With assistance from Community Human Services, MichaelWilliamson found an affordable and comfortable apartment near the bus line inWilkinsburg. 66 CommunityHumanServices AJOURNEYHOME I T I S A H U M I D D AY I N J U N E whenMichaelWilliamson welcomes me to his home.The 60-year-old former truck driverclearlyenjoyscompany,greetingvisitorstohiscozy apartmentwithawarm,easylaughandHershey’skissesfrom a boxonthe diningtable. Thatlivingsituationisastrikingchangefromafew monthsbefore,whenWilliamsonbecamehomelessinthe throes of a health crisis. He is among the 26 percent of Americans who, according to a 2016 study by Harvard’s P.H.ChanSchoolofPublicHealth,theRobertWoodJohnson FoundationandNPR,findthemselvesinseriousfinancial troubleresultingfromahealthissue.Until2015,Williamson wasdriving18-wheeltruckscross-countryfulltimeandcould easilyaffordhis$1,200-a-monthapartmentonArdmore Boulevard.Thenhislifewassuddenlyupendedbysurgery andamonths-longrecovery.Hewasforcedtostopworking andwaseventuallyevictedfromhisapartment.Rightafter surgery,he stayed at the Resolve Crisis Services walk-in center in Point Breeze. He was referred to Resolve by Community Human Services, which is a local leader in the effort to end homelessness in Allegheny County. Currently, CHS staff members are participating in the Foundation’s effort to understand and document the burden of eviction in Allegheny County. Within a matter of days, CHS Rental Advocate Lynetta Lowman organized movers and storage, while CHS Housing Support Specialist Roberta Schick connected him to food assistance,buspassesandagenciesthatcouldhelphimapply fordisabilityincome.Lowmanalsohelpedhimsecurean apartmentinaquietareaofWilkinsburg.Williamsonshared withusthestoryofhisillness,hisCHS-assistedtransitiontohis Wilkinsburgapartmentandhisdesiretogetbackontheroad. ‌