Helping Hands of the Cape Fear supports couple in finding stable housing

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - One couple faced multiple medical emergencies that landed them homeless and living in their car until a helping hand came along to change the narrative.

Helping Hands of the Cape Fear helps provide medical respite for those who need post-hospitalization care, and are faced with homelessness.

Patricia Ann Martin and Richard Martin were living with family before their lives were forever changed. Richard suffered from a heart attack followed by multiple surgeries, COVID-19 and pneumonia.

The illness landed him in the hospital for months. Patricia Ann was then diagnosed with kidney failure and joined her husband in the hospital.

“They rolled, they brought him in a wheelchair to see me,” said Patricia Ann. “Yeah she was in intensive care and a nurse pushed me down to her room in a wheelchair,” said Richard.

Upon their release, their warm welcome home was their 2007 Toyota which they were forced to live in.

“Awful, scary, you know terrible.” Patricia Ann said.

Just months after they lost their son, they were faced with mounting medical bills and homelessness.

“When you get to that point it’s just survival. You know, you look at it like ‘Okay you’re hungry, go get a can of something you can pop the lid open.’ If you can afford it, which is a luxury, you can go to a McDonald’s. But I was living out of cold ravioli out of a can,” said Patricia Ann.

However, Helping Hands of the Cape Fear connected with the Martins at just the right time. Helping Hands provided the couple with transitional housing while giving them medical respite.

“It’s very important to have stability, again I say healthcare and housing is a mate. How can you have quality home care coming out of the hospital if you don’t have a home to have it in,” said Jamie Stokely, the executive director of Helping Hands of the Cape Fear.

The organization is staffed with registered nurses and certified nurse assistants, along with aids who help people out of the hospital with daily living.

The program is made for people who are well enough to be out of the hospital but can’t quite thrive on their own yet.

“I have an extensive, extensive background in health care, and I know how important it is for individuals to be stable and have access to quality health care. So to have been able to provide that to this, these couples, I mean, God, I feel extremely blessed. I feel blessed for them,” said Stokely.

Helping Hands helped the Martins find stable housing. The couple has lived in the transition home for seven months and will now move into a place of their own on Friday.

“It’s amazing really. A weight lifted off. A bed to lay in, a beautiful home, a bed to lay in, a shower,” said Patricia Ann.