Gloria Linneweh, who was homeless until a few months ago, stands on the balcony of her new apartment Thursday. She was one of the valley's first homeless to benefit from an intensive new program to fight "chronic" homelessness. Photo by Clint Karlsen.

Gloria Linneweh isn't the type you'd expect to find huddled nightly beneath a thin blanket on the concrete behind some office building.

"I was not your normal homeless person," the grandmotherly Linneweh said by way of explanation. "I always lived in a nice home. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I'd end up homeless."

But after the death of her husband and a few rounds of bad luck, Linneweh did, in fact, find herself homeless, off and on, for years. Until just a few months ago, the 58-year-old former waitress spent her nights on the concrete and her days hanging out at local parks, eating bologna sandwiches handed out by strangers and washing her hair in public bathrooms.

Then, one day, she was rescued.

"They said, 'Somebody will be picking you up at the park at 4 o'clock,'" she said with a smile. "They checked me into a weekly (motel). I didn't know what to do or what they wanted from me."

Turns out "they" just wanted to help. Linneweh had become one of the first of the valley's homeless to benefit from a pioneering coalition of local nonprofit organizations designed to get "chronic" homeless people off the streets for good.

The nonprofits joined ranks last year after the Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition's Committee on Homelessness agreed to give them about $4 million in state funds toward fighting homelessness. So far, service providers say, the comprehensive program's success has been overwhelming.

"Oh my gosh. How do I even describe it?" Terrie Stanfill, executive director of HELP of Southern Nevada, said of the program's accomplishments. "We all knew that if we just had the right partners and funding, we could make a difference. I don't think we had any idea how successful we would be in such a short time."

So far, about 240 of the valley's chronic homeless -- those who have been living on the street at least a year or have been homeless four or more times in the past three years -- have been admitted to the program. About 150 have remained active and nearly 90 of those are now in housing.

That may not seem like much considering there are an estimated 8,000 local homeless people. But that high of a retention rate is "huge for chronic homeless individuals," Shannon West, regional homeless coordinator, told the homelessness committee earlier this month.

That's because although the chronically homeless may make up a small percentage of the valley's homeless population, they use up a large percentage of public resources. Also, special circumstances make it particularly difficult to treat the chronically homeless.

"They don't get served for years," said Linda Lera-Randle El, director of the nonprofit organization Straight from the Streets. "That's why they're chronic. People don't understand the level of involvement with a population like this."

Outreach workers visit homeless encampments and parks to recruit the chronically homeless, who often are reluctant to seek treatment.

"We just keep coming back," Lera-Randle El said.

The workers have to practice "intensive case management" for each chronic homeless person, she said. That can include getting them drug treatment, counseling, medication and job placement, along with housing.

"We have to monitor them morning to night. It limits our ability to take on masses of people."

In Linneweh's case, it meant securing housing and undergoing job counseling to get her ready to re-enter the work force. After years without proper health care, she finally got back on medication for her epilepsy. She still needs extensive dental work.

Stanfill said 15 to 22 homeless people are assigned to each caseworker, a large number for the intensive work required.

"These individuals wouldn't be chronically homeless if they had it together," she said. "They have to be assessed for mental health and substance abuse. They have to take parenting classes. You can't just hand them a piece of paper and say, 'Can you set up an appointment?' The caseworker has to physically take these clients to all of these places."

The workers "ride around all day making sure people get to appointments," Lera-Randle El said.

"It's unheard of with a population that sometimes doesn't want to go to these appointments. It's a lot of pushing, pulling and shoving. I think it's well worth it."

Joining forces allowed the participating organizations to share information and service providers, saving valuable time and money, Stanfill said.

"I didn't have to hire a psychiatrist because Mojave Mental Health has that," she said. "The Salvation Army are the experts on substance abuse, so they fill that component. It's saving the community money."

Other agencies in the coalition include the Center for Independent Living, U.S. Vets and the Jewish Family Service Agency.

Forming a coalition provided a second, unexpected benefit, Stanfill said: making friends of valley service providers who haven't always played nice together and occasionally engage in "turf wars."

"I've never seen anything like this. Everybody is asking, 'What can I do?' 'Can I take your client over there?'"

Lera-Randle El agreed that the level of cooperation is unprecedented.

"You don't see the camaraderie among agencies that we are noticing now," she said. "We are able to pick up the phone and get appointments within days."

Dr. Fred Gillis, director of the Center for Independent Living, an organization that works with homeless youths, said the coalition "eliminated the territorial stuff."

"We collaborate more," he said. "Instead of fighting for money we share funding. Everybody's on the same page, with a common goal."

That common goal is to finally get people like Linneweh back on her feet and into long-term housing. Now living in her own one-bedroom apartment and about to begin a job search, she serves as one of the coalition's early success stories.

"She has the desire," Lera-Randle El said. "She's intelligent and motivated. She doesn't seem like the type of person who is committed to homelessness."

Linneweh said she's going to do all she can to stay off the streets.

"I've got a chance," she said, wiping away tears. "I've got a nice little place and I can make a nice little life for myself. If I don't do this right, I may as well wrap it up and be the old lady walking the street. I swear I'm going to make it this time."