Social work is woven into Sheryl Sanders as much as she’s woven into Lawrence.
Sent off by her coworkers with a party and cake, Sanders left her office at the Lawrence Community Shelter last week for the final time.
Sanders worked as a housing stabilization case manager. Simply put, her job was to keep housed people housed, she said. Day to day, she filled out transitional housing paperwork and followed up with her clients who used vouchers.
Originally hired in 2014 as a case manager, Sanders spent the middle of her career as the family program director. Over the years, she supported housing-insecure families by driving them to appointments, helping them find employment or moving into their new homes.
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“Even on the really hard days, the guests’ stories and just how resilient they were and how they trusted me to help them achieve their goals, that was huge for me,” Sanders said.
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LCS ended its family program in 2020 because of safety concerns when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Sanders said. She said shelter staff and their community partners at Family Promise and the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority built momentum to house the remaining families in around two months.
A highlight of the former program for Sanders was working with children, whether it was helping them choose their daily snacks or organizing tutors for their studies. She often helped parents and guardians enroll their students in school and camps.
As part of Lawrence Public Schools’ annual Friends of Education awards in 2016, Prairie Park Elementary School recognized Sanders as a “daily bridge between our school and the Shelter.”
Sanders took part in LCS’ evolution in the past 11 years and predating, as she volunteered with her family for several years prior. The former Lawrence Open Shelter and Community Drop-In Center merged to create present-day LCS, and Sanders has worked with every new and interim director since the current building opened in 2005 under Loring Henderson’s leadership.
The building, at 3655 E. 25th St., has developed into an agency that now operates with 125 beds inside the main shelter building, and 48 beds among Pallet 24, a group of cabin-like shelters outside. LCS also has 50 beds at the Village, the longer-term option on North Michigan Street for folks who are working to secure permanent housing outside of the congregate shelter setting.
LCS will serve as the sole local winter shelter this season, the City of Lawrence announced in November. Nightly check-in is between 7 and 10 p.m., and no one will be turned away in emergencies.
“I love the shelter,” Sanders said. “But I’m really comfortable in my decision to leave, because I feel like it’s in such good hands, and we’re in a really good place now.”
‘Wealth of knowledge’
Homelessness is complex, and it cannot be minimized to stigmas, Sanders said.
Sanders said her late brother, Don Thomas, was “kind, loving and absolutely brilliant” at his core, but a deep sadness hovered over him. He struggled with a diagnosed mental health condition and would disappear for periods of time, so Sanders and their other siblings would go looking for him. Sometimes they’d find him at shelters in Missouri. Other times they’d learn a stranger on the street, thinking less of him, had beaten him up.
“When I started working at the shelter, my goal was to not ever let anybody feel that way, you know, to not make anybody feel like they did not matter, because they do,” Sanders said.
She also has a message for all the guests she’s worked with: “They might not know it, but they have something inside that they can teach someone else.”
She recalled she posted a board on the wall when she used to help in the dorm designated as women’s at LCS. Daily, she expected each guest to write one accomplishment, whether it was leaving the building, taking a shower or applying for an ID.
With Sanders’ departure, Savannah Fergus becomes the longest-tenured current employee at LCS — five years under her belt. Fergus happened to walk by during an interview at the shelter for this article, and she took over as tour guide.
The building was mostly quiet and empty Tuesday morning because a lot of guests were out taking advantage of the nice weather. But Rosetta Brackett, happy to see Sanders, also stopped by to give Sanders a hug and catch up on her day so far. Brackett said she’s a lifetime Lawrence resident who’s currently staying at the shelter.
Fergus, a SOAR case manager who helps people connect with eligible benefits, said she was inspired to build her career at LCS after serving as a volunteer when Sanders ran the family program.
“Sheryl is just like a wealth of knowledge, and she knows what to do in every situation,” Fergus said.
“She’s been like my work mentor, my life mentor, role model. She’s the reason I started. She has been my rock since being here, so it’s really hard, but I think she’s passed on what she can teach, and everything else, we’ll figure out.”
Sanders acknowledged her quick problem-solving came with practice. She said the job taught her patience — to slow down and process the full story first.
Having arrived at retirement, Sanders looks ahead to more days relaxing on her front porch, still in connection with neighbors and friends. She’s woven into the fabric.
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Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
Molly Adams (she/her), photo editor, has worked with The Lawrence Times since May 2022. She can be reached at molly@lawrencekstimes.com.
Check out more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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