Dreams are Possible – Keanna’s Story
Keanna knew that she had to get out of an abusive relationship for herself and her three young boys 7, 8 and 12. Unsure of where to turn, she came to DuPagePads.
Keanna and her boys used DuPagePads Interim (Overnight) Housing sites for overnight shelter and meals.
“Although it was not an ideal situation to stay at the overnight sites with my children, I can’t say enough good things about the volunteers there that played games with my boys and helped them with homework.
This engagement helped distract them from what otherwise might have been an overwhelming experience,” Keanna shares.
Independent and determined, Keanna found numerous jobs ranging from restaurants to customer service to try to make ends meet.
“Everything I do is for my kids; they motivate me to keep going.
There were times when I was tired or discouraged, but the support from my DuPagePads case manager and my desire to give my boys a better life kept me focused and strong,” Keanna recalls.
“Raising three boys, it was a challenge to save any money, let alone enough for the first month’s rent and security deposit for our own apartment,” Keanna says.
Through working with her case manager Tori at the Client Service Center, Keanna was referred to DuPagePads Housing Now program. A newer program, Housing Now provides rental assistance and ongoing case management for a year. Last year Housing Now served 62 individuals in 33 households with 91% maintaining housing.
After a month of working with DuPagePads, Keanna and her boys were able to move to their own apartment.
Keanna reflects, “Now we are settled in our new apartment, the boys’ attitudes have changed. They are not nervous about going to school anymore and have really come out of their shells. Their teachers will call to tell me how well they are doing.
As an only child with parents not around, I never had a strong support network. After getting to know my case manager Tori, now I feel like I have someone to turn to whenever I need her. Whatever issue comes up, she is right there to connect me with a resource.
Now that we have a home, dreams seem possible.
I never thought getting back on my feet I would have been able to get an apartment like this in such a great location and school district. I’m starting to plan for the future. I’ve always wanted to become a nurse and am currently looking into training programs.
I would have never gotten to this point on my own without DuPagePads,” Keanna shares.
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