February 3, 2021
“For a long time it felt like I was holding sand that was slipping through my fingers. There’s hope now, and everything is starting to feel more real.”
Kindness, she says, saved her life. She still feels like she needs to wake up from a dream. Strangers can’t be that kind right? Wrong.
Sarah is a single Mom to 5 boys. Yes, you read that right. And in April 2020, her entire world changed. Everything happened all at once. Schools transitioned to online learning and she was struggling to keep up with the boys’ class work. Social workers reached out to Sarah so she could explain her situation.
Dead ends. Everywhere she looked. She was up against losing her home and was overwhelmed with stress. She felt like she’d hit rock bottom. Until the day she was rendered speechless from the generosity of strangers.
The school connected Sarah and her boys with families who wanted to help local families in the community. Her groceries were handled, she received school supplies, diapers and wipes. But there was still a looming cloud about how she'd keep her home.
Something prompted Sarah to look up Habitat for Humanity. She sent a text to a connection she’d made and he called her immediately and shared his involvement with Habitat and how the program works for families.
It feels like she’s still trying to wake from a dream. Sarah wanted a safe place for her boys to live, and because of the selfless kindness from strangers, it was becoming a reality.
While the permits and plans are finalized, Sarah has to find an apartment to live in. When she found a rental online, it had over 200 inquiries. She asked the landlord about lease terms. She explained their situation and that their new home didn’t have a time frame. He wanted a minimum of a year's lease and at that point, she figured he’d never go with them.
To her surprise, he called the next day offering a 6 month lease and then would offer month to month for as long as she needed. When he was showing her the apartment, he asked how many people would be living there. When she told him about all the kids, her heart sank because that’s usually what shuts every door. He was so unphased it shocked her, and she still wonders how he can have such a generous heart.
“Kindness kept us alive. That’s how we got through this. Right now I can only imagine what it will feel like when I put the key in the door. I can almost feel the weight falling because I know my kids are safe and they have a permanent stable home where they can heal and grow.”
In a world where you can be anything, be kind.
