Success Stories

The Faces of Homelessness

After reading about the faces, facts and figures, please consider how you can help. Names are fictitious.

Mia came into the program April 2005 and exited positively in September. She had two children, a boy 7 at the time, and a girl 5. The family fled from domestic violence in Arizona. Mia began receiving monthly checks from Franklin County Department of Jobs and Family Services. She never complained about struggling to find her way around Columbus. Mia remained positive, had a smile on her face and tried to do nice things for staff. Obsessed with cleanliness, she would do any chore around her apartment. She maintained her unit beautifully.

In June, Mia was diagnosed with a serious heart condition that would require surgery. The very serious surgery was successful in July at OSU. During her one-month recuperation, friends from her church helped with the chores and the children. Mia was approved for housing through Community Properties of Ohio. She and her family have maintained the home, the children still attend classes at the Dowd Center, and Mia is in classes at Columbus State.

The Smith family were residents at The Homeless Families Foundation. Their daughter, Linda, attended the Children's Education Center and also participated in the Youth Empowerment Program (YEP) of COHIO.  After moving into permanent housing, Linda continued to be active in YEP. She is being mentored by an individual who feels that she can accomplish great things with encouragement and support. Linda has won many awards for her own volunteer efforts on behalf of homeless children. She is currently an honors student and hopes to become an attorney and an advocate for homeless persons.

The Johnson family moved into HFF in 2004. They have six children; at the time, Ms. Johnson was pregnant with the seventh child. Mr. Johnson was able to find employment at a nearby Wendy's as a result of an employment contact developed by his HFF Case Worker. Ms. Johnson was able to get involved in a school program through the welfare department which made her eligible for monetary assistance and would assist her with job placement once the class was completed. This family had many obstacles to overcome - an arrest record for Mr. Johnson and many evictions betweeen the two adults in the family. However, they were able to find a landlord that recognized their efforts and was willing to rent to them regardless of criminal and eviction records. The Johnson family is now living in the community in their own apartment, which is large enough to comfortable house a family of this size.