Today we congratulate Marquita and her daughter for ending their homeless situation and getting into an apartment of their own. We first helped Marquita build a budget then after she found a rental that fit this budget, we were happy to pay their security deposit so they could move in. We will soon be providing this single mom and daughter with much needed furniture and household goods to give them a new fresh start! Read Marquita’s story below:

My unfortunate situation began long before I had to vacate my apartment on October 17, 2017. I had been dealing with roaches and mice for a very long time in the apt. I was living in. My 4 yr old daughter would see bugs and scream. Extremely frustrated, scared, and mostly concerned for myself & my daughter’s health and safety, I made several pleas for the management company to help us. Requested sprays for the bugs were most often delayed and/or ignored. I have a video of mice in my old kitchen. I was at wit’s end. Since they wouldn’t help us, I notified the health dept. and made a report to the Better Business Bureau.I noticed that shortly after the manager gave the required response to BBB, the attitude and staff’s treatment of us became cold. They didn’t want to help or talk to me. 4 months after the reports were made, management gave me a notice to leave. I was not evicted because I always paid my rent, yet was asked to leave! I believe I was retaliated against, even though it’s illegal to retaliate against a tenant demanding decent living conditions. We were now without a place to go. On top of being put out, they didn’t return a dime of my security deposit. My hard earned money….stolen from me. Bogus charges and reasons for taking me and my baby’s money. We left…and since 6 months ago haven’t had a permanent address. We have been living pillow to post. We will stay with a friend or family member sometimes for days or weeks but no one can let us live with them. Our belongings have sat in storage for months…costing money I cant afford. No one has space for us. However, I’m thankful for the temporary and sporadic help so we don’t have to sleep in our car. This has been stressful because my 4 yr old has been asking me things like “Where are we going now?” “Are we going to a new place”? She is super smart and inquisitive. It makes me sad because though she can’t verbalize it…she knows we are unstable. I just don’t want her sad…and I need her safe! I’m a mother first. I love my baby girl.I’m sick of crying over the possibility that a roach or mice could crawl on her. Why do I need help from Off The Streets? Well…quite a few reasons. When you are moving around with no permanent address and receiving mail at a p.o. box, you are indeed homeless. We have no place to call home. It’s been hard to secure a place due to the large $ amount wanted for move in! As a single mom with multiple expenses it’s difficult to get the amount fast and all at once. I’m not asking for a handout, but rather a hand up. I would greatly appreciate the help…any help! I need to get us on the road to stability again. -Marquita

This family brings our placements this year to 40 and our grand total since we started OTS in 2014 up to 550. Learn more about our charity at OTSHB.COM.