportation.”

The department used grant funds to get Oswalt a bus ticket to Memphis, Tenn., the closest bus station to her god-daughter’s home. Officers dropped Oswalt off at the station and a 34-hour bus ride later, she was in Mississippi.

“I cried I was so overwhelmed. I wanted to go so bad,” Oswalt said.

Her arrival marked the first time she met her god-daughter’s children, ages 5 and 11 months, who call her “Gigi.”

“I love being here because it helps. She’s able to work now because there’s someone here for the children. They bring me comfort and they keep me busy so I don’t think about wanting to find somewhere to go get high,” Oswalt said.

She said she’s been sober now for six months and plans to stay with her god-daughter to help out at the home until she can get her own apartment.

“I think its going to be grand being clean and sober. Being able to do things instead of spending my money recklessly, having things I haven’t had in three years,” Oswalt said.

This year, with $10,000 in available funding, police are working to connect some of Bradenton’s homeless population with relatives across the country. Since Dec. 6, police have helped 15 people while using approximately $2,600 of grant funds. The grant requires them to help at least 20 people, according to police.

For the department, Thiers said it’s about doing more than enforcing laws. It’s giving someone a fresh start and a way out of the cycle of homelessness.

“We can help people by getting a room or bus ride,” Thiers said.

The person must meet certain qualifications to receive the funds, including not having extraditable, active warrants for their arrest. They also need to have exhausted other services and resources.

Oswalt had been working with Turning Points, which provides resources for people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, before receiving the grant funding. It was someone at Turning Points who told her about the police department’s outreach program and the funds.

Theirs said of the 15 people they have worked with for the grant, most are success stories. He could think of just one who returned to Bradenton.

“We truly get them to places where they can get back to their roots and stay,” Thiers said.

It can be more than just getting them home. Often, police will use the grant funds to get the person a room the night before they begin their journey, so they are able to shower and have a meal. A suitcase is also provided, if needed.

Police work together with local agencies such as Turning Points to identify those who would best qualify for the grant. Turning Points Open Door manager Beverly Hill said when their clients are able to take advantage of the grant, it’s a rewarding feeling.

“Someone like Arlene, we had gotten to know her through the years, it makes us happy to know she got connected to a family member,” Hill said.

“Just knowing that opportunity exists helps us sleep at night. I think, that’s our paycheck at the end of the day, knowing we’ve helped someone achieve that basic human right of health and safety,” Hill said.

Many clients, Hill said, become abandoned in Bradenton after a loss in support such as employment or family, or in things out of their control like mental health concerns.

It can be difficult to get off the proverbial treadmill, of finding work, then having something happen and having to move on. Sometimes, she said, there is not a “next thing” and circumstances can lead a person to hard times.

“The best thing for us is to be reconnected with someone who cares about us,” Hill said.

Thiers said the department will continue to apply for the grant, looking for an increase in funds each year.

“We’re seeing success and hope it continues to grow,” Thiers said.

Oswalt said without the help, she would be back on the streets using drugs.

“I hope that other homeless people will see that there is help somewhere out there for them,” Oswalt said.

This story was originally published March 29, 2019 at 10:16 AM.