He Gave Me Shelter

La Trina Neal
iUniverse (2006)
ISBN 0595328342
Reviewed by Ellen Hogan for Reader Views (8/06)

La Trina Neal had to drop out of college. As a condition in living with her godparents she had to go to school. So, they told her they had no choice but to ask her to leave.  Suddenly, she found herself homeless.

She called Grace House and talked to Stevie, the resident manager. After the interview, he told her there was room for her at the house. The conditions of the house were that the
residents perform chores and must be out of the house between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and Sunday. There were also other conditions but these were the main ones.

She agreed to the terms, telling herself it was only temporary, and moved her clothes in. She kept most of her other things in her car - she did not want Grace House to be too homey.  La Trina tried to find work where her boyfriend, Andre, lived but that didn't work out.

La Trina mostly kept to herself and did what was required of her. She intended not to become too friendly with anyone in the house. Not long after she moved in, the resident manager, Stevie, was fired and the Reverend Nuys asked La Trina and another resident Darryl to assume the duties until another manager could be hired. La Trina was reluctant and faced ridicule from some of the other residents, mainly at Stevie's instigation.

La Trina trusted that God would see her through her hard times and deliver her through them. Residents came and went from the house and La Trina and Darryl had their ups and downs. A short time later, her step-father passed away, her mother got sick and her cousin died. All this of course took it's toll on her.

Then Darryl started leaving the house when he was supposed to be on duty and La Trina wound up doing his job as well as her own. The church that sponsored the house decided that they did not want to be involved anymore. The Reverend told La Trina that he wanted things to go on as normal and that they would get a new board of directors. Darryl's behavior kept getting worse until finally he decided to move out. By then the Reverend had asked La Trina to become executive director of the house and hired her a new assistant.

There is a lot more to the story and I have only provided some highlights here. La Trina Neal is a very strong woman and through all her troubles she comes out on the other side much stronger and with her faith in tact.

I would recommend this book to anyone as a very inspirational story. It gives people who have warm and comfortable homes a look into the life of the homeless and what they have to endure. 

"He Gave Me Shelter" is a story of faith, hope and a voice of the homeless.

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