A Mother’s Story
Spring 2021
While mothers can move mountains, sometimes they need help getting started. Our program does just that. Last year, we were able to assist 385 people, including 257 children—the city’s “hidden homeless”—in our self-sufficiency program, with an overall success rate of 90%.
While you can’t put a price on a mother’s love, you can put a price on the things she needs to support and provide for her family. Crucial supports like a roof over their head, a stable environment, clothing, furniture, and food will be funded through this campaign.
Prior to Partners in Housing, Nicole* found herself at a women’s shelter. She had just left an emotionally abusive marriage and was in need of a safe place to rebuild with her two children.
Through a series of referrals, she learned about the Partners in Housing Family Self-Sufficiency program, which includes one year of transitional housing and supportive services. She knew it would allow her to “start over, but not have to feel rushed in the process where [she] is cutting corners and [her] kids aren’t emotionally where they need to be or academically where they need to be, especially in the middle of a pandemic.”
Once Nicole moved in, she noticed positive changes in her children. “They have a happy environment now…I do a good job about masking other stuff, but if we had to worry about living in a shelter, that is hard to mask. The stability and security just really helped them. I’ve seen my daughter and son grow in so many ways getting out of our old environment and into their new environment. My daughter used to have really bad anger outbursts when we were living in that environment…now she’s about every six months.”
Like many other children that have been in the Partners in Housing program, Nicole’s children do not know they are homeless by legal definition. For them, they have a happy home where “life is normal”. One child in our program told his mom – a mom that was feeling defeated and like she “should do more” for her son – that he “lived in a castle and the castle had a bunch of rooms!” He was talking about our converted motel that houses 25 families in our program.
The chance to rebuild while giving children a sense of normalcy is an opportunity we aim to give all mothers in our program. Nicole mentioned one of her family’s favorite shows is “America’s Funniest Home Videos, which [her] son thinks is hilarious. He takes pranks from there to bring into [her] home, so that’s nice [Nicole laughing]. They’re both really happy…they do the normal sibling fighting and stuff, but they’re kids, so they get to be kids…they don’t have to be stressed out or worried they’re going to wake their dad up. It’s just way different.”
You can’t put a price on a mother’s love, but you can put a price on the things she needs to rebuild.
Please give generously by donating online at partnersinhousing.org/donate, your donation could earn you a CO State Tax Credit! (Visit our website for more information)
