Three years ago, Mandi G. was facing homelessness and trying to imagine a different future for herself.
Today, she owns the home Eckerd Connects first helped her rent.
Between those two moments is a story about much more than housing. It is a story about what can happen when someone has the stability, support and opportunity to begin removing the barriers standing between where they are and where they want to go.
For much of her life, Mandi had known instability. She had experienced homelessness on and off since her teens and struggled with addiction. After incarceration, she entered an outpatient recovery program determined to make a change.
When her counselor learned Mandi was facing homelessness, she connected her with Eckerd Connects for housing assistance.
Within a month, Mandi had a place to call home.
For someone who had spent years moving from place to place, that first step was significant. But housing was only the beginning.
“The only thing they cared about was that I wanted to better my life,” Mandi said.
Eckerd Connects helped with deposits and other immediate needs so she could get established in her home. Then her Family Services team began working alongside her on the everyday pieces that could help her build lasting stability: setting goals, managing bills, creating an emergency savings plan and learning when and how to ask for help.
Together, they also began addressing other barriers that had followed Mandi for years.
One of the first goals Mandi put on a vision board was restoring her smile. At the time, she was missing most of her teeth. Her Eckerd Connects team helped her find affordable dental care and develop a way to pay for it.
Another goal was returning to college. When application and enrollment costs stood in the way, Eckerd Connects helped cover the fees so she could get started.
“I remember doing a vision board and thinking to myself, ‘I will never accomplish all of that,’” Mandi recalled.
One by one, she did.
In June 2025, Mandi earned an Associate of Science degree in Medical Billing and Coding. Members of her Eckerd Connects support team were there to cheer her on at graduation, just as they had celebrated with her when she completed her recovery program.
She didn’t stop there.
Mandi returned to school and is now pursuing a bachelor’s degree in health science. She hopes to continue on to earn a Master of Business Administration and ultimately open a nonprofit sober living home for young people experiencing addiction and abuse.
But one dream on that original vision board still seemed especially far away: owning a home.
Over three years, Mandi continued working, going to school and strengthening her financial footing. Eventually, she saved enough for a down payment.
Then she purchased the same home Eckerd Connects had originally helped her rent.
“I went from homeless to homeowner in three years, all because I had somebody backing me, helping me set goals and setting me up with financial plans,” Mandi said.
Today, Mandi works full time for a nonprofit while attending school full time. She has rebuilt relationships, continued her education and created a level of stability she once struggled to imagine.
And while Mandi did the hard work of changing her life, she says having people beside her made a difference.
“They’ve impacted my life by showing me I could be someone better than I ever thought and supporting me through it,” she said.
Mandi’s journey shows why stability often requires more than solving a single challenge. A person facing homelessness may also be navigating transportation, education, finances, health, employment or other barriers at the same time.
By meeting people where they are and connecting them with the practical supports they need, Eckerd Connects helps create pathways toward greater stability, education and economic opportunity.
For Mandi, that pathway began with a safe place to live.
Three years later, that place is not simply where she lives.
It is her home.
