Holiday Help for Families Living in Durham Hotel
Donation protected
The holiday season is for giving. Last year during the holidays, I was told the story of a middle school aged boy living in a local hotel with his grandmother who was caught stealing a Leap Frog device. As the holidays approached this year, I remembered the story of this little boy and decided to go to the hotel where he was living in the hopes of finding him and helping his family this Christmas. I guess it was no surprise that after a year they were no longer there, but the hotel manager shared with me that unfortunately 5 other families with children are currently living there.
I went to each room and spoke with these families with the intention of picking one family to try and help this holiday season. After speaking with them I realized I couldn't pick just one. They all deserve to have a little brighter holiday season, so I am hoping that you will consider helping me help all of them by donating to this cause. Here are the stories of the families, each is deeply in need:
Family 1- This family is living in the hotel after losing their house while the mother was hospitalized for an extended period as they could not keep up with their rent during this time. Mom is a waitress and Dad works part-time in trash collection. They have a 9 year old daughter who attends elementary school on the other side of town. This family does not own a vehicle and either pay a friend to drive their daughter to school or Uber her to school so that she can continue to attend the school she was in when they lost their home.
Family 2- This family ended up living in the hotel after the father was laid off from his carpentry job. The mother works overnight full-time. They have a 16 year old son, a 9 year old son, and a 5 year old daughter. They do not own a vehicle and use a borrowed one at times to get themselves and their children to where they need to go. The children attend multiple schools.
Family 3- This family is a multi-generational family living in one hotel room together. The grandmother lives here with her adult daughter and son and her 2 grandchildren. They all share one vehicle, and while the son and daughter each have jobs, they still struggle to make ends meet and are currently looking for permanent housing.
Family 4- This family is a single mother living with her 13 year old daughter and 3 year old son. When I knocked on their hotel room door during a snow storm, I was greeted by the 13 year old, who was there taking care of her little brother while their mom was at work on night shift. This little girl gave me some information about the family's needs including clothing and shoe sizes for herself and her brother. As I was leaving she asked me if I could get her a winter jacket because she did not have one. The fact that a 13 year old girl had a stranger in her "home" asking what she would like for Christmas and what she really wanted was a winter jacket was absolutely heart-wrenching to me. I decided I couldn't wait until Christmas, and I went to a nearby store just after I left to buy her and her little brother winter jackets. When I returned with them, I told her I hoped she likes pink, to which she replied that she does not. When I offered to exchange her new coat for a different color, she told me that "it was ok," she would wear it and thanked me.
Family 5- This family found themselves living in the hotel after the oldest daughter turned 13, and they were no longer allowed to stay in the local women's shelter. They had been living in the shelter for the last 3 years after moving to North Carolina from the West coast. The mother lives in the hotel room now with her 10 and 13 year old daughters. While asking mom about their situation, she began to cry as she told me that she is nearly out of savings, and they are unable to secure a permanent place to live because of an eviction on the West coast deterring prospective landlords. Even though mom has a job, she is really struggling to make ends meet.
Each one of these families is spending the holidays in a hotel room, but their struggles don't stop there. They lack the basic resources to support their families and simply cannot provide their children with the Christmas every child should have.
These may be just 5 families out of countless others facing the same obstacles and hardship in Durham and other cities across the United States, but they are 5 families who need our help this holiday season.
If in addition to a donation made here, which will be used to buy each family clothing for all family members (as this was the one thing every family asked for), you have leads to share on employment, housing or transportation (cars) to fill a specific expressed need of a family, please message me those leads, and I will share them with the families. Any money raised above the cost of clothing and toys for the children will go towards Visa gift cards for the adults and/or payment of their hotel room for a month, if they prefer.
THANK YOU! Let's live up to the spirit of the season and Give, Give, Give!
(No funds will be used for anything other than providing for the families' needs and gifts.)
I went to each room and spoke with these families with the intention of picking one family to try and help this holiday season. After speaking with them I realized I couldn't pick just one. They all deserve to have a little brighter holiday season, so I am hoping that you will consider helping me help all of them by donating to this cause. Here are the stories of the families, each is deeply in need:
Family 1- This family is living in the hotel after losing their house while the mother was hospitalized for an extended period as they could not keep up with their rent during this time. Mom is a waitress and Dad works part-time in trash collection. They have a 9 year old daughter who attends elementary school on the other side of town. This family does not own a vehicle and either pay a friend to drive their daughter to school or Uber her to school so that she can continue to attend the school she was in when they lost their home.
Family 2- This family ended up living in the hotel after the father was laid off from his carpentry job. The mother works overnight full-time. They have a 16 year old son, a 9 year old son, and a 5 year old daughter. They do not own a vehicle and use a borrowed one at times to get themselves and their children to where they need to go. The children attend multiple schools.
Family 3- This family is a multi-generational family living in one hotel room together. The grandmother lives here with her adult daughter and son and her 2 grandchildren. They all share one vehicle, and while the son and daughter each have jobs, they still struggle to make ends meet and are currently looking for permanent housing.
Family 4- This family is a single mother living with her 13 year old daughter and 3 year old son. When I knocked on their hotel room door during a snow storm, I was greeted by the 13 year old, who was there taking care of her little brother while their mom was at work on night shift. This little girl gave me some information about the family's needs including clothing and shoe sizes for herself and her brother. As I was leaving she asked me if I could get her a winter jacket because she did not have one. The fact that a 13 year old girl had a stranger in her "home" asking what she would like for Christmas and what she really wanted was a winter jacket was absolutely heart-wrenching to me. I decided I couldn't wait until Christmas, and I went to a nearby store just after I left to buy her and her little brother winter jackets. When I returned with them, I told her I hoped she likes pink, to which she replied that she does not. When I offered to exchange her new coat for a different color, she told me that "it was ok," she would wear it and thanked me.
Family 5- This family found themselves living in the hotel after the oldest daughter turned 13, and they were no longer allowed to stay in the local women's shelter. They had been living in the shelter for the last 3 years after moving to North Carolina from the West coast. The mother lives in the hotel room now with her 10 and 13 year old daughters. While asking mom about their situation, she began to cry as she told me that she is nearly out of savings, and they are unable to secure a permanent place to live because of an eviction on the West coast deterring prospective landlords. Even though mom has a job, she is really struggling to make ends meet.
Each one of these families is spending the holidays in a hotel room, but their struggles don't stop there. They lack the basic resources to support their families and simply cannot provide their children with the Christmas every child should have.
These may be just 5 families out of countless others facing the same obstacles and hardship in Durham and other cities across the United States, but they are 5 families who need our help this holiday season.
If in addition to a donation made here, which will be used to buy each family clothing for all family members (as this was the one thing every family asked for), you have leads to share on employment, housing or transportation (cars) to fill a specific expressed need of a family, please message me those leads, and I will share them with the families. Any money raised above the cost of clothing and toys for the children will go towards Visa gift cards for the adults and/or payment of their hotel room for a month, if they prefer.
THANK YOU! Let's live up to the spirit of the season and Give, Give, Give!
(No funds will be used for anything other than providing for the families' needs and gifts.)
Organizer
Kim Schooley
Organizer
Durham, NC