Martin and Kathryn's Family
Martin and I had our first child a year after we got married. When our oldest son was one year old we decided we were going to try to have another one. Genevieve was born almost 2 years to the day after Sebastian was born. We started saving for a house and we had a full family, we had a boy and a girl and things were good to go. Then when Genevieve was ten months old God blessed us with another child which was a surprise, and I got very sick. I had liver failure, I was in and out of the hospital and we couldn't pay bills, my husband couldn't go to work. It was a hard time, a very hard time. We would have been kicked out. We were within a month of being on the street. We would have either had to move in with family members or live in housing that may not have been very safe for our family, and we really wanted to stay on our own. At the time there was a two year waiting list in order to get into housing through the government, subsidized housing. I went through the phone book and looked for anybody I could find who could help us, and the Housing Partnership told us they had an opening. We interviewed and within two weeks we were moving into a home where we could afford to pay the rent.
We have been able to apply for the Habitat for Humanity program. We have been accepted and we are in the process of planning for a future home for our family and we will be building in about three months. So, we have the opportunity now to have our own home and a dream come true for us. Huge, great to be in our own home. Had we been in a regular apartment during this time it would have been a lot more difficult to reach the goals that we needed to reach in order to get and to have the time and flexibility to get the things done and the qualifications for Habitat for Humanity. Housing Partnership has also been very helpful in talking with Habitat for Humanity, letting them know that we're good renters, that kind of thing. It's definitely helped along in the process. The Housing Partnership gave us a huge safety net.
Tammy
Tammy came to the Housing Partnership as a 30-something mother of two teenagers. She was struggling with finding a permanent, safe and affordable home. She had a section 8 voucher but gave it up for a shared housing opportunity. She was then forced to move from one of her residences due to a mold problem. Tammy and her daughter always had to share a room because there was never enough space. After she moved to a shared residence with a family, she had financial and domestic violence issues and was forced to move again, this time to Harbor House. She is continually working with living with a mental illness. Transportation has been an issue for accessing area services, especially services for her children.
She found out about the Housing Partnership when the Housing Partnership's case manager visited Harbor House. Tammy applied for assistance and qualified for a three bedroom apartment, allowing her daughter to have her own room for the first time! This was pretty important for a thirteen year old! Not only did she receive affordable, safe housing but the Housing Partnership also helped her in other areas of her life. Tammy was able to get current on her utility bills and establish and stick to a budget. She was really thankful for the time staff took to do home visits to counsel Tammy and her children. The Housing Partnership helped her access other community services. She was able to get consistent transportation. Her daughter was REALLY excited because they found out about an opportunity to get a pool pass (where her daughter ended up spending most of the summer). Being in a safe environment helped her son concentrate on other areas of his life, school, making friends, and getting involved in some other activities like robotics.
Tammy graduated from the Transitional Housing Program in August and obtained a Section 8 voucher.