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As parents look for work, family of five faces eviction

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Editor's note: The Time is Now to Help was founded by a local businessman who knew extreme poverty as a child. With the help of donations from the community, The Time is Now is able to help local residents in need.

Dear W.C., My family is in very bad shape. We have been struggling to pay our bills and are on the verge of eviction. My apartment manager has been very patient, but now she really needs our rent money. She will lose her job as the apartment manager if she lets us off any longer. She has had to serve us an eviction notice.

I have begged and pleaded. I am so afraid to be homeless with my children. I understand she cannot lose her job because we are unable to pay our rent for several months. I feel so bad even putting her in this position because she has been so good to everyone.

I read about your organization in the newspaper and realized my only hope was to write a letter to The Time Is Now to Help.

I have three young children. My husband was in the construction trade, but his jobs have come to a standstill. I was a stay-at-home mom because childcare was so expensive for us, it didn’t make sense for me to continue working.

I have been looking for a job for several months now but have not found anything. There are so many people looking for jobs. We have not been able to pay our utilities or rent for several months. I went to the food pantry last week so we would have food to eat.

This is the first time we have been unable to care for ourselves and our children. It is very frightening to find we are about to be homeless. There is nowhere for us to go. Can you please help?

— A desperate mom

Dear readers,

I called this mother late in the evening, since I was working at all hours. She politely answered the phone, and when she realized who was calling, she cried out in relief. She had been waiting for several weeks. She told me she had applied for assistance everywhere, but she received no help. She and her husband told me it was OK to visit them, so I went right over.

We talked about their children, her job search, her husband’s loss of work and more. They said they never slept soundly anymore due to constant financial worries. I could hear the fear in their voices and see their faces filled with a deep anxiety and hopelessness, while their children slept in the next room.

Their apartment was very sparsely furnished, since the mother had sold everything she could to try to pay their expenses. There were a few folding chairs around a small old table in the kitchen. The old couch had been in her mother’s garage, but had to go in the living room after the nicer couch was sold to put food on the table.

The mother broke into tears. When I looked at the father, he had tears in his eyes as he hugged his wife. He told me he felt responsible for the position his family was in. I reassured him that it was not just him; it is happening to many families in our country, especially if you were employed in one of the construction trades that was most affected by the recession. He hung his head in shame and embarrassment. I reminded them I was there to help.

We went over their overdue expenses and budget. After a careful review, I could see they had already cut back everywhere they could — and then some. They were living without the most basic things, and were due to be evicted any day.

I called their landlord and arranged for 50 percent of their past due rent and two months into the future if the landlord would help with the balance. The landlord was a good man and agreed to help.

The landlord told me about a senior woman needing help as well. He told me her apartment number, since the elderly widow did not even have a phone. I told him I would check on her after my visit with the family.

After I got off the phone with the landlord, we went over their overdue utilities and arranged for assistance.

We then discussed job prospects and the job interviews both parents had scheduled in the coming week. We said a prayer together for their success and their family’s well-being before I left with a promise to return.

Then I paid a visit to the apartment downstairs where the senior citizen was in need of help. I was greeted by a woman with a walker who was wearing a jacket indoors. Her apartment was very cool. I told her who I was and asked if she would like to talk. She told me her landlord had told her about my possible visit, so she invited me in.

Her apartment had several old pieces of furniture in it, but not much else. Her food was nonexistent. When I asked her what she had eaten that day she could not answer me and just cried. I asked her if she received Meals on Wheels and she said no.

I told her I would be back in an hour and left. I went to pick up some hot food and other food for her. I then returned and put a plate of hot food in front of her and told her, “Now I can talk to you while you eat a proper meal.” She had tears in her eyes, but gratefully sat down to eat what she told me was the first full meal she had eaten in some time.

I went over her bills and what services were available to her. I told her we would bring her rent up to date. I knew the landlord would help again. I told her I would have her phone turned back on for her safety. I networked some volunteers in the area so she would receive the assistance she needed.

We talked for nearly two hours. We said our goodbyes and she gave me a long hug, crying as she held on to me. She asked me, “Where did you come from?” I told her about the caring and sharing people who make The Time Is Now to Help possible. She trembled as she said, “Tell all of them thank you and God bless them.”

Both the family and senior woman are doing much better now. The mother and father have gotten part-time jobs and are sharing child-care duties. This arrangement has helped their financial position for now.

The senior citizen has followed through with the help of our networking and applied for the assistance she needed. She thanked us wholeheartedly for the improvements we made to her life.

Thank you for your caring and sharing. Together we have helped our fellow Americans.

Health and happiness, God bless everyone, W.C.

A very special thank you to: Bill and Lois McEssy, MLH, Jim Bozich and Lake Geneva GM Super Center, Paper Dolls, Snug Harbor, Corcoran Landscaping & Construction, Lyle and Anita Vorpagel, Martin O’Brien, Dennis and Christine Haak, Al and Ellen Burnell, Charles and Lucille Coates, Tim Greene, Fred Zeller and Bette Popik, Catherine Swift, Bryce Knorr, Richard and Jane Roman, Susan Russella, Blanche Schultz, Richard McCue, Charles and Barb Obligato (in honor of Dan Sanders), W.C. Family Resource Center/Food Pantry volunteers, all of you who support The Time Is Now to Help donation boxes, and the businesses that allow our donation boxes. Anyone who would like a Time Is Now donation box in your business, please call (262) 249-7000.