Meet Steve Schultz
Steve Schultz is a resident of Morehead, KY and has been confined to a wheelchair his entire life due to cerebral palsy. Throughout his life he has had ups and downs with housing and living conditions Six years ago, due to a series of life events, Steve found himself moving into a nursing home with only $40 a month for living expenses.
“It was a terrible experience,” said Steve. “Nursing homes are one of those places where you’re going to be the rest of your life unless you find money to get out. The home I was in took all my income except for a $40 a month living expense. I thought I would die there.” However, Steve was helped out of his living condition by a program called Kentucky Transitions which was helping people who were able to live independently get into a home of their own. Working through Fahe member Frontier Housing, Steve was able to move from the nursing home to Boodry Place Apartments, which is a residential rental community developed to serve seniors and persons with physical disabilities.
“When I moved into Boodry Place, they actually asked me if it was good enough. In the nursing home, I had been sharing a space with a stranger that was just barely larger than a couch and they asked me if I could in a place that was virtually a palace. I cried. I sat in the middle of the living room and just cried because I was overwhelmed and happy.”
Steve lived at Boodry Place for two years and during that time he was invited to join Frontier Housing’s Board of Directors. “I love being on the board, “ said Steve. “You get to hear stories about how people get houses and where they were before and where getting a house has taken them. It feels amazing to be part of this. It never occurred to me that my opinion might matter in such important events. I’m honored to participate.”
While living in Boodry Place, Steve met his now wife, Ruth Ann, and decided that he wanted a house. After having served on the board for a few years and having heard the stories of other families, Steve decided to apply through Frontier to get a home of his own. Unfortunately, Steve’s credit wasn’t where it needed to be to get a home. However, Frontier helped him by working out a budget, contacting creditors, and going through homebuyer education. Since Steve was receiving more money per month without the nursing home fees, they were able to work out payment plans and get Steve into financial shape so he could afford a home.
“Our home has allowed us to be together. They worked with us every step of the way on floor plans and color. This is a small cottage house, but, we have lots of room. They did a good job in terms of the layout of, in utilizing this space. That requires a lot of thinking.”
“They even let us name the floor plans and we decided Providence, because we felt like it was a gift from God.”