Families
and Individuals Assisted with Community Ministry Housing Program in 2004
Mary
Margaret – receives $200 subsidy each
month. Mary continues to follow through
on her plan, which is dependent upon receiving a Housing Choice Voucher
(formerly Section 8). Her finances
remain tight, but she is diligent about paying basic living expenses before
anything else.
Mary
is consistent in her work with our Family Advocate, meeting regularly and
openly discussing obstacles as she encounters them. Mary reports feeling a lot of financial
pressure, upon which she ruminates when she is not occupied with something
else. Together Mary and her advocate
decided to involve her in a volunteer position in the community. She has gotten involved at the Sacramento
Square Neighborhood Center, finding that several hours of volunteering per
month provides a good mental diversion, but the tasks they offered to her were
primarily janitorial. Mary and her
advocate continue to pursue other volunteer opportunities that will be physically
and mentally engaging. She is pursuing
opportunities at the
Agnes – continues to receive a $100 subsidy each
month. Agnes is still taking classes,
but her employer is no longer paying her tuition. They do, however, still allow her to do
homework during slow times during her shift.
Because Agnes is now paying her own way through school, she is unable to
take multiple classes each quarter, extending the timeline before her
graduation. Also, Agnes’ mother had a
stroke, which has created additional stress and distractions from progress toward her educational
goals.
Ronnie
and Erika – receive a $100 monthly
subsidy. This young couple has two small
children, a 2 year old and a six month old and still have the energy and
commitment to build a better future.
Ronnie was apprenticing as a plumber and was recently laid off when his
company experienced financial problems.
He has quickly secured other employment and is again generating income
for the family. Erika had been working
low-wage, retail positions and saw that opportunities were not likely unless
she improved her skills and training.
She is now halfway through a vocational training program that prepares
people for administrative positions and includes a job placement element. She will complete the program in the fall of this year and
most graduates earn starting salaries of $25,000 to $30,000. Until that time, Ronnie and Erika are receiving
a $100 monthly subsidy that brings their rent payment down to $890. This is a manageable housing cost, but still
a large portion of their current $40,000 combined monthly income. Their need for
a continued rental subsidy after Erika obtains a new job will be assessed at
that time.
Calandra: This single
mother is in her twenties and has a young daughter. She has been independently
raising the young girl for several years, displaying dedication beyond her
age. However, she has also made some
decisions that negatively affected her credit.
The consequences of those decisions have caught up with her and brought
her to Good Shepherd Housing because her credit was too poor to gain a lease in
her own name. However, Calandra also has
demonstrated that family is a high priority.
In addition to her daughter, Calandra has custody of her younger sister
so that the sister would not be placed with a foster family.
The $200 per month subsidy
started in September, 2004 and will continue for six months before
it is reevaluated. This will allow
Calandra and her family to transition into their new rental home with Good
Shepherd Housing. Already Calandra has
accomplished some of her goals, and also had her share of turmoil, losing her
job and acquiring a part-time job immediately to fill the gap while she looks
for a full-time one. Future goals
include stabilizing household income, reliable transportation and ensuring that
her daughter's learning disability is adequately addressed in the public
schools. Calandra is also continuing to
pursue her bachelor's degree online.