As the holidays approached a few years ago, Felicia was eight months pregnant and living in her car with her two boys, ages three and four. The family became homeless when she was forced out of her apartment due to mold and mildew infestation. Her landlord paid for the family to stay at a hotel for a few months, but that had run out, and she hadn’t yet found a place she could afford.
“It was just me and my kids in a car,” says Felicia. “I felt helpless. I didn’t know what to do. Some days we didn’t have anything to eat. I was putting all our money into gas, trying to go to different friends’ houses, to get somewhere warm.”
Through our Homeless to Housing program, Community Link social workers helped Felicia find a new rental home for her family. A temporary rental subsidy gave her the breathing room she needed to get back on her feet.
But that’s not all. Financial literacy training helped her with budgeting. And a social worker visited two or three times a month to provide Felicia with a lifeline of support.
After the birth of her baby (a girl) Felicia was able to find employment. When Felicia’s time in our Homeless to Housing program ended Felicia and her children were able to stay in their home, minimizing additional disruption for the family.
Today, life for Felicia is far from easy. She works two jobs, a third shift and a first shift.
“I get to work at 10:00 and get off about 6:30 or 7:00 in the morning,” says Felicia.
“From there I go home and get my kids off to school, and then I’m at my next job at 11:30. I get off at 4:30 that afternoon. I go home, make sure the kids are situated, try to take a nap for a minute, then I’m back at work again at 10:00.”
Despite her daily marathon, Felicia has hope for the future. “Community Link gave me the tools to make the right decisions with my budget,” she says. “I don’t worry so much anymore.”