Last year, Jasmine, at 8 years old, was asked to write her Christmas wish list. She only had one thing on her mind. “I want a house,” she wrote. Jasmine, her mom, and her siblings had been without a place to call their own since she was 5 years old.
This year with a tremendous amount of hard work, determination and faith, Jasmine’s mom, and new stepfather persevered. Jasmine’s wish came true. The family moved into a beautiful 4-bedroom home with a trampoline in the backyard in October. Getting to that day involved some special help from Families Together, our partners, and a little “Christmas” magic.
The family’s challenges with housing began in 2018 when Jasmine’s parents separated. Jasmine’s mother, Mrs. T., had been a stay-at-home mom for 13 years. When she and her kids left their home, she only took the necessities and moved in with her aunt temporarily. She got a job working in a hotel and focused on trying to support her family.
Mrs. T. says the experience was very traumatic for her and her kids. It took a toll. She realized to truly take care of her kids, she needed to be well herself, so she sought assistance.
Throughout this time, Mrs. T. was guided by the words of Winston Churchill, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” She says in hard times, you must find a way to “turn a negative into a positive.” She kept a smile on her face and stayed hopeful for her kids. But she felt the judgment of others. People had a lot of advice, especially regarding her teenage son who is severely autistic, non-verbal, and not potty trained. Some suggested she should give him up but that would never be under consideration for Mrs. T. At these times, she was grateful to be in the church. She says, “there’s a peace I receive.”
With therapy and assistance from different organizations, she was able to focus in a new way on herself and her kids. She learned about self-care, practiced affirmations, and centered her faith in God.
She moved her family into her mother’s apartment in a public housing complex while she refined herself and learned how to be more resourceful. As COVID-19 spread worldwide, she researched and studied to gain as much knowledge as she could. A long-time friendship with a man named Mr. J. turned into more. They began dating and eventually became engaged. They set their sights on buying a house. But they had a lot to line up to achieve that goal. Mrs. T. wanted to get out of the public housing because it wasn’t safe but their applications for rental housing were denied repeatedly.
Mrs. T. and Mr. J. decided a temporary stay in an apartment hotel while they found a house to buy, was their best option. They had a realtor, a pre-qualification letter from a bank and were told it shouldn’t take long. It was the summer of 2021. At first, it seemed like a vacation with a pool for the kids. But they had no housing rights, and the apartment hotels could tell them to move out at a moment’s notice and they did. The family bounced from apartment hotel to apartment hotel for 8 months exhausting all their emergency savings.
One day, Mrs. T. found a resource flyer posted about The Carying Place. She reached out, made contact, and eventually got accepted into their transitional housing program. Mrs. T. and Mr. J. got married and all the while, Mr. J and Mrs. T worked on their goal to buy a house.
They were approved for a four-month stay in The Carying Place. They built up their savings, gained financial literacy training, and were referred to Families Together for rapid rehousing support. They were connected to a Families Together mentor advocate named Meredith. Mrs. T. says Meredith has done anything and everything to help them find resources while the FT team worked on a housing solution for the family. But finding rental housing was a challenge in this market, especially because their blended family had blossomed to have two parents with four children and one adult child living in another household. As a result, the family endured four more months of living out of apartment hotels, as well as carpooling three school-age children to three different schools with a toddler. Families Together made a pledge for several of these weeks to pay the apartment hotels on their behalf.
Finally, that magical moment was about to occur. A Families Together Board Member named Marcella was having coffee with her friend Natalie. Natalie shared that she had a house that she was going to sell but she’d rather see it go to help someone in need. Marcella was in the right place at the right time. She quickly contacted Families Together to see if there was a family that might be a good fit for Natalie’s large house. The immediate answer came back … Yes! Mrs. T. and Mr. J. signed the lease and received keys to their home in October.
The family and Natalie have since bonded. Mr. J. has been fixing up the house putting his power washing business to work to make it sparkle. Meredith is providing the family with specialized case management along with clothing including, coats, socks, and shoes, and food, household supplies, car repair, bookbags, and school supplies. FT partner The Green Chair Project provided furnishings and bedding. The FT Financial Empowerment and Employment team is working with Mrs. T. and Mr. J. to help them improve their financial stability and achieve goals as they work toward long-term housing success, including their dream to buy a house.
Mr. J and Mrs. T. say their kids are very happy and she is so appreciative that there are places like Families Together that want to ensure families can stay together and put a stable roof overhead, as well as establish a firm foundation for them to unite as a family with multiple children.
Mrs. T. notes there are many other people in this global tripledemic (of COVID-19, flu, and RSV) just like her going through the same trials and tribulations. She says, [they] “can be encouraged by remembering to dream big and that you can do it, you can have it and you owe you to educate yourself and your family with the skills to survive any turbulence or trauma that may arise.” Mrs. T. is very, very grateful for the house and for all the people who made it possible.
Thanks to these efforts, Jasmine and her family will celebrate this Christmas in their own home for the first time in four years.
