Jessica reached out to us to say thanks after receiving emergency rental assistance through working with Enrica in Housing Counseling. I had the chance to ask her a few questions about how the program assisted her family (edited below for space).
How did you hear about us?
My babysitter told me about the workshop that was held at the Adams County Human Services building. So we both attended and got very helpful information and I filled out an application.
What is your situation?
So everything started last year. I was working for Denver Health for nine years. I loved working there, but there was a change in my Supervisor and, well, I was fired for being one minute late from my breaks. I called my mom crying, I am a single mom of three and my job is my livelihood, and she told me to apply for Medicaid since my oldest daughter has Petite Mal Seizures and asthma and my youngest was just diagnosed with bilateral hip dysplasia.
I applied for Medicaid and received TANF, food stamps, and Medicaid for a while. It was nice being home with my children full-time but I needed a job since I didn’t make enough to cover my rent and I knew that I needed a car because my Jeep was breaking down. I started working for a temp agency that I applied for through the Adams County jobs website. I finished my temp hours and was hired permanently here at SCL in April.
So, back in June, my checks started getting garnished. I was already barely scraping by. My food stamps stopped in August. It was hard. From then on, I kept borrowing from people. I stopped paying my bills since I just didn’t have it. My problem is that since my checks are being garnished I just couldn’t (get caught up)…going from gross $1,200 to $900 – that really hurt and my rent is about $850. I was probably going to get evicted and I started looking into shelters. I was scared to think of my children in a shelter and I was depressed.
How has Unison helped you?
Literally, Unison has kept a roof over my family’s heads. I was able to almost completely catch up on car payments! Enrica helped me see that it was not good to keep avoiding collectors and to pay at least like $20 a month to not be in a situation like a garnishment again. I will hopefully start this month to try and send little payments to my creditors. (I literally get called every hour on the hour by four different companies.)
What was your experience with Unison like?
Enrica – she was so helpful and reassuring. She gave me great ideas! It was just a blessing that Unison could help me. I literally would be on the streets with my children if it was not for Unison.
Is your housing stabilized now or will it soon be?
I am hoping Unison can help me again this month for September. And, I have a job interview on Saturday for a part-time job on the weekends. So hopefully, I will be stable within the next couple weeks and fully independent again!
I honestly wanted to say thank you and God bless you all – if it wasn’t for Unison – my daughter Rabiha, 9; my son Sebastian, 3; my daughter Celeste, 2; and myself would be homeless.
