Nicole Byer's Support Fund

Hello everyone, my name is Joann Gordon and I have been a member of St Hugo's in Bloomfield Hills, MI for 30 years. Now that my own children are grown, I wanted to play a more active role in the church community. Last month, I signed up to serve breakfast to the homeless for what I thought would be just one short week of my life. However, from my very first day, I was touched by the determined, kind hearted people that I met who diligently work to provide for their families. As I was serving breakfast, I was drawn to this adorable little boy and his sweet little sister and sat down to chat with them. After learning a bit more about their lives moving from homeless shelter to homeless shelter on a weekly basis, I asked them if they needed anything to make their time there more comfortable. Aryanna, the 8 year old girl, simply asked for an empty spray bottle to wet her hair so she could easily comb it each morning. When I asked her brother Gavin if he needed anything, the precious boy replied, “as long as you bring my sister what she asked for, I don’t need anything.”

Aryanna and Gavin and Kamran’s mother Nicole works tirelessly to provide for her family but has recently fell on hard times. Previously, she was renting a flat in Berkley and working as a caretaker for an elderly woman. After losing her job, she fell behind on rent and the landlord required that she evacuate the house prior to the end of her lease. She immediately began looking for new housing, but having only short notice, no official income history and a low credit score, her multiple housing applications were denied. Nicole and her young children were forced to seek emergency shelter where, each week, they stay in a different church or synagogue within the Oakland County area.

With the start of a new school year quickly approaching, Nicole desires to provide a stable living environment for her family. As her children have received summer sports scholarships from the Berkley Public School District, she ideally would like to find a rental property nearby. In order to make ends meet, Nicole has recently obtained her cosmetology license and was just hired today for a salon position to bring in a source of income. However, she remains in a difficult position, as her ex-husband is in prison and does not provide any financial support for the family at this time.

After spending a great deal of time with Nicole over the past few weeks, I strongly feel that she was brought into my life for me to help her find a home. If you have the means, please help support Nicole so that she can provide a home for her family. All proceeds will go directly towards Nicole’s cosmetology school student loan and monthly rent, as well as necessary items to furnish the house. Thank you in advance for your consideration.