But to Douglas and her daughters, Alexandra, 7, and Carmela, 3, the chipped and tired-looking angel has been their "patron saint of adventure."

No matter where they've had to stay, from the women's shelter in Western North Carolina to the tent at Jordan Lake, their patron saint has gone along, hanging from a window latch or a rear-view mirror.

Douglas never dreamed she'd need such a thing.

A graduate of N.C. State, she was working as a molecular biochemical specialist for Hoffmann-LaRoche when her troubles began. She was a single parent, but she was pulling down more than $100,000 a year. She owned a home on the greenway in Cary, in a pool-and-tennis community. She employed a nanny and a yard man.

Ironically, she and her older daughter used to volunteer with the Wake Interfaith Homeless Network, which gives homeless families temporary shelter at local churches while helping them get back on their feet.

"People think they are insulated," she said. "I thought I was insulated. I had a great job. I had a house. I had insurance."

But about five years ago, Douglas got sick. Not long after, she got involved with the wrong man.

The details are painful. Suffice it to say that within two years, she had no job, had lost her home to foreclosure and had a second daughter who is developmentally delayed.

She was finally diagnosed with a primary immune deficiency disease; she still suffers seizures and tremors, and needs transfusions every 21 days.

She and the girls bounced around. A church member. An old neighbor. The tent. A roach-infested dive.

At the last stop, her doctor told her, "If you stay in this environment, you will die."

But the shelters were full. And Douglas had tapped every resource she knew.

"There was no room at the inn," she said. "We were going to be on the street living in the car."

That's when the Alliance of Disability Advocates came to the rescue, connecting Douglas with a joint state and federal program that is simple and effective.

Under a federal incentive program, developers get tax credits for building affordable housing. Under a state program that's quickly becoming a national model, 10 percent of that housing is dedicated, or targeted, to people with disabilities.

For Douglas and her girls, all of the bureaucratic details translated to a brand-new apartment in North Raleigh earlier this month.

It has two bedrooms and one bath, and is handicapped accessible so, for example, Douglas can sit on a stool while preparing food. The subsidized rent: $350 a month.

"I'm more excited about this than I was about buying my house in Cary," Douglas said.

Within days of moving in, Douglas had decked the place out with whatever Christmas gear she was able to keep from her former life, including elves that swing from the overhead fan.

On the Christmas tree hangs a cheap dime-store ornament, an angel with flowing hair, playing the harp.

Against all odds, the patron saint of adventure has found a home.

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