6

Success Stories from Leading Families Home Jen and Lee’s care and placed in the care of the state. The children were devastated to be taken from their parents, and the event completely traumatized them. One of the children is only 11 years old, is terrified of the dark, and still plays with dolls. Being away from her mother and father has created a stressful, confusing situation for her, one we hope will be resolved quickly. Jen’s plan is to regain custody of her children as soon as possible, and her court date is set for later in December. Tana's Story Homelessness doesn’t just happen to people; sometimes it can take months or years for a family to move through a set of circumstances that brings them to homelessness. Such is the case for Tana, a 32 year old single mother of three, who came to Beach House Family Shelter. Tana and her children are originally from St. Louis, Missouri. Due to violence at the hands of her boyfriend, Tana left her boyfriend and moved herself and her children to Toledo in September 2018. She had nowhere to go. Miracles Do Happen: Jen's Story Sometimes miracles do happen. That’s what one of our Participants said after working with Leading Families Home to reunite her family and find permanent housing. Our Participant, Jen, and her husband, Lee, were referred to Leading Families Home from Family House, an emergency shelter in Toledo. The couple was referred to participate in our Rapid Re-housing Program. Jen and Lee become homeless after being evicted by their landlord. The eviction was due to the couple losing their jobs during COVID. Even though their circumstances were out of their control – and even though the judge in their case pleaded with the landlord to not evict them – the landlord evicted them anyway. Once Jen and Lee were referred to Leading Families Home, they were notified of outstanding warrants. Lee is serving 60 days to resolve his warrant, but his probation officer is hopeful that Lee will be released earlier. Jen’s warrant was a surprise to her; she didn’t know about it until it was brought to her attention. Her warrant was over 10 years old, when she was living in another state. It was for a theft charge as she was caught stealing a car seat in order to bring her son home from the hospital. Thankfully, Jen was able to clear her warrant. In the meantime, however, Jen and Lee’s children had no home, and CPS was called. The children were removed from Page 6 Jen’s case was discussed last week via Zoom with staff from Leading Families Home, Family House, and CPS in attendance. The CPS caseworker is very optimistic that Jen will regain custody of her children soon. Jen is to receive mental health services as part of her reunification process to regain custody, something she planned to do already when she arrived at Leading Families Home. Jen currently enjoys unsupervised visits with her kids and is going to be able to spend Thanksgiving break with them. For Jen, this is everything. She was absolutely destroyed when she lost her children, as they are her entire world. There is a ray of hope, though. Today, when her Leading Families Home caseworker spoke to her on the phone, Jen said that she had a new sense of hope due to the Zoom meeting and office visit. She said, “It renews my belief in God, my belief that miracles do happen, and my sense that God is talking to me now to follow His path.” Jen plans to sign a lease for housing this week. Last weekend, Jen visited Mosaic Church and picked out furniture and a washer and drier for her new home. As she does not have any place for the furniture, her future landlord has offered to let her store her belongings in one of his shed’s on his property prior to her lease signing. At Leading Families Home, our mission is to help families, like Jen and Lee’s, to transition from homelessness to permanent housing. The path to permanent housing isn’t always easy, but we are able to offer hope, support, and comfort to those in need. ** Names have been changed and stock images are used to protect our Participants’ identities.** Coming from an abusive household left Tana worried about her situation. Not only did was she dealing with the aftermath of the abuse, she was also unsure how she would be able to take care of her children. Not only did Tana have three children to provide for, she also suffered from several medical conditions and mental disorders, including PTSD, bi-polar disorder, and major depressive disorder. Once she arrived in Toledo, Ohio, Tana and her children moved in with Tana’s sister, who lived in the area. They stayed at Tana’s sister’s home for several months, but, unfortunately, there were issues. Tana’s sister shared her home with her significant other, and he was becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the living arrangements in the house. Tana stayed until the stress increased to a point she could no longer handle, and she took her children and moved out of the home. This situation isn’t unusual. In fact, many women who flee domestic abuse often find themselves with nowhere to go and few resources or support systems to rely on. After a woman and her children leave the abuser, they must find a place to stay that they can afford – usually without a regular income to depend upon, making it extremely difficult to secure housing. Tana, again, had nowhere to go. Tana and her children resorted to living in their vehicle, something that is becoming more and more frequent for families across the US. (It’s called vehicular homelessness. Read more about it in our article, Where People Live & Sleep When They’re Homeless.) She found herself in an awful situation: she and her family were living in her car, she was unable to provide adequately for her three children, the family had no housing, and Tana was unemployed. Unhappy with her living situation, Tana sought help by calling 2-1-1 and requesting shelter for herself and her family. Tana and her children entered the housing program at Leading Families Home in September. They were housed at Beach House Family Shelter for two months, while Tana completed educational courses, including courses in financial stability and landlord-tenant relationships. In November, she signed a lease for housing. Once housed in an apartment, Tana and her family were finally able to relax and enjoy having a home. Tana also fought hard to better her family’s situation. She found work through Adecco Staffing Agency in Toledo, Ohio. Tana works at Meijer as a Merchandiser and makes $15.00 dollars an hour. Recently, Tana was selected for the Housing Choice Voucher Program. This program allows Tana to choose permanent housing of her choice, including houses, townhouses, and apartments. She is currently completing the application process. With services and assistance including case management, coaching, gas card assistance, food stamps, and medical coverage, Tana is well on her way to creating a new, brighter life for herself and her children. I Had to Stay Strong Domestic violence has been cited as a significant cause of homelessness for women and children. According to Safe Housing Partners, thirty-eight percent of all domestic violence victims become homeless at some point in their lives. ( Source: Baker, C., Cook, S., & Norris, F. [2003] ). According to Cindy Zawojski, Leading Families Home Data Analyst Director, 14 percent of those who come to our shelter cite Domestic Violence as the reason for their homelessness. Many of those who flee a domestic violence situation must do so with very few resources. Usually, the situation involves a mother and her children experiencing abuse at the hands of a man: a domestic partner, husband, or father. This abuse takes many forms; it’s not just physical. Many times, the abuser limits the victim’s access to money, family, friends, transportation, and support of any kind. The abuser not only strips his victims of support and resources, he also destroys her self-esteem and sense of dignity. This creates a situation that is nearly insurmountable. If a woman has children, the circumstances are even worse. She not only must get herself out of the position she’s in, she must find a way to remove her children

7 Publizr Home