“You’ve got to have a network that you trust above yourself. We always see ourselves less than what we are, and sometimes you have to trust the voices of those around you.”
Susan Williams
These quote above comes from Susan Williams, the new Housing Search and Information Specialist at Community enCompass. Originally from the small town of Hart, MI, Susan describes herself as autonomous, an advocate, spiritual, inventive, and “pliable” (her daughter’s addition). She’s a leader, a mother, a grandmother, an event planner, and--as you might tell by her beaming smile--a sincere and caring soul. Not only do these traits live in her expressions, but in her interactions with those around her.
Susan has only been in Muskegon a short while, and her journey here was, in her estimation, nothing short of miraculous.
“Miracles followed me. Over and over. People came out of the woodwork, and worked tirelessly to help us move.”
If we back up just a few short months to the fall of 2020, we find Susan in a very different place than she is now: Her landlord had just passed away, causing her Rothbury home of 11 years to change owners. As a result, she and her daughter, Joy, a college student working towards becoming an illustrator, received a Notice to Quit (move). They were allowed to stay in their home until December 2020, but then split up as they looked for a new place to call home.
Two of Susan’s friends learned of the situation--one lives in Muskegon and the other in Kentucky--and reached out to offer support.
“They both said they felt led to bless me with the finances to buy a home,” says Susan.
She began looking for a new place in Muskegon, where she saw greater opportunities to apply her Masters degrees in Business Leadership and Project Management. In early January, she found a place in Eaglecraft Mobile Home Park.
“It was a nice double wide, but the owner wanted $34,000, and I only had $20,000,” says Susan, “Later, though, the owner contacted me and knocked it down to $20,000. She said, ‘I heard God speak and tell me this is her house, and I won’t let you sell to anyone else.’”
Susan’s miracles didn’t stop there. Soonafter, a friend from High School contacted her to offer further financial support. Then, when the time finally came for the move, U-Haul provided a free unit.
“It’s a new world for me,” says Susan, “I lost my home, moved to Muskegon, and bought a house within 2 weeks. Sometimes I have to stop and remind myself that this is my house. I still get worried about bills, and then realize they’re already paid.”
Naturally, Susan and her daughter are still adjusting to the whirlwind of change that marked the end of a universally challenging year. As she settles into her new home and her new position with Community enCompass, Susan continues to rely on the support system she’s cultivated, on the wisdom of experience...
“I’ve had a whole lifetime of poverty and lack. You’d think I wouldn’t have survived. But I’m gonna leverage all that to make a difference. Who would ever reach up to fix poverty if they’d never experienced it? There’s so much psychological and physiological making up the story of poverty, and it’s not comprehended fully by those who haven’t been there. So it should be those who have been there who are influencing how to fix it. Say you meet someone with asthma. You can say, ‘Oh, I’ve seen someone with asthma’ or ‘I had hay fever once,” but that doesn’t mean you know what it’s like to suffocate.”
...as well as on the wisdom of age:
“I have learned to love my 50s. I feel my life is better. What used to seem important isn’t anymore to me. Like pursuing money. Like getting all these degrees. I could have all that money and still be lonely, empty, and leave here without having made a mark. Now, my mind and my goals are based on effecting change for the better for other people, while I’m here. I want to exemplify to those I’m around what it means to be excellent and unselfish.”