THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 6, 1996 TAG: 9603050101
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY JO-ANN CLEGG, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
In her 25 years, Melonie Davis, who spent the last six weeks at Samaritan House with her newborn daughter, Courtney, has experienced more troubles than most folks encounter in a lifetime.
The Alabama native married her high school sweetheart at 17, just two weeks after her mother was killed in a robbery.
``We'd been engaged for a year,'' she said, ``and we knew if we didn't do it then, we'd never get married.''
The marriage, which produced a son, didn't last. Davis eventually moved out and lived successfully on her own until a chain of events - which began with car problems compounded by a delayed paycheck and an unsuccessful attempt at sharing an apartment with the sister of a friend - finally resulted in her losing her job.
With no home, no car and no money, she decided to come to Hampton Roads because she had several family members here.
``They don't have any shelters (in Alabama) unless you're an abused spouse,'' she said. ``There's nothing like this down there for people who just don't have any place to go.''
Once she arrived in this area, however, the pattern of bad luck and limited - sometimes questionable - choices continued. The jobs she found were seasonal. Repeated living arrangements, thought to be firm, fell through. And Davis was once again pregnant.
About to be released from the hospital after delivering Courtney by Caesarian section, Davis found herself once more with no place to go.
``While I was in the hospital having her, they got evicted,'' she said of the friends of a friend who had let her move in with them. ``I got out of the hospital and started making phone calls. One of those netted her and Courtney the slot in the Samaritan House shelter.''
It also has netted her something more: the support and encouragement of the organization's strong training programs.
Because of her recent Caesarian delivery, Davis was less involved in job searching than most are. When she left the shelter she once again moved in with another woman and her children. But this time there is a difference.
Samaritan House staff will be working with her for the next year, helping with the job search, housing expenses and baby-sitting costs until she can get on her feet.
Davis, cradling her sleeping 2-month-old daughter in her arms, intends to be one of the success stories. She wants to be self-sufficient, but she wants something else as well.
``I want a lot better life for Courtney than I have right now,'' she said. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by STEVE EARLEY
Melonie Davis, left, and Jule Beachboard, right, talk with Samaritan
House executive director Ellie Ferber. ``We have to turn away nine
out of 10 families who call us,'' says Ferber.
Melonie Davis holds her 2-month-old daughter, Courtney Nelson. They
share a Samaritan House with two other families. ``I want a lot
better life for Courtney than I have right now,'' said Davis, who is
hoping to end a run of bad luck and sometimes questionable choices.
KEYWORDS: SAMARITAN HOUSE SHELTER by CNB