Amelia's Journey

Amelia’s life began to unravel after her partner passed away. She had to move out with their two young daughters, and when their next living arrangement fell through, Amelia didn’t know where else to turn. They were wait-listed at local homeless shelters and living on the streets. With hope dwindling, she applied for emergency housing assistance at Volunteers of America. We were able to get Amelia and her daughters a hotel, which turned out to be exactly the hand up that they needed. 

With supplies for the girls from our Mommy’s Closet diaper bank and a roof over her head, Amelia began to rebuild their lives. Her priority has always been to create and maintain a stable environment for her daughters, and that’s exactly what she set out to do.

Instead of staying in the hotel as long as possible, Amelia immediately found a more permanent housing solution. With support from the Volunteers of America rapid rehousing program, all the necessary deposits were made, and Amelia was able to move her daughters out of the hotel and back into a home.

The next step was employment. She had lost her previous job in the chaos of her partner’s death and subsequent homelessness, and she used the stability provided by her new home to return to work. She now has full-time employment and works hard every day to continue providing for her daughters. 

Unfortunately, despite all of Amelia’s hard work, this was not the end of her struggles. Just as life began to return to stability, the house that Amelia and her daughters were living in burned to the ground. 

This time, however, Amelia knew exactly where to turn. Volunteers of America was able to get Amelia and the girls back into a hotel and provide the necessities that had been lost in the fire. Donated food, diapers, clothing, and even some toys and crayons meant that Amelia and her daughters did not return to their hotel completely empty handed. 

We are now working with Amelia’s landlord to get her into yet another new home, and she and the girls will be back in a permanent house within the month. In the meantime, Amelia continues to work, the girls are still in school, and a small kitchenette means they can even share home-cooked meals together. Despite the unbelievable circumstances, Amelia, with some support from Volunteers of America, has been able to provide the stability for her daughters that she knows is so important. 

As her case manager Sarah puts it, “Amelia is a very hard worker.” She won’t let any setback keep her down for long, and she has worked diligently to continue providing a safe and stable life for her daughters. But no one can overcome traumatic events like these alone, and we are honored to be a support system for people like Amelia who have nowhere else to turn.