At this time last year, Brandy Hill was homeless and living in a tent in the woods in Ann Arbor with her boyfriend, Steven, and their dog, Bastian.
It wasn't an easy life, but for Hill, a 38-year-old Iowa native, it was better than the one she escaped back home.
"I was in a very abusive relationship," she said. "And my husband, soon to be ex husband, he beat me so bad that the back of my head was torn open. Now because of that, I have seizures. I have PTSD. Sometimes I'll stutter.
"That's part of the reason why I joined the carnival and left Iowa, and traveled and ended up here in Ann Arbor -- to get away from him, to get away from it all."
Hill's seizures were taking a toll last year, so she left her traveling carnival job with her boyfriend, who had family from Ann Arbor and knew of resources here.
Though her boyfriend had been homeless off and on for years, living in a tent in Ann Arbor from June 2014 until this February was a new experience for Hill.
"It was summertime, so we figured, 'OK, we can live in the tent. We'll be fine.' Well, summertime came and went, and then it was wintertime," Hill said.
"It would get so cold," she said. "Some anonymous person donated a big heater for us because it was us two and the puppy. Even with the heater ... we were still freezing.
"Actually, that's when I got really sick and got frostbit so bad, I don't have feeling left in my left foot."
During one of last winter's snow storms, they stayed a weekend with a friend and later found their tent collapsed. Hill said they lost everything.
On many days, they at least had a warm place to stay during the day thanks to a new daytime warming center that rotated to different churches.
Hill worked as a volunteer at the center through the nonprofit group MISSION. It was one of the few warm places they were welcome with their dog.
"Everybody loved him," she said. "We would sit at the table and have people sign in or sign the rules sheets, and he would sit right underneath the table with us and he'd greet them. I would volunteer pretty much every single day."
That was until February when Hill came down with pneumonia. MISSION board member Peggy Lynch opened her home to the couple so Hill could recover.
By then, they had received the good news: As part of Washtenaw County's initiative to end chronic homelessness, Hill and her boyfriend were being accepted into Miller Manor, one of Ann Arbor's recently renovated affordable housing buildings.
As of May, they and their 2-year-old dog now have a roof over their heads in a one-bedroom apartment just west of downtown on Miller Avenue.
Beth Yaroch, the Ann Arbor Housing Commission's residency manager, said 45 chronically homeless people have moved into newly renovated apartments at Miller Manor since this spring, many of them after living outside for years.
There also are newly renovated apartments for 15 homeless veterans with onsite supportive services.
"It's been kind of an amazing process," Yaroch said, adding it's been a life-changing event for many of the building's new tenants. "There are a lot of folks who -- just having a safe, decent, affordable place to live -- it's amazing how different they are in a relatively short period of time, and how differently they describe their life."
One of Hill's favorite parts is having a balcony overlooking West Park. She enjoys taking her dog for walks in the park and listening to concerts at the bandshell.
"We got to hear the concerts over the summer, and the little plays that kids put on at the end of the school year. It was cute," she said.
As of a couple months ago, Hill also has a job. She's now working 40 to 48 hours a week as a clerk at a convenience store.
"It's exciting," she said. "It's exciting to know that everything -- all the puzzle pieces are falling together."
She's thankful for the manager who took a chance on her and overlooked the fact that she had been homeless and hadn't worked in over a year.
Hill said her days are long now. When she's not working, she's often volunteering at the MISSION mercy house, where she's now a board member.
MISSION's mercy house provides the homeless with a place to do laundry, grab a bite to eat, shower, pick up camping supplies, and connect with other resources.
Hill said it's her way of giving back.
"The day after we got here a year ago, we got hooked up through the mercy house and MISSION, and they were there for support," she said. "They're good people."
Hill said she also has appreciated the support she has received from the staff at Miller Manor who've helped with the transition.
As of this month, all 106 apartments in Miller Manor have been renovated by the Housing Commission in partnership with a private investor using low-income housing tax credits. Renovations are still to come for the TV lounge and a new art studio at Miller Manor, and other Housing Commission properties are being renovated and redeveloped as well.
The Housing Commission has received grant funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to fund an array of new supportive services at Miller Manor in cooperation with Avalon Housing, including everything from case workers to support groups, and more community activities and food assistance.
"With the service support onsite now, we've brought in a ton of programming that has benefited everybody in the building, not just the homeless folks," Yaroch said. "You know, there's a free hot lunch every Tuesday for everybody in the building. There's food programs to bring in supplements for what people have."
Molly Smith, Miller Manor services team leader with Avalon Housing, said the availability of support services around the clock, seven days a week, has been a huge positive change for the Miller Manor community.
"We've gotten a lot of good feedback from tenants, staff and community partners about how things feel more safe and secure, how we are building a sense of community, and how people's physical and mental health is improving," she said.
"Transitioning from homelessness to housing can be challenging for people, and we are grateful and excited to help people achieve real long-term stability."
Yaroch noted there is a 24-hour staff presence in the building now, and a new front desk setup. Guests must show a photo ID and check in and out -- an added security measure that Yaroch said makes tenants feel safer.
"That's just the culture of the building now," she said, adding she believes it has helped prevent problems and gives tenants a place to turn when there are problems.
"Including staff on site all the time allows us to house folks who have more issues, who are at higher risk of homelessness, than we were able to do previously," she added.
"These are a lot of folks with a lot of issues. Many health issues, many mental health issues, many substance abuse issues -- a combination of a lot of things."
Tenants of Miller Manor pay 30 percent of their income on rent and the balance is covered by HUD.
Yaroch doesn't expect there to be much turnover in Miller Manor for a while, though she said there's a definite need for more affordable housing in Ann Arbor.
"The list of people that need housing is huge," she said. "I mean, we could do six Miller Manors and still have folks out there that need housing."
As part of the county's Zero:2016 initiative to end chronic homelessness by the end of 2016 and veteran homelessness by the end of 2015, 106 chronically homeless people were housed from January through October, while 143 veterans were housed. Based on targeted goals, that left 15 chronically homeless people to be housed by the end of next year, and 10 veterans to be housed yet this year.
Yaroch said some of Miller Manor's tenants who had been homeless for years have had a difficult time making the transition.
"There are still a number of folks who choose to sleep on a sleeping bag in the living room because they haven't gotten used to sleeping on a bed yet," she said.
Hill said her boyfriend is one of those people. She said they also have been leaving their patio door open at night because they're used to feeling cool air.
"We're still trying to adjust. From being in a tent to here is a very big difference," she said. "You get so used to being outside, you don't know how to be inside again."
As she reflects on where she's at this time compared to last year, Hill is thankful to live in Miller Manor, especially with winter arriving.
"I know I'm going to stay warm. I'm not going to be cold this winter," she said.
Hill has two children -- 17-year-old son Isaiah, who lives in Iowa, and 19-year-old daughter Ashlie, who lives in Florida.
Her daughter had twin girls this year.
"Now I'm trying to get my daughter and my grand babies here. I think she'd be happy here," Hill said. "She would have a better life up here."
Ryan Stanton covers the city beat for The Ann Arbor News. Reach him at ryanstanton@mlive.com.