Columnist Susan Snyder: Tiggs has made big strides

Friday, Dec. 19, 2003 | 5:22 a.m.

Susan Snyder's column appears Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at snyder@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4082.

WEEKEND EDITION Dec. 20 - 21, 2003

Hazel Tiggs doesn't mind saying her life's path led her to a homeless shelter.

"I'm not ashamed of being at Shade Tree," she said. "I'm glad to know it was there when I needed it."

This time of year people freely give to those who have less of the basics -- food, shelter, clothing. But what happens to those who have benefited from the checks, bags of food or clothes people decided they no longer needed?

There are so many people looking for help. Bridget Clarity, director of the Shade Tree shelter for women, says about a third of the valley's estimated 10,000 homeless residents are women. Shade Tree sees some 4,000.

And Tiggs was one. She moved to Las Vegas in November 2002, hoping to start a new life -- a daunting task for a divorced woman older than 50.

A childless woman in her middle years can't benefit from programs that target homeless mothers or services for the elderly. And it's tough for any woman 40 to 55 years old to find a job, let alone one facing homelessness, Clarity said.

"I've met a lot of women my age who are just lost," Tiggs said.

Tiggs, 53, left the small Alabama town where she had raised her children because of some personal problems, which she declined to describe. Tiggs said she simply needed a new place to live and a job to support herself.

"I wanted to leave and just take care of myself," Tiggs said.

So she came to Las Vegas, where she had lived for seven years during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Back then, she was married and raising children. Las Vegas was still more of a town than a city when she left here in 1984.

With no money and no place to live, Tiggs went to Shade Tree upon her return last year. She found a place to sleep, career counseling and even a rack of clothing from which she could pull some job interview outfits if she needed them.

If she could get a job interview.

"When you've had a few doors slammed in your face -- they say you're under-qualified, you're over-qualified -- it's hard," Tiggs said. "When you have to give Shade Tree's address, well, you can hear it in their voices over the phone."

Doubt. Resistance. Suspicion.

Many employers are reluctant to hire people who live in homeless shelters, Tiggs said.

"There were women who were serious about working, and they had to really beat that pavement," she said.

In March, Tiggs landed a default prevention associate's job with Sallie Mae, which sent human resources workers to the shelter for interviews.

For five years Sallie Mae employees have also opted to host a fund-raising concert for Shade Tree rather than a holiday party for themselves. This year's Dec. 12 event at the House of Blues raised $62,000.

The money will help women like Tiggs get a leg up in the world. Clarity said 90 percent of their clients "are people who want to work and have the ability to work but have hit on hard times."

Tiggs said when those times hit, women shouldn't be afraid to seek help.

"When they see that you really want to try, they support you," she said. "But nobody can get that job except you."