Homeless Family Update: Thank you everyone who helped raise $5,000 to the homeless family I found on the streets a few weeks ago. Since finding them in front of CVS on a cold December morning, I was able to get them in a pay-by-the-week hotel that is at 17th and Northiside behind Ikea. They have an amazing view. Since I had never worked so closely with homeless people, I told them I wanted to speak with their DFCS worker to coordinate efforts for their recovery to being more stable citizens. It was at that point that DFCS took their children because the last report DFCS had on this family was that they were living on the streets and an order had put in place to have the children picked up and put into foster care. The 15 month old baby and 7 year old son are in separate foster care families but are reportedly doing very well. The money raised was able to help the mom buy their kids Christmas presents, plus what the foster families gave the children. So the kids had a nice Christmas. To be honest, I think these kids being in foster care is the best thing at this point. My goal was to get those kids off the streets and in a stable environment which is what has happened. The parents need to get more stable and then they can get their children back. At this time, the mom has a job at a restaurant. The dad is working a little bit and has a job starting next week. The next step is to get them into a monthly residence that they can afford. Then after six months employment, they qualify for transitional housing and can get their children back. So that is the current goal. We have about $2,400 left to spend on them to get to that six-month point. This $800/mo should be enough to get them into a more stable living environment and then get their kids back. Hopefully they can then keep moving upward at that time to maintain a non-homeless lifestyle. To be even more honest, I have found the entire experience to be exhausting and frustrating. I honestly believe the problem with most people in their predicament is that they have never been taught how to think properly and therefore make lots of bad decisions. And when you are close to someone who consistently makes bad decisions, it can be frustrating and difficult. But in the end, how could I have walked away from a homeless family at Christmas with a seven year old and a 15 mo old baby? The family may be broken up at this time, but the kids are safe and they have a chance of getting back with their mother. I will post another update in a few weeks. Thank you again and Merry New Year!
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 01:06:06 +0000
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