A Home for Theresa

Theresa was living in an apartment with her three children when she began to feel ill. Her doctor found a life-threatening heart condition that needed immediate intervention which caused Theresa to take off a lot of time from work for her procedure and recovery. Before she was able to return to work she was let go from her job.

Theresa struggled to look for another job and found some hourly work in the meantime but the bills began to pile up and quickly got out of control. She lost everything and she and her 3 children became homeless and eventually ended up in a motel room where they lived for 10 months. Theresa insisted on prioritizing the older children’s education as she was intent that they would live their dreams, even if she couldn’t live hers. Although she found a full-time job she remained in the motel as a significant portion of her income went to help them pay for school and start homes of their own.

Her oldest daughter is now a paralegal for Apple in another state and her middle child is a Music Management major in college paid for by Hope, employment, and a student loan. Her youngest child is studying computer graphic design and plans to pursue this in college as well.

After entering the Motel to Home program Theresa and her caseworkers became laser-focused on her housing. She paid off her past due housing debt and worked diligently to improve her credit score. Motel to Home helped her with application fees, deposits, and first month’s rent. This June, she realized her dream and she and her son left the motel for good. They now live in a 2-bedroom town-home neighborhood with a pool. The townhouse is fully furnished with furniture including a sofa, kitchen table, beds, and dressers. “I love my new home. It’s perfect for me. Everyone is so friendly and this feels like a real neighborhood,” Theresa said.

*Names changed to protect privacy.