Marie’s Story: Finding Home Again
Marie, a single mother of two, was working two jobs to provide a safe and stable home for her children. With the hope of advancing in her career, she decided to return to school part time. However, as she made steps to improve her family’s future, her safety-net began to crumble. The school she was attending was shut down, her hours at her job were cut in half, and her monthly bills began to increase.
Marie was unable to pay her rent. Though the family had lived in the same apartment, paying rent on time, for five years, the landlord informed Marie that she and her children had to move out in a month’s time. With no savings, their only option was to sleep in the basement of a friend’s home. Although they were grateful to have a roof over their heads, the family was facing a bleak future.
With nowhere else to turn, Marie applied for emergency shelter. She and her children were placed in FamilyAid Boston’s Community Based Shelter Program. In shelter, Marie began to receive the support she needed to rebuild her family’s life. She worked closely with FamilyAid Boston’s housing and employment specialists to find stable employment, a college she could attend part-time, and a new home for her family.
After a few months, Marie secured a job at a local college and was accepted into bachelor’s degree program in Early Childhood Education. She also visited dozens of apartments, searching for her perfect home. She found that home a few months ago and – knowing how happy it would make them – surprised her children. The first time her children entered their new apartment, they did not realize that they were entering their new home. After touring the apartment, Marie told her children that they had spent their last night in shelter. With tears of joy, they were finally able to say “Home Sweet Home!”
Marie is now able to look back on her family’s journey from homelessness to housing with hope for the future, “Things work in mysterious ways. I hope that my kids know that everything we went through was to get to a better place. At FamilyAid Boston, everyone treated me and my children with respect. I got everything I needed and they wouldn’t let me go down without a fight. When you are going through homelessness and you have no one to rely on. The people at FamilyAid Boston were by my side, pushed me forward, and helped me to regain hope that I would find home again.”
