Kathy came to our office to pick up a check today to pay her weekly rent. As you probably already know, Friends In Deed doesn’t usually assist with rent. We do, however, consider requests for assistance on a case-by-case basis and found Kathy’s situation fell within our mission.
Kathy takes care of her adult daughter, who receives Social Security Disability after suffering a head injury. Kathy receives a monthly stipend from Social Security for the care-giving service. While the women have some income, its fixed nature has resulted in homelessness in the past and a constant struggle to get enough food. Either their budget was thrown off due to an unexpected expense or it simply didn’t stretch far enough.
The women have been living in their current home for the last year and a half and pay rent on a week-to-week basis. Unfortunately, the way December falls in 2016, the women have to come up with five weeks of rent for the month rather than four and have not been able to do so.
Of course, Kathy was aware this was going to be an issue. In addition to calling around for assistance, she has been actively seeking more affordable housing. She is currently on the waiting list for low-income housing and has applied for several other places to live that are more affordable. Unfortunately, the application fees further burden an already over-burdened budget.
When Kathy called Friends In Deed, our new caseworker, Rhonda, heard her out and starting calling around to organizations in the community to see if she could find some help.
“Rhonda went out of her way to call and be my family’s advocate,” Kathy said. Successful or not, Kathy was most grateful about the fact that Rhonda took the time to listen. “She didn’t have to do that. I really appreciate it.”
Kathy already contacted Housing Access of Washtenaw County about getting into a shelter.
“We don’t qualify because my daughter has special needs and we cannot be separated because of her medications.”
This meant that if assistance couldn’t be found, Kathy and her daughter would have no place to go. Friends In Deed decided to help by covering the rent for the week, which would allow the women to have a roof over their head through the holidays. Without that fifth week to worry about, and through the help of food banks in the area, the women will also be able to afford their rent for months to come.
While Kathy and her daughter ate grilled cheese sandwiches for Thanksgiving and are depending on a food bank for provisions over the coming week, their Christmas is looking much merrier.