Congratulations to Juliette and her daughter for ending their homeless situation by getting into a place of their own today. We built a budget with her and after she found a rental that she could afford, we were happy to help her with the security deposit. Read their story below:
Dear OTS,
On March 7, 2018 my daughter and I left our home due to domestic abuse. The abuse was unbearable and I felt safer leaving my home than staying under the same roof as my baby’s father. We sought refuge at Human Options Domestic Violence Shelter where we stayed about 3 weeks. During our stay at Human Options I was able to receive help from Social Services and began receiving Cash Aid (CalWorks) and CalFresh (food stamps). After Human Options we have stayed at friend’s houses, sharing bedrooms, sleeping in spare rooms on the floor on a fold up mattress or placing my baby on the sofa while I slept on the floor, sometimes in our car and hotels most of the time. Currently we are staying at a friend’s house while she and her husband are away on vacation. They need their bedroom back. The apartment I have paid to hold will be available for move in on Saturday as well. Just in time.
lt has been a tough experience. I participated in a Work Preparedness program where I was able to secure a job in May. At that time i was offered Rapid Rehousing assistance through Illumination Foundation. This offer ran hand in hand with my Social Services case. On June 27th I was finally able to find an apartment for my daughter and i which finally qualified me. I was unable to qualify in the past months everywhere I looked. It wasn’t until June 25 when I went to court for child support that i was able to prove I’d meet the qualifications with the additional income. Unfortunately the leasing office did not send me my qualification letter until that following Monday on July 2nd when my Social Services case had closed, hence ending the original rapid rehousing offer. I was informed by my social worker to seek immediate assistance from Families Forward who were so kind to give me your contact information. After answering a few questions about my spending I was grateful to have had a volunteer at OTS take the time to build such a helpful budget for me. I will diligently do my best to stick to this budget so I can began building a savings and getting ahead.
I have been able to save up to pay my rent amount but struggled to save up enough to meet the whole amount including the deposit so that is why I turned to you for help as I’ve had other expenses this month such as setting up renters insurance, I started working so I had to buy my car and purchase insurance, I paid my lawyer and bought some clothes for work (all my belongings were left at home which I left due to domestic abuse) So I’ve slowly been piecing my life back together from scratch and feel excited about moving forward with my new home, new job and new life.
I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the amazing help of all these resources that are available to people in my situation and not only were the volunteers at OTS helpful but they are compassionate as well. I can’t wait to get ahead and pay it back in the near future. I am forever grateful.
-Juliette
This family brings our placements this year to 101 and our grand total since we started OTS 4 years ago up to 611. Read more about our charity at OTSHB.COM