Today we congratulate Noel for ending his homeless situation that he has been facing for the last 1 and ½ years. We built a budget with him and when he found a rental that he could afford, we were happy to pay the security deposit so he could move in. Now that he has his own place, Noel will be able to have his sons visit him so they can be together. Read his story below:
Hi my name is Noel. I don’t know where to start. I have been homeless for approximately 1 1/2 years. I previously moved to Orange County in February of 2016. I was living in hotels with my family, my 2 boys and my wife. Due to our family income, we were unable to afford our rent. We started to live in our car and shelters. My wife and I have both struggled with substance abuse. For this reason, our children were removed from us in September of 2016. Both my wife and I completed many courses, counseling, and treatment to better ourselves for our children. However, my wife has not been able to recover and is now living in a treatment center; I have been sober since October of 2016. I have become a single father caring for my children since January of 2017. I was blessed by receiving the assistance from many programs. I was able to gain a stable job, in March of 2017, and have been saving so I can afford an apartment for my children and I. However, In order for our family to be reunified, I need to have stable housing and then my children will be returning home with their dad. Eventually, once my wife is sober, she will be joining the family once again. I have been able to find a location that I can afford and is within my budget. I would like to receive the assistance from Off the Streets Huntington Beach so I can bring my family together and care for my children once again. I have been through some tough patches and have overcome several obstacles. I currently have monitored visits with my children. I am up to 15 hours a week and the next step is unsupervised / un-monitored visits. If I had a place to live, I then would have the ability to also have overnight stays. It would mean the world for my boys and I to be living together, under the same roof, once again!!!
Noel, from all of us at OTS, congratulations. We look forward to hearing from you when your entire family is back together again.
Noel is our 130th placement this year and our 440th placement since we started 3 years ago.