Deborah Martin

Deborah Martin, a California native and mother of two sons, was devastated by her divorce. "My kids, husband, the house with the picket fence, that Ozzie and Harriet life, was my whole world, I made it my whole world, and when that all came to a crashing halt I was shattered." Deborah's 1994 divorce propelled her into a life of drugs and prostitution. "When I ended up on the streets, drugs were my pain reliever… I was just trying to kill the pain. My whole world had just shattered and the drugs kept me numb for a long time."

For six years Deborah lived on the streets or in motels. She had worked in the MacAurthur Park area, and when she found herself homeless she went there. Deborah's parents, siblings, even her ex-husband, would search MacAurthur Park for her. "I'd see them and exit the other side. I worried the death out of them. They loved me, but I didn't feel that I could go home. I didn't feel I had a home. They were right there, 8 miles away in Highland Park, but I could only be with me, so I separated myself."

During her years on the streets, Deborah was frequently arrested. "Once you've been to jail, you keep going back. You have to break the cycle…Drugs and prostitution kept leading me to jail, eventually the State Pen. I did jail time by myself, with nothing and no one. It was hard, and prison was no better."

After her release from prison in September 2000, Deborah lived at the Weingart Center and found work through Chrysalis. For 19 months, Deborah was part of the Central City East Association's Street Works Team and swept the curbs of Skid Row. Then, through Chrysalis, Deborah began working at SRO Housing's Leonide Hotel as a Janitor. The manager of the Leonide Hotel wrote Deborah a letter of recommendation. In October 2002, SRO Housing hired her as a full-time Assistant Manager. Today, Deborah is the Resident Manager at the Marshal House, SRO's transitional sober living site.

In 2003, Deborah received Chrysalis' "Butterfly of the Year" Award. "That was really an honor. Chrysalis gave me my start. For someone like me, someone starting all over, cleaning up records, they were a lifesaver. I've had a long, steady relationship with Chrysalis. Today I send my tenants to Chrysalis."

"SRO means a lot to me. I came to SRO looking for a place I could grow, and I've found that, in my job and as a person. I'm not the same person I was two years ago when I came to work. Two years from now I won't be the same person that I am today. The learning never stops. You learn how to deal with different kinds of people, with certain kinds of people in different ways. What works today may not work tomorrow, so you have to learn a new way. "

"I take my job seriously, I'm not here just for the paycheck. My job really isn't about the paycheck; it's about giving back to the community that gave to me when I needed them. And I do what I can do. I know I'm only one hit away from being on the curb one more time. But I'm not willing to give up what I've worked so hard to achieve."

"I'm not proud of what I did back then, but I don't think I'd be the person I am today if I hadn't gone through what I did. I'm far from perfect, and I still have a lot of work to do, but I've come a long way."