A Fairytale Romance
Samaritan House residents plan for their dream wedding

In less than one month, long time partners and Samaritan House residents Chalk and Melanie will make it official. As winter makes way for spring, they will get married after more than sixteen years of partnership.

“It’s the wedding I’ve always wanted,” beams Melanie, who is 36 years old. “It’s a fairytale come true.” Her fiancé, Chalk, who is 40, agrees that life is much richer with their newfound perspective, after coming to Samaritan House.

“I used to look forward to my next fix,” says Chalk, now sober for more than six months. “Now, I look forward to living. There was a time when, even if I had thousands of dollars, it didn’t mean anything. This is a whole lot better way to live.” He believes that his craving for drugs would have ultimately led to his death, had it not been for Melanie.

Chalk and Melanie have been together on and off since 1990. They used drugs together and lived a very difficult life, while somehow managing to stick with one another. Melanie was diagnosed with HIV in 1991, and although Chalk was sure he was also positive, he did not get tested until more than ten years later. Melanie has been fortunate that her natural immune system, combined with self-care, has allowed her to continue to live without daily medication to this point.

Chalk is not as fortunate.

Their only time apart was during an eight-year period when Chalk was in jail. For the entire time, both of them stayed clean, and Melanie waited faithfully for Chalk to be released. However, the allure of street life was too great, and both fell back into their old habits after he came home. It was not until Chalk was hospitalized one of many times that he realized he was at the point of making a critical life-or-death decision.

“I had a temperature of 106,” he says. “Until then, I had not been willing to admit that drugs were killing me.” Finally, he agreed to get tested for HIV, with the understanding that no one in his family could learn of his results. Against his will, Chalk’s mother learned of his status, causing heated conflict. Still both he and Melanie agree that having family understand their situation is better overall.

“The worst thing is how differently they treat you,” says Chalk. “Every time I sneeze or bang my finger, they’re asking me if I’m all right.”

Melanie’s mother had a different reaction. “I sat her down and told her, and all she said was ‘is that it?’ I had wanted to keep it a secret, but after I told her, it was like a weight was lifted.”

It has only been in the last few years that Melanie has had any contact with her family. She ran away from home when she was fifteen, and it was her brother who recognized her walking down the street. Her brother has since committed suicide, but not before reuniting Melanie with her mother. She says they are now quite close, and that they see each other several times a year.

At first, Chalk was resistant to the idea of getting help at Samaritan House. “When Melanie went in to get an application and take a tour the first time,” he says, “I stayed outside. He was still struggling with his drug addiction, although Melanie had been clean for a few years.

“Now, I’m much healthier,” he explains, “and I don’t even have the urge to use anymore. Before, it was the only way to live. Melanie would tell me I was her second choice, and now, I understand what she meant.”

Chalk has regained his health, and he and Melanie work their recovery programs together. They find pleasure in encouraging new residents, and they find strength in one another as they move toward their future as a married couple. “I dream ten years ahead,” Chalk says, smiling. Melanie likes to be a little more pragmatic, living one day at time.

“First we are going to work on getting our own apartment through the Genesis Program (Samaritan House’s off-site rental assistance program). Then we’ll see about a house someday, and eventually we’d like to offer my mother a place to stay with us.”

Chalk believes that without Melanie’s love and encouragement, he would not be alive. Instead, they are now one another’s inspiration, leading each other toward a future filled with hope and possibility. “I’ve learned to hold on, to never give up hope,” says Chalk. “I see people who come here, depressed and angry, and I know what they are going through. But it can be better. You just can’t give up.”

“This is my dream come true,” Melanie says. “I’m going to have the wedding I have always imagined. It makes you realize that fairytales really can happen in real life.”

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