From Homeless to Home - Thanks to Safe Families
Christmas is just around the corner, a time of year when we find ourselves thinking about memories of home that make the season special.
Lopsided evergreens covered with homemade ornaments, a plate of cookies set out for Santa, the gingerbread house covered with icing and sticky gumdrops. For most of us, these memories are a reminder of how important home is as a place of belonging and security.
I guess that’s why the story of Corisma Gillespie strikes a chord with me. Corisma, just 22 years old, came to Safe Families last summer. In some ways, Corisma has been searching all her life for a place to call home. Although she comes from a large family with eight sisters, home was a fractured place growing up. Her father died when Corisma was 12, and her mother has been a drug addict for as long as Corisma can remember.
Corisma had been homeless for the better part of three years and was living with her one-year-old daughter, Naveah, at a friend’s apartment. She had recently lost her job at McDonald’s and was six months pregnant.
“With another baby coming, I really needed to find a place of my own,” Corisma says. “But that meant researching assistance programs, and also I needed to apply for WIC and food stamps. Doing all that was impossible with Naveah. I felt like if I just had someone to watch her for three weeks, maybe I could get everything organized.”
Safe Families called volunteer Kimi Ottaviano, who immediately said “yes” to taking care of Naveah. Corisma was nervous at first, worrying that Kimi and her family would be judgmental, but found that the opposite was true.
“It was a little awkward at first, but over time I realized that Kimi is a good person,” Corisma says. “I can talk to her about anything, and Naveah loves her. She even started calling Kimi ‘mom,’ which made me kind of sad at first. But after a while, I realized that she does it because Kimi makes her feel safe and happy. Which is fine with me!”
During the three-week placement, Corisma found an apartment and enrolled in assistance programs—thanks in large part to referrals and support from our Safe Families staff. She and Kimi keep in touch—in fact, Kimi’s family has taken care of Naveah four additional times, whether to give Corisma a break or simply spend a few days with the toddler they’ve grown to love.
Success stories like Corisma’s are possible thanks in part to the generosity of donors like you. Right now, however, donations to LYDIA are significantly lower than our budgeted needs. In order to end the year on solid financial footing, we need to raise $150,000 by Dec. 31.
I hope that as 2013 draws to a close, you will consider sending the most generous year-end financial gift you can to LYDIA. We know that in 2014 many more people like Corisma will be depending on us for help.
Your gift will help LYDIA reach its financial goals as we anticipate another fruitful year of ministry, not just in Safe Families but in our other programs as well.
“It still shocks me that Safe Families helped me accomplish something in three weeks that I hadn’t been able to do in three years,” Corisma says. “The housing issue had become such a distraction that I couldn’t focus on finding a good job. Once the baby is born, I will be ready to find work to support us. I want to make the best of my situation.”
Corisma will always remember this time in her life as a turning point—a time in which she went from homeless and frustrated to settled and home. A time in which Kimi’s family become like family to her after years of disconnection from her own mom and sisters.
Only God could take three weeks of childcare and transform a person’s life like that. Thank you for your role in making stories like this one possible. Merry Christmas!
Sincerely,
David A. Anderson, PsyD
Executive Director
