In 2005, the Sarasota home Barbara Chase and her husband were renting and hoped to buy was unexpectedly sold to a friend of their landlord’s, throwing their lives into a tailspin. They were given 30 days to move out. Chase’s husband had been laid off from his job and his unemployment benefits were exhausted. They found it impossible to find another rental in the area they could afford. They put most of their belongings in storage and had no choice but to live in their car with their dog, parking for the night wherever they could find a safe spot.

During the day, Chase cleaned houses, and the couple occasionally scraped together enough money to get a cheap hotel room for a night so they could take showers and sleep in a real bed. They lived this way for six months.

Their luck began to change when one of Chase’s customers spotted an ad for a housing assistance program and shared it with her. Chase applied immediately. The wait list was long, but she and her husband were ultimately able to rent a small condo.

Then, in 2010, Chase’s father and mother passed away within nine months of each other. Two days after she returned home from her mother’s funeral, her husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer and died six weeks later. The losses left her reeling with grief. And while she still lived in the same condo, the complex’s new management team was less selective about renters, resulting in increased drug activity and violence. She needed to find a new place to live.

One of Chase’s customers happened to give her tickets to the symphony, so she invited an old friend who loved music to join her. As they conversed, the friend mentioned that she was looking for a new tenant for one of her houses and it was affordable. “As soon as I saw it, I fell in love,” Chase says. “It’s a wonderful place on a lake in a nice neighborhood. I am so fortunate.”

Chase, 67, doesn’t take that for granted. A desire to help others led her to work for five years as a volunteer coordinator for Family Promise of Sarasota-Manatee, which collaborates with local nonprofit agencies and interfaith congregations and engages more than 200 volunteers to prevent homelessness and divert families out of unsafe or unsustainable living situations.

Chase also has found strength and support at First Presbyterian Church of Sarasota, which she joined after her husband died. She volunteers with the church’s natural disaster relief program, which helps find housing for volunteers and first responders, who have come to the area to assist with post-hurricane cleanup and restoration. “It feels so worthwhile to help others,” she says.

Join us and other inspiring local women for an evening of celebration, connection, and fearless storytelling at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens on Thursday, July 24. For more information, click here.