By Housing Unlimited, Silver Spring, MD

Steve Lindstrom, 47 years old, born in Los Angeles California, moved to the Montgomery County area at age 5.

Lindstrom’s therapist helped him apply to Housing Unlimited, and shortly thereafter he received the call. “Life before HUI to life now has been a big change. Before I was living in a program-type of environment, and to live independently has been very positive.” With his family close by, Lindstrom has been living in his particular Housing Unlimited home for close to two years.

He expresses gratitude for his kind housemates, and his comfortable living accommodations. In this quiet Germantown neighborhood, Lindstrom thrives in his independent living situation. “I have been working on some goals of mine … I have been able to overcome a lot of obstacles, working on being the person I want to be … I have been able to quit smoking because I feel so comfortable here. Just before I quit, I sat right here, and I looked at my surroundings and I decided, I could handle it, I am in a safe place, and I was able to quit.”

Most of all, to Lindstrom, the importance of Housing Unlimited is the sense of security it affords him. “I am not going to end up on the street … I have friends that live in Housing Unlimited … I know I am in a safe place, and I feel safe — and that is what is important.”

He has a deep respect for Housing Unlimited and the staff. “I feel connected spiritually to my experiences with Housing Unlimited. Lisa Cook is a very kind person to me, and Abe Schuchman is very concerned with me … Their ability to understand mental illness is probably unsurpassed because they have so many tenants … The way I describe HUI is by saying it is very positive. I explain that we are responsible for our own psychiatric health, and it is a really good way to go.”

Proud of his accomplishments, Lindstrom recognizes how well he is, and how his current environment has helped him. “It’s only been lately that I have come full circle about where I am, how I feel about myself. I feel very positive. I have been able to make new friends, I am married.” Something Lindstrom plans to do is to go and visit the shelter that helped him before Housing Unlimited. “I am going to say hello to the people that helped me at that point. I am doing better, and I want to make sure that other people that were in my situation can get the same kind of help that I got.”