How Two Women Built a Haven Where Hope Has an Address
Every day, the doors open before the stories arrive. A mother carrying everything she owns. A woman escaping abuse. A senior with nowhere else to go. Someone simply looking for a place where they will be treated like they matter.
That place is The Third Place QC.
Founded by Cloey Miller and Christie Adamson, The Third Place QC was created to bridge the gap between crisis and stability for people experiencing homelessness. Before opening, the two women carefully researched the needs of their community and expected to welcome about 40 guests each week.
They quickly discovered a need far greater than they had imagined.
More than 100 people began arriving every day–forcing Cloey and Christie to rethink almost immediately how The Third Place QC would operate.
“We realized within the first couple of weeks that we were open that we were going to have to make some pretty quick changes to accommodate what was really a very hidden need in our community,” Christie said.
Among those guests are women whose homelessness often began long before they lost housing. Many have survived domestic violence, exploitation, trafficking, addiction, untreated mental illness, or years of trauma.
And Cloey and Christie want people to understand that homelessness is only one chapter of their lives, not their entire story.
“The people who are experiencing homelessness, especially women, have raised children, have grandparents that they think fondly of, have a favorite meal that they like to cook,” Christie said. “They are not the totality of this one experience in their life. In fact, they have deep, rich stories to tell about themselves if people would just sit down and listen.”
What Safety Looks Like
Before someone can rebuild a life, they first need a place where they feel safe.
At The Third Place QC, guests find showers, meals, laundry facilities, referrals, healthcare connections, housing advocacy, and perhaps most importantly, people who know their names and believe their stories.
For Christie, one simple scene captures what that safety can mean.
“One of the most visible examples of when a woman feels safe here at The Third Place QC is when they sit down on our couch in our living room and fall asleep, even when there are 15 other people in there,” she said. “The ability to take a deep breath and actually relax for the first time is what safety looks like for the women who come here.”
That sense of safety can become the first step toward something much bigger.
One woman had been chronically homeless in the community for more than a decade. Untreated mental illness and trauma made it difficult for her to navigate traditional services, and over the years she had been barred from many of the very places designed to help her.
Even before The Third Place QC officially opened, she slept on the building’s front steps. As Cloey and Christie prepared the center, she began helping them clean and organize. Once the doors opened, she returned every day.
Slowly, something changed.
She made friends. Other guests became protective of her. She regained access to transportation and healthcare services that had previously been difficult for her to use.
And on the day of this interview, she was looking at an apartment. After more than 10 years of chronic homelessness, she was taking steps toward having a home.
“She’s very much someone that our community had completely and entirely written off,” Christie said. “It requires the alternative approach that we take here for her to feel enough safety and support and community … to take the next step forward. We’re really proud of her.”
Creating Capacity for the Next Step
This year, Royal Neighbors of America honored The Third Place QC with a$20,000 Nation of Neighbors℠ grant.
The funding will help support a new Operations & Resource Coordinator, while also providing assistance with basic needs, supplies, and transportation.
The additional capacity matters because the barriers facing someone experiencing homelessness can be surprisingly practical, yet potentially life-altering.
Christie shared the example of a woman escaping domestic violence whose wound became infected while she was unhoused. She needed a daily antibiotic infusion at the hospital, but simply getting there at the same time every day became an enormous obstacle. The Resource Coordinator has been working to organize volunteers who can provide transportation when the bus is unavailable or missed.
It is precisely the kind of gap The Third Place QC was created to fill.
The grant also gives Cloey and Christie something they desperately need: more capacity to run an organization that grew from an anticipated 40 guests per week to as many as 140 in a day.
For two women who built The Third Place QC from the ground up, receiving the Nation of Neighbors recognition during their first year was particularly meaningful.
“We’re both completely blown away by receiving this grant and award,” Christie said. “It is incredibly inspiring to know that there are other organizations out there that understand the work that we’re doing and value it in the same way that we do. And obviously, it’s particularly special to us since Royal Neighbors is in our backyard.”
More Than Survival
Ask Cloey what the women they serve have taught her about resilience, and she describes a strength most people never see.
Despite sexual assault, domestic violence, trafficking, and the vulnerabilities of living on the street, she sees women return day after day—trying to make appointments, access mental health care and build a future.
“They just have a strength that is unimaginable for the rest of us,” Cloey said. “Every day they come back … and continue trying to build a future for themselves, even under those extremely difficult circumstances.”
Ask Christie what every woman who walks through their doors deserves, and her answer is simple: “Community.”
“Every woman who walks through our doors deserves a loving, supportive community around them … and dignity within that community.”
That is the heart of The Third Place QC.
A place to feel safe. A place to be known. A place to belong. And, perhaps most importantly, a place to believe that tomorrow can be different.