December 2021 Newsletter

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A Safety Net

Maria has been a single mother of two daughters even before the youngest one was born. In an attempt to make up for the loss of their father and be the family provider, she overspent on credit cards. It worked for instant gratification, but in time, it caught up with them and caused their housing problem. Maria and the younger of her now teenagers went to Samaritan Inn while the older one went to a relative’s home.

Maria graduated from high school, then from a trade school. She received a Medical Assistant Certificate and worked in that field. She married young and regretfully. In describing the abuse in her marriage, she related it to her father’s alcoholism. She said, “That’s something I don’t want to do, but maybe it affected me in the way I chose my partner with drugs. There was familiarity; it was dumb. He was abusive verbally, physically, mentally, controlling.” Before her second daughter was born, he was in prison for life.

Her sense of responsibility and work ethic led her to college to better provide for her family of three. She found comfort and hope in school, overstaying long enough to receive three Associate Degrees. Then she took a job in customer service. After financially struggling for several years, she increased her income by changing to medical office work.

Still, the credit card bills were adding up and became unpayable. She needed a lower rent apartment. Her low household income qualified for the subsidized HUD Section 8 program. However, her credit score was too low for landlords to approve her. The very bills that caused the financial trouble now prevented her from affordable housing. After wearing out the welcome at a friend’s house, then paying too much for a motel, she settled into the safety net of our Samaritan Inn. Maria turned to “Rent Well,” a program that is a 15-hour class over six weeks, “covering key information for being a responsible and stable tenant.” She learned about budgeting, so the same spending mistakes are not repeated. Upon completion, she received a certificate that guarantees the landlord rent will be paid through a one year lease. Now, she is reapplying for a HUD housing voucher that had expired.

Samaritan Inn is their temporary family provider. Mother and child are safe and secure here, while they work through their financial troubles. Both are employed, working swing shifts at different companies. Their schedules are accommodated into our set routine for their benefit. The daughter’s name and photo are withheld, honoring their desire for anonymity. Her high school grades have improved with the stability they now have. Maria has been an avid churchgoer all of her life, and said that chapel times here reinforce her belief and are encouraging. They have been rescued from the paradox of bad credit keeping them from affordable housing into a safety net preventing them from being homeless.