Featured Story
Tay and Ruby Find Refuge and Hope!
Tay is originally from Minnesota, but had moved to Texas where he met his partner Ruby. They are raising two kids, aged 7 and 14. They decided to move to Minnesota back in November 2021 (it was Ruby’s first time travelling out of Texas) when a friend offered them assistance to get them set up here.
The relocation proved difficult when the offer of help fell through, and they found they had no friends or support structure. They were struggling financially with maintaining a home, partly because they had difficulty setting up assistance through Minnesota. They were intent on giving their kids a good education, and were driving them to and from their school of choice every day, from Robbinsdale to Columbia Heights. Holding down jobs that would allow one of them to work days and the other to work nights proved difficult, and they soon found they couldn’t make enough to maintain a home. Now homeless, they moved between living in motels and in the car—all four of them. At one point during the winter, Ruby had an accident which totaled her completely paid-off car.
Three months ago, needing a gas card, they visited The Salvation Army service center in North Minneapolis, and met our social worker Nikia, who was able to get them the gas card they needed. But she was also able to talk with them about The Salvation Army’s Pathway of Hope program, designed to help end intergenerational poverty by helping families identify and break down barriers that keep them from being able to experience stability and success.
Tay and Ruby have been meeting regularly with Nikia to set goals and gauge their progress. They have created goals for Tay to work toward getting his Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) license or his real estate license, and for Ruby to also earn her real estate license, which The Salvation Army would help pay for. The RE license classwork is done online, so it also would allow them to continue working while they learn. They were able to attend The Salvation Army summer camp with their kids, creating relationships with many new friends. They occasionally took advantage of the Food Pantry to make ends meet and, lastly, The Salvation Army helped with a rental deposit to get them in a new apartment for their family!
Things have certainly turned around for Tay and Ruby, thanks in part to The Salvation Army. They are happy to share their story and express their gratitude for the help they received.