Hope Comes Full Circle
Seven months ago, Salvation Army case manager, Isabel, accepted a family of six, about to be seven, into The Salvation Army transitional housing program in Rochester, MN. This family had worked with her years before when she held a position with a different nonprofit, but in the time since, they had moved to and from Rochester and experienced several episodes of homelessness.
“This family is a perfect example of hardworking people who still struggled to make ends meet,” said Isabel. The father had worked as both a property manager, and the manager of a hotel, while the mother had worked as a hotel housekeeper. But with multiple children below the age of 9, high housing costs combined with low-paying jobs had made it difficult for the family to maintain stable housing. They had experienced multiple episodes of homelessness before reaching out to Isabel this year.
“When they learned that I was working here at The Salvation Army, they told me they knew they needed to reach out,” said Isabel, “It was perfect timing because we had an opening in our program, and I knew they would do well in it.” The transitional housing program works with homeless families to find housing in the Rochester area, and then subsidizes their rent for a period of up to three years. As families become more stable, achieving the goals they set for themselves, becoming employed, stabilizing their relationships with the people in their lives, The Salvation Army will gradually decrease the amount of rental subsidy we provide.
The goal of the program is for families to graduate in a state of financial independence, and for them to remain in the housing they’ve worked so hard to secure. “Because we work with local landlords, as opposed to owning the apartments our transitional housing families live in, then people don’t have to go out and find new housing when they graduate from our program,” said Isabel.
“This family has worked so hard; they’ve really pulled themselves up by their bootstraps,” said Isabel. “All The Salvation Army did was provide a little financial support. Their faith and their work ethic really carried them the rest of the way.”
And their story has now come full circle. One of the dreams of this family was for the father to earn his realty license, something the family has used Salvation Army funds to achieve this year. “He is now just under 20 hours away from getting his license, and he’s accepted a job with another nonprofit where he’ll be helping other families to become stably housed,” said Isabel. While the father begins his new job, the mother has also acquired a part-time job that she loves, allowing her to work and to still take care of their ever-growing family.
“For a family that was struggling with homelessness only seven months ago, it’s so exciting to know that, not only do they have a bright future ahead of them, but that they are going to share that light with other people who are experiencing the same challenges they overcame,” said Isabel.
The leadership and staff of The Salvation Army would like to congratulate this family, and asks our fellow community members to include them in our prayers for their continued success. If you or someone you know is in need of housing support, please call 507-288-3663. To learn more about Salvation Army housing programs and the way you can support our neighbors facing housing instability, please visit rochestersa.org.