Our Families

This family once had a home but fell into financial difficulty during the months of their youngest child’s battle with cancer.  The medical bills were overwhelming as was the despair they felt at the death of their fifth child.  Mr. A lost his job as a truck driver, they struggled to pay their rent, and the family was evicted from their home.  Their only option was to move to a local motel.  This family of six, including four teenagers, lived in one room of a local motel for over two years!  Every dollar Mr. A earned was spent on the motel room and food.  When they struggled to pay for shelter and the bare necessities of life, they contacted their local Society of St. Vincent de Paul for assistance.  Fortunately, The Journey to Housing Program has just been established and they were referred to us.

Today the A family is living in a spacious 3 bedroom, 2 bath mobile home. The landlord agreed to overlook their poor credit score and their history of eviction because they were enlisted in The Journey to Housing Program.  After one year of intense, weekly case management with certified social workers (an integral part of our program), the family became self-sufficient and exited the Program.  Today both parents are employed, and they are planning to purchase a mobile home.   Mr. A has always dreamed of being self-employed.  His enrollment in a college business program will make this dream a reality.

After spending Christmas in one room of a local motel with her husband and 4 children, Mrs. B said that having a home for Easter is “amazing!  We are so happy.  We have so much room.”

On the weekend of February 20th, the B family moved into a 3 bedroom home in Redford, MI.  Their new landlord had attended The Journey to Housing fundraiser the previous November.  She was inspired by the Program’s efforts to give formerly homeless families a second chance and decided to participate in the Program by offering one of her rental homes to the B family.  The B family fell in love with the house the minute they saw it and have already started making it their own.

Like all of the families accepted into The Journey to Housing Program, the B family had fallen on some very hard times.  When Mr. B lost his job, the family defaulted on its rent and was eventually evicted.  Once a family has an eviction notice and a poor credit rating, it becomes extremely difficult to be accepted by other landlords.  But with the backing of St. Vincent de Paul’s Journey to Housing Program, many landlords become more willing to offer these families a chance to regain financial and emotional independence.

With the help of our program, there are many signs that the members of the W family are well on their way to regaining their dignity.  Mrs. W says one of her son’s report cards went from straight E’s to straight A’s once the reality of not being homeless set in.  Mr. W has obtained a full-time job with the Marriott Corporation and Mrs. W works at Home Depot and has plans to apply for a managerial position.

The family exited the program after 18 months, have renegotiated the rental agreement with their landlord and are doing well.