Norwich — Heather Lindell used a propane heater to warm the tent where she lived for nearly 1½ years, but the fumes made her nauseous.

The 35-year-old "went outside" to a homeless encampment by the Shetucket River after she and her boyfriend were evicted from their home in January 2019.

She was one of more than 3,000 people who experienced homelessness in Connecticut in 2019, according to the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness. To access housing services, residents should call 211 or visit bit.ly/uwcthousing.

Lindell, a mother of four who has struggled with heroin addiction and mental health issues, has finally accepted that it is OK to ask for help. On May 1, she moved into an apartment on Hamilton Avenue with the help of case workers from Sound Community Services.

During a Zoom video conference this week with The Day and Sound Community Services staff, she wept while she described how relieved she is to have a comfortable bed, a bathroom and a place to plug in her phone. Now she's in a better position to continue working on her sobriety and mental health, get a job and work toward getting her children back. Two of the children are in foster care and two are living with her mother.

"Being outside really takes a toll on how you feel about yourself and how you look at yourself," she said. "Just in this last week, I feel more like myself again and more confident to get a job and not feel like an outcast of society, to be able to hold my head up."

While living in the tent, she walked 15 minutes to the St. Vincent De Paul soup kitchen for meals and went daily to the Hartford Dispensary methadone clinic, even when the Norwich clinic closed temporarily and she had to travel to New London.

Getting Lindell into an apartment was a joint effort of Sound Community Services, the Southeastern Mental Health Authority and Norwich Human Services. Jennifer Donahue, housing case management program coordinator for Sound Community Services, learned through the Coordinated Access Network of social service providers from eastern Connecticut that Lindell was on the list of "chronic homeless" people and arranged for her admission into Sound's supportive housing program. Lindell had been in therapy at SCS in the past.

Recently, Lindell got her "golden ticket," Donahue said: a supportive housing voucher through the Southeastern Mental Health Authority that will subsidize her rent for a year while she rebuilds her life. They began looking for an apartment and talking about Lindell's goals.

Housing case manager Adrian Jones took over, and said he and Lindell hit it off instantly.

"What made us click was our similarities. I told her I've been that same person who struggled asking for help, we'll get along great."

They eventually found the Hamilton Avenue apartment, which is on a bus route and close to the soup kitchen. It was a waiting game while she was accepted, which was daunting, Jones said, because the weather wasn't great. One night, Jones received word that Lindell's tent was torn and ran to Walmart to get her a new one.

After landlord Helen Yu accepted Lindell as a tenant, the case managers helped her move in, all while maintaining social distance due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"It's a really good feeling to have gone through all of the things I went through and to finally have somewhere to be that's mine," Lindell said.

She's worked in retail before, but said she's thinking about going back to school and becoming a caseworker to help others the way she's been helped.

"I've often shared with her, the sky is the limit," said Jones. "I'm here, we're all here to help you get there. We can put you in the right direction of where you need to be. It all starts with you."

k.florin@theday.com