Larry Maielua got kicked out of the homeless shelter known as Pete’s Place in Santa Fe twice and St. Elizabeth Shelter once, all situations he described as his own fault.

After a nasty bout with pneumonia sent him to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center, he was discharged to a medical respite bed at Consuelo’s Place, a homeless shelter on the city of Santa Fe’s midtown campus at 1600 St. Michael’s Drive.

The illness may have been a blessing in disguise because doctors discovered Maielua had a cancerous tumor. If not for that, “most likely, they would have never found out until it was too late,” he said.

Maielua, 59, has been living at Consuelo’s Place for the past eight months while undergoing chemotherapy, which is now complete, and working with a case manager to find stable ho

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