A homeless family's transition from homelessness to housing

Gina is a single mother with three young children, two in elementary school and one in middle school. When Gina's husband abandoned the family in early 2007, they lost not only the emotional support of a father, but also the majority of income coming in to the household. Gina was left alone to care for the girls, as well as to shoulder the burden of significant debts that her husband had accumulated without her knowledge. Gina's part-time job simply was not sufficient to pay the family's basic living expenses, let alone anything extra. Underemployed, with no transportation, Gina felt that she was "beyond crisis." She fell behind in rent payments and the family was evicted from their apartment.

Gina began to realize the need for a safe place where she "could just breathe and regroup and dig myself out of this hole." A friend had mentioned Good Shepherd Center and offered to bring Gina over for a visit to view the shelter and learn more about the kind of assistance offered. She moved the children into a private room at the shelter, meeting other families with children who were also facing challenges but determined to get back on their feet again. With the girls' clothing, food, hygiene, safety, and schooling needs met, Gina was able to focus on finding full-time employment and searching for an affordable apartment. She worked closely with the shelter managers and especially the Case Manager/Housing Specialist, to identify and pursue opportunities. Still, there were challenges. The eldest daughter, emotionally the most distraught over the loss of her father, began to rebel and Gina found it difficult to discipline her in a group setting where she could not even "send her to ‘her room'." Added support from an after-school mentor and counselor helped the child work through some of her feelings and stop lashing out at her mother.

Having found full-time employment within her first weeks at the shelter, Gina focused on paying old debts and saving for a new apartment. By the end of the family's third month at Good Shepherd Center, she had saved almost $700 and secured a commitment from her church to help with a housing payment. After much searching, Gina and the Housing Specialist finally identified an apartment that would be of adequate size for the family, within Gina's new budget, and necessitate only one daughter changing schools. Good Shepherd Center stepped in with $750, matching Gina's savings and an equal payment from the church, creating the $2,250 in first and last month's rent and security deposit necessary to sign the lease. Through Good Shepherd, Gina was able to meet her goal of moving her children to a new place before Christmas. Just three days before the holiday, she obtained the keys to their new apartment.