Last year Kendra lost her job and she couldn’t pay her rent. Fears of eviction mounted as her due date approached. Meanwhile her job search remained at a standstill.
Then, Kendra learned about calling “211” which is a telephone human services directory run by United Way of Central Florida. She was then referred to HOPE via the call.
We talked with Kendra and immediately created a case plan for her. Included in the plan was, first and foremost, getting her next month’s rent paid for. Once we did that we enrolled her into our choice food pantry and into financial counseling courses.
Soon thereafter Kendra was able to remain in her home. She also began working at a local hotel, teaching skating and as a notary. Additionally, she mentioned to us that she wanted to create a sense of community at her new work based on the community atmosphere she witnessed at HOPE. HOPE being her inspiration, she forged meaningful relationships at her new workplace which enabled her to apply for a housing support grant through her new job for low and moderate income individuals facing struggle.
Kendra received the grant and after several months she was able to “graduate” from HOPE. However, as with many of our clients, we check in with her from time to time. Recently, she told us that she is financially stable and she said that not only did we help her, but we exceeded her expectations and she is doing even better than she thought she would be after coming to HOPE.
HOPE elevated Kendra to an even better place than she was at before she fell on hard times and came to us. Kendra is just one example out of the thousands over the years in our community who have been not just helped, but uplifted by HOPE and made better through their encounter with us. Thank you to all of our supporters for helping us improve the lives of those we serve, and for allowing us to prevent homelessness the HOPE way.
