Finding Home after Tragedy
In November of this year, everything was going right for Tanya’s family. She had a secure job that she loved, working with patients in hospice care, her youngest daughter Jeanie (12) was doing well in school, her oldest daughter Macy (21) was enrolled in college for nursing, and her son Xavier (19) was preparing to start college in January.
One evening in late November Tanya was home alone after a long day of work when she smelled smoke. She jumped up and found a fire burning in Jeanie’s room. Tanya quickly burst into action and alerted the rest of the tenants in the building, making sure everyone got out, and called her landlord.
Days later, she found out that faulty electrical wiring caused the fire. Tanya and her family were suddenly left with nothing. With no family in Boston and nowhere to turn, Tanya and her three children had to split up. Jeanie and Tanya stayed with friends and Tanya’s coworkers; Macy couch surfed between friends in her nursing program, and Xavier rotated through his childhood friends’ homes.
This separation of the family was gut wrenching over the holidays. Tanya didn’t want her children to feel like they lost their family as well as their home, so she made it a point to meet at restaurants so they could have breakfast or dinner together. If they couldn’t make a meal together, they would meet at the train station in the morning just to say hello.
Tanya was working extra hours to get them back together as soon as possible, but at the same time, she was also fighting with her previous landlord. He refused to give Tanya back her safety deposit on the apartment even though the fire was in no way her fault. Macy and Xavier also started working to try and save enough to get their family back together. Xavier even postponed starting college until the summer semester in order to help his family find a home again.
Eventually, one of Jeanie’s teachers realized the family was struggling. Through FamilyAid Boston’s Homelessness Prevention Program with Boston Public Schools, Tanya was connected to a case manager at FamilyAid Boston.
The first time Tanya met with her FamilyAid Boston case manager she was overwhelmed. Tanya had found an apartment on her own, but they wanted her to pay a broker’s fee, first month’s rent, last month’s rent, and a security deposit. Her previous landlord was still refusing to give her back her security deposit, and despite how much Tanya, Macy, and Xavier were working, they didn’t have enough to cover the various fees.
Tanya’s case manager, Andrea, helped her negotiate with the realtor and the new landlord, who, after hearing Tanya’s story and how her family had lost everything, decided to wave the broker’s fee, and the security deposit. Tanya knew if she could just get her old security deposit back it would cover first and last month’s rent, but her old landlord was rude and aggressive and refused to speak with her.
Soon it was Christmas time. Tanya’s heart broke at being not only homeless but separated for the holiday. Her coworker, who knew how hard Tanya had been working, surprised Tanya by inviting all of Tanya’s children to stay at her house on Christmas Eve.
Days later, Tanya got a call from her case worker, Andrea, with an amazing Christmas present – FamilyAid Boston would cover her first month’s rent. through our Homelessness Prevention Program. Tanya was overjoyed. She wanted her family to be reunited desperately and she knew she had enough to cover last month’s rent.
On December 30th Tanya signed the lease for her new apartment. Andrea called Tanya to tell her that she could move into her apartment on New Year’s Day. Tanya was speechless.
“You mean I can have my kids all together again?”
“That’s right; you can have your kids all together again for the New Year.”
_________________________________
Every day FamilyAid Boston is working to provide shelter, housing, stability, and a helping hand for struggling families. Each month we will send you an uplifting success story of the resilient families we serve.
Sign up here to get our newsletter.
