Polly
Presidential Award Recipient
A tiny woman standing before the team of Interviewers was neatly dressed in the uniform of a popular international
grocery store chain. Her appearance belied her situation. She was homeless, seeking housing with a diagnosis of severe depression, bi-polar disorder and a history of substance abuse. She was released from prison six months prior, after serving 15 years of a twenty-five-year sentence for murder.
Within five minutes into the interview,
tears began to flow as she explained
the story or rather the tragedy of her life.
Once upon a time, Polly was married
with two sons and owned her own
home. They lived in a low-income
section of the District. One night, while
her husband was at work and the boys
were sleeping, she opened her eyes to
see a man in her bedroom going
through her handbag. She reached for
her gun under the pillow and yelled at
him. He ran and she chased him to her
front lawn and fatally shot him. In
accordance to DC law, she could not
plead self-defense since he was not in
her house. During incarceration, her
husband died of cancer and his sister
forged her name on documents,
resulting in the selling of her home.
A part of Polly’s individual care plan was
to rebuild relationship with her sons who
grew up without both parents and were
very resentful towards her. She not only
didn’t have a relationship with her boys
but also none with her grandchildren.
Polly joined all of her therapeutic groups
and on her days off, she attended a
near-by community church and
volunteered at a shelter to mentor
women through the DC Court Services
& Offenders Supervision Agency
(CSOSA).
Polly is an avid “Redskins” fan and her
efficiency unit is about everything
Redskins. Pictures line the walls, bed
linen, mats, hats, and other
paraphernalia adorn her space. On
game days, she dresses from head to
toe in Redskin regalia.
The agency provides meals and pays all
utilities for the women. Residents are
obligated to pay 30% of their income in
rent and are encouraged to save 30%
percent of their income. After Polly’s first
year, she used her savings to purchase
a reliable car to travel for work in a
neighboring state
After two years of living at Hyacinth’s
Place, Polly has learned to release some
of the bitterness. With the security of
housing, she spent the last Christmas
with her sons and grandchildren.
On Thursday February 26th 2015, Polly
received the White House Presidential
award for her dedication and
outstanding volunteer work with women
recently released from prison who are
reintegrating into the community. It is a
beautiful medal complete with an
official seal.
On April 5th 2015, Polly moved into her
own one-bedroom apartment in the
District of Columbia. Her parting words
were, “I have so much work to do,
starting with my grandbabies.”