Keeping Family Together

Five sisters pooled their resources and lived together in Brighton, a community they had been part of for more than 30 years.  Then sadness struck four times. They lost three siblings in a short period of time and without their combined income, could no longer pay the rent on their home.  The two remaining sisters, one of which is on oxygen and the other a CPAP machine at night, with their 3 dogs moved into their car. Shelters don’t allow pets and they had lost enough family.

Fortunately, they found an CSPI SafeLot, and were given a spot to park at night with access to electricity and assigned a case manager to help them get connected to support services. Because they were in Adams County, that also had access to a rapid rehousing case manager through the Salvation Army. Rapid rehousing provides short-term renal assistance and service to help people obtain housing quickly. They were concerned the first apartment that was found was a bit outside their budget, and they would not be able to afford rent and food in the long term on just their social security incomes. They didn’t want to end up back in their car again in a few months, so they kept searching.

A month before the one-year mark at the SafeLot, they spotted what they felt was the perfect location. They walked in and told their story to the building manager, who decided to work with them. With the help of their case managers, the details were soon ironed out. They made sure the rent would be sustainable and now the sisters and their cherished dogs are settled into their new home.