Note: The above photo was taken after Susan shared her story, at a camp cleanup conducted in 2017.
Dear friends,
I never thought my family would be homeless, but last year it happened.
I’ve had medical problems since my time in the Army, so I’m unable to able to work. When my husband, an Iraq vet, found a good job in Sonoma County, we looked frantically for housing here. But nothing panned out. Our savings were gone, and our friends couldn’t afford to take us in anymore. We couldn’t get into shelters either, because we didn’t have a drug problem or abuse in our family.
We slept most nights in our street clothes along bike trails or in fields. I would sit up all night watching over my family, jumping at every sound, afraid that someone might harm them.
My VA case worker finally found us a condo, but we couldn’t scrape together the security deposit. That’s when I decided to call COTS. The case manager listened to all we’d been through and seemed to really care. She found us help with the security deposit, and within a week we signed the lease. Now we have a home again!
Our first night in our new home, we had just a couple of blankets on the floor. We got the kids showered and put pajamas on them for the first time in almost a year. After we tucked tem in, my husband and I sat there and watched them sleep — not because we were afraid, but because they were finally safe.
I have you to thank for this.
With much love and gratitude,
Susan