shelter&stability
Fall
2019
News from Willis Dady Homeless Services
From Shelter to Stability
Christina: It’s OK to ask for Help
Each issue of our newsletter features a recent client success story. Generous gifts from donors like you make it possible for these success stories to take place. Thank you so much. Homelessness is not selective it affects veterans, individuals from all walks of life, and families. Families like Christina and her three children. In 2016, Christina lived in her own apartment. Her children had somewhere to lay their heads and a place to call home. Not long after she had moved in, she found out there was a terrible pest infestation. For some time, Christina attempted to work with her landlord to eliminate the problem. However, her landlord was not willing to use professional pest control and the infestation persisted.
Eventually, Christina was forced to give up her residence in accordance with section 8 tenant rules. She did not have the option to move to another house or apartment and so, was forced to spend a couple of nights in her brother’s truck while her children stayed with their grandparents.
Christina knew she could not stay in her brother’s truck forever—she reached out for help and moved in with a friend. What she hoped would be short-term, “turned into a few nights and then months.” During her time at her friend’s house, Christina was miserable and struggled with missing her children. In the effort to reunite with her children, Christina found herself in a court custody battle with her children’s grandparents. When the judge ruled that Christina's children belonged in her custody, she saw another opportunity to seek help.
She sought out organizations for support and used their tools to the best of her abilities. In a final attempt to find stable housing, Christina contacted Willis Dady. When she sat down with the case manager, she told her story - explaining that all she wanted was her family under one roof where her children could have the freedom and safety they deserved. Christina walked in the front doors determined to receive the help she sought. She did the work herself. When asked to do a task like look through a landlord list or call around for housing, she did the task thoroughly. Christina struggled for 3 years but she never gave up. She asked family, she asked friends, and she asked us. We answered.
Christina, Allison, and Zachary hanging their key in our front lobby to celebrate getting into a new apartment.
Asking for help can be difficult for all of us, including our clients. Christina’s perseverance proves that asking for help is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength. Tammy Mims, Case Manager
Willis Dady’s vision is to empower clients to break the cycle of homelessness and become self-sufficient. 1
