Three days after her birthday on Jan. 27, the 53-year-old moved into her new two-bedroom apartment in Fort Walton Beach. She said she wakes up every morning so thankful to the people who made her birthday wish come true.

By Heather Osbourne | 315-4440 | @heatheronwfdn | hosbourne@nwfdailynews.com

FORT WALTON BEACH — Elena Smith was helping an injured homeless man search for coins up and down U.S. Highway 98 when a stranger pulled off on the side of the road.

The driver offered Smith, who was also living on the streets, an invitation to dinner and some life-changing advice.

“You don’t belong here,” he told her.

“I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ ” Smith recalled with a laugh. “I went with him to dinner and just stayed. I was homeless before I met my husband. I met him and then I wasn’t homeless anymore.”

That was 17 years ago. They were married for four years until he passed away in 2014.

By December 2015, Smith was homeless again. She said pending medical bills and mental illness forced her to sell her home.

Despite her circumstances, the first words her husband said to her are still true today. Smith didn’t belong on the streets, and she was determined to do everything she could to have a home of her own again.

“Everyday things were difficult during that time,” Smith said. “I was living in the woods in Destin behind the Winn-Dixie. I had no way to wash my clothes. Not having a restroom at your disposal is hard. I didn’t have anything to keep food cold. Personal hygiene was an issue.

“I just prayed a lot.”

Desperate, Smith reached out to local organizations — the Others of Destin, Hope Medical Clinic and Destin United Methodist Church — for help.

She was directed to the Homelessness and Housing Alliance and signed up for the Bridgeway Center’s Independent Living Program.

“My biggest concern was getting on the bus and going to my Bridgeway appointments,” Smith said. “I didn’t just lay around, I put my two feet forward.”

Three days after her birthday on Jan. 27, the 53-year-old moved into her new two-bedroom apartment in Fort Walton Beach. She said she wakes up every morning so thankful to the people who made her birthday wish come true.

“Who could really ask for more?” Smith said. “I’m just blown away that I have this again. I never thought it was possible. I just thought, ‘Your husband is dead. That’s it. You’re done.’  I’ve just had the greatest support system through this whole process.”

On Thursday, Smith will spend Thanksgiving in her home surrounded by her neighbors and friends. She said she plans to spend the rest of her life paying forward the generosity she was shown.

“In today’s economy, everyone is three paychecks away from being homeless,” Smith said. “Not everyone out there is out there because they want to stay drunk and lay in the woods all day. There are plenty of people who want this opportunity.

“I know that I’m at the last stretch of my life. I just love the serenity that I have now, of knowing I’m going to be okay. It’s through the grace of God and every organization who helped me; it’s because of them.”