Placerville couple shares story of overcoming homelessness, addictions
PLACERVILLE (CBS13) – A journey to sobriety and stability for a couple began with a meal.
"Nothing nourishes the soul like a good, warm home-cooked nourishing meal," said Josette Cramer, while she sliced tomatoes.
Relationships are the key ingredients for anything whipped up inside the Upper Room Dining Hall. While receiving homelessness services, Josette re-evaluated her bond to alcohol. She said the road to sobriety was long but worth it.
"It was well, good – good is the first thought that comes to mind," she said.
Her partner, Tim Cramer, recovered from his drug addiction to methamphetamine before her fight to quit drinking two years earlier. She knew it could be done, yet substance abuse was not their only problem.
They lived in homelessness. At the Upper Room Dining Hall, they found a hot meal and wrap-around services like laundry and showers.
The dining hall is open every day and is mostly run by volunteers to help serve up to 80 people a day.
"It was like the center of our life for a while," Tim said.
At the dining hall, they charged devices to find jobs online.
The pair eventually secured a home and Josette later found sobriety. Then they experienced breakthrough after breakthrough. Six years after finding stability, they exchanged vows on Aug. 15, where their lives were first transformed.
"Everyone that supported us the most was here, and plus this place plays such a role in us moving forward," Tim said.
Operations Director Karen Stinson calls the wedding a full-circle moment.
"It's really very special to see people that have started with nothing who have come in who are hopeless and homeless and they've been able to change their entire lives," she said.
The Cramers still visit the Upper Room, but as volunteers. They are sharing their experiences with local leaders to drum up more support and resources for unhoused people.
Try to find a job when you haven't had a job in a couple of weeks, Josette said.
"How do you keep that hope? How do you keep moving forward? How you keep that vision – and with the battles of alcohol and the drugs and no money," she said. "It can be done."