Bridge to home for Jelena & the kids

My name is Bobbi. My husband and I met Jelena and her 3 kids (ages 12, 10 and 6) at our neighborhood park in Hastings MN. We first met the boys when we brought the youth group there to play ultimate frisbee one Wednesday night. We prayed for a way to get to know them and invite them to youth group. We saw them at the park every day for the next few days. That Saturday, we went to the park and learned they relocated here from Chicago to make a better life about a month before. They shared with us that had been sleeping in their car at night because their housing fell through. We spent that day getting to know them. We didn't know exactly how we could help them, but we knew we couldn't do nothing. They were gifted a hotel room for that night and the next, so we planned to connect the next day to hang out and make plans for the week. The next morning I found out their hotel room fell through and they had spend the night in their car again, through very heavy thunderstorms and torrential downpours. We insisted they come immediately and made room for them to stay with us for as long as it takes to find safe, affordable housing. Jelena has been working, earning and trying to save money since she moved from Chicago. Our goal is the help Jelena and the kids bridge to stable housing, where they can thrive.

I know that God will provide a way for Jelena and the kids. I don't know what that will look like. There is no affordable housing available without very long waiting lists. I felt compelled to start this fund to potentially raise money for a way, possibly for a deposit or down payment on a home. Jelena has never asked us for help but has humbly accepted our support. The housing market is very bad right now and prices are insane, so I am praying every day for a solution for Jelena and the kids, where they can thrive and live out the future they deserve. Jelena is incredibly hard working and determined, but she will never have the advantages most of us have. I pray we can help bring some equity to her life by opening doors she could not otherwise even knock on.

If you feel led, please contribute to this cause. Please also pray for God's answer and His provision in His time, and that Jelena and her kids would grow strong in their faith during their time with us as we see God doing amazing things every single day.

If by chance we raised more support than Jelena needs to bridge into stable housing, we will donate the extra to Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, an organization that creates affordable and sustainable housing for many families every year.