Emergency Safe Shelter gives single mother & her children a second chance
Heidi, a single mother with four children, ages 4-16, became homeless in Montana when the lease on her residence ended and the house was sold. Despite having a job, she couldn’t find an affordable residence.
Simultaneously, Heidi was going through a toxic relationship with the youngest child’s father and needed to remove herself and the children from that environment. After praying for guidance, she left her job and received fuel assistance to Spokane to reside with a friend. Unfortunately, things didn’t go well; Heidi and her young family found themselves living in their vehicle.
Heidi was homeless and unemployed for the first time in her life. She was extremely stressed and didn’t know how to provide for her children. Making matter’s worse, Heidi’s 12-year-old son was having suicidal thoughts due to being sexually molested earlier in Montana.
Heidi soon found herself in The Salvation Army of Spokane’s Family Resource Center where she said she met “amazing” people who “rescued” her family. They received housing in the Army’s Emergency Safe Shelter, where Heidi and her children found “a safe, peaceful place to be” as they tried to recover from the recent tragedies in their lives.
Before long, Heidi located an affordable house, and The Salvation Army assisted her with funds to move-in to what the mother calls a “a safe permanent home.” Though she is still seeking full-time employment and funds are tight, Heidi and her children are together, in therapy and doing better.
Heidi calls the staff at The Salvation Army “my Angels” because of the assistance she received and “for the love we received here.” She added, “I can’t even write it all down the way they touched my heart & others.”
And, without the support of generous donors, the Emergency Safe Shelter would not have been available for Heidi and her children.
Though the single mother’s family is on the road to recovery, the holiday season will be difficult financially. Heidi is trying to teach her young children that Christmas is more than just receiving gifts but, simultaneously, she wants to see them happy on Christmas morning.
If you would like to come alongside The Salvation Army during the holiday season, there is a program called ‘Adopt-A-Family,’ where local businesses, groups and families can sponsor families like Heidi’s. A sponsor can purchase gift items like clothes, shoes, toys, gift cards, small appliances and more for each family member.
To adopt Heidi’s family for Christmas, or any other family facing hardship this holiday season, please call The Salvation Army at 509-385-7617 or email SpokaneChristmas@usw.salvationarmy.org.