Meet Athena
When Athena Haniotis is out advocating, she likes to wear a shirt that reads, Girls just want to have fundamental rights. It says a lot about who she is. A forceful activist among her peers and a member of the Health Care for the Homeless Board of Directors, Athena is committed to turning widespread notions about homelessness on their head.
"I see myself as a bit of a rebel because I'm challenging the stereotypes," she says.
Athena's childhood was marked by homelessness and abuse. But as an adult, she found years of stability in a good government job. Although she was experiencing growing health challenges, she kept a keen focus on self-care through holistic health and wellness practices. Homelessness was a thing of the past—until a single day in January 2012 changed everything. That day, Athena lost her government job, got into a car accident and broke up with her boyfriend. Overnight, she was back in the familiar space of having no resources and no place to go. And her health conditions were deteriorating.
"I felt let down and abandoned. It was a big blow and the roadblocks were challenging," Athena reflects. "They still hurt, but I recognize that I can't sit and stew in those moments. That's not how you survive. You've got to keep moving ahead."
Ever resilient, Athena eventually walked through the doors of Health Care for the Homeless to ask for help. She worked with nurses, therapists, dentists and more over the last few years to build up her health and get back on her feet.
Athena still doesn't have a place to call home, but she remains optimistic. She's using her experience and new leadership role on our board to make real change for others. She looks forward to educating policymakers about the realities of homelessness, especially among women and members of the LGBTQ community.
"It's a sense of pure joy and bliss to educate people," Athena says. "If I can lessen the load for someone else, then there's purpose for my experience."
More Recent News
After a year of serving as Practice Manager of West Baltimore, Alkema Jackson is moving into the new role of Director of Practice Operations, Community Sites! She joined Health Care for the Homeless in 2022 as the Client Access Project Coordinator, collaborating across departments to help more people connect to agency services, and in 2023, she received a Core Value Award for Hope. Read on to learn more about Alkema’s approach to this new position…
Meet Christana Greene, our new Director of Compliance! With more than five years in the compliance field—most recently as Senior Quality and Patient Safety Specialist at GBMC Healthcare—Chrissy brings frontline insight to the role. She began her career as a medical assistant, gaining firsthand experience in what it takes to keep care safe and operations running smoothly. In her new role, Chrissy is focused on building a compliance culture grounded in safety, integrity and accountability. Read on to learn more about Chrissy...
Baltimore gets dangerously cold, and too many of our neighbors are out there.Here are three simple things you can do to make a difference in someone’s life this winter.
Meet Lolita Wright, a mother and caregiver. Lolita is never leaving Baltimore. She shares her parents' love of music and determination.