DuPagePads Gave Us Our Life Back – Caitlyn’s Story
“People don’t realize how quickly your life can change from one day to another. You can have everything one day, and the next day lose it all,” Caitlyn says.
Caitlyn, a single mom, supported her children on one income for years.
In a single moment, Caitlyn and her children became homeless.
When her car broke down, it had to be replaced so she could get to work. With no emergency budget, Caitlyn could not afford to pay the rent and ultimately she and her family were evicted.
They arrived at DuPagePads sites for food and shelter while Caitlyn went to work and the children attended school EVERY DAY.
They were grateful to have meals and a place to stay, but Caitlyn could not save enough money for the rent and deposit required to get an apartment.
With YOUR SUPPORT, Caitlyn is the first participant to benefit from the new Tenant Based Rental Assistance program (TBRA). TBRA provides rental assistance, security deposits and supportive services for 12 months to assist homeless families and individuals to become housed and achieve self-sufficiency. DuPagePads’ case managers assisted Caitlyn with these services to help her and her family set and achieve their goals.
Dreams of housing now became a reality for Caitlyn and her children.
“After 14 months of being homeless, my children and I now wake up in our home and get ready for our day.
The kids come home from school and proudly hang their school papers on the refrigerator instead of being crushed in the bottom of their backpacks. They do their homework, pitch in to make dinner and then we all talk about accomplishments as well as problems of the day.
We don’t worry where we are going to sleep.
Now My kid’s grades in school are amazing. I’m talking straight A’s. When we were homeless, I wasn’t sure my 17-year-old daughter would graduate. Now she is graduating in June. I think it has a lot to do with all the help we had and support.
I’m sure I judged people before myself, but when it happens to you…you live it, you feel it, it becomes your reality – I think it gives you a better understanding of what other people can be going through.
I would just like to thank DuPagePads and everyone who supports them because they are changing lives every day, just like they changed mine. They believed in me and they gave me my life back.”
