Kimberly: “You Become Invisible Without a Home”

Homelessness can happen to anyone – literally anyone. Kimberly Forbes is proof.

Forbes, 63, left a long career in estate and business management and co-founded (with her then-husband) a local nonprofit group dedicated to providing safe and sober housing to men and women recovering from drug-and-alcohol addiction. She never thought that one day she would be without a home of her own.

But indeed she did – after a perfect storm of misfortune that happened all at once, at the beginning of the pandemic.

Forbes’ life journey in recent years led her from being a successful nonprofit leader to experiencing homelessness to moving back safely into a secure home. That circuitous route has revealed her resilience. It also has made her a positive model for those facing the same challenges.

Forbes uses that experience today to serve as a member of Abode Services’ Lived Experience Advisory Board (LEAB). We recently formed LEAB to hear feedback and perspectives from those who have experienced homelessness, in order to improve the quality of our work.

Forbes, a mother of four grown children, led a stable life and forged a successful career in Napa County, where she has lived for more than 30 years. But when misfortune struck and bad timing quickly followed, she was suddenly the victim of a crime and left without a home.

First, she and her husband divorced, and she rented a new home. But she was beset by major health problems. “My marriage and health fell apart at the same time” she said.

Then, things got worse. Just as Forbes was scheduled to have surgery for a serious, debilitating ailment,  she found out her new landlord had been lying. He was actually a tenant – not the owner – and was not authorized to rent the place. Immediately, she had to move out. She also waved goodbye to the two-months rent and additional pet deposit she had paid in advance, a loss of thousands of dollars.

“I was the victim of rental fraud and I had only two weeks to move with little money, right before Covid hit,” she said.

In an instant, her savings and home were gone. All that remained were her service dogs. So, she put her belongings in storage and was forced to spend some nights on the street. Forbes and her dogs slept in the rain, under some bushes near a park.

“It was frightening,” she said. “I was crying in the bushes and wondering how this could have happened.”

The kindness of a few strangers proved to be her saving grace. Two men experiencing homelessness allowed her to stay in their camp and treated her well. They they told her about the Winter Napa Shelter, where she landed for about two weeks.

Abode Services, which runs the shelter, then helped Forbes find temporary housing at a local hotel. During this time, the height of the pandemic, she had another successful surgery.

More good news: She has since gained her own housing.

“I feel a sense of accomplishment,” she said.

Forbes said her relatively brief but harrowing time on the street opened her eyes, showing her how homeless individuals become marginalized by society.

“I got to know a lot of people in the homeless community, and I finally understood how it can happen,” she said. “I saw the stigma of being homeless, and I saw how you become invisible when you’re without a home.”

As a LEAB member, Forbes now wants to use her experience to help others.

“I continue to be an advocate,” she said. “I think that’s one reason why I was chosen to be on this board; I tend to speak up.”

Forbes said she is grateful for everything she received from Abode, as she made her journey back into a home. She also wants to remove the stigma that many people attach to those who don’t have a home.

Forbes believes the definition of homelessness “should be expanded and broadened,” making the designation more inclusive.

“A lot of people don’t realize they know a homeless person,” she said. “It can happen to anyone.”