2.13.07 - Not Quite Five
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Meet “Luz.” She and her two children left New York in 2002 when Luz made the decision to leave a marriage that had turned violent. Luz and her kids moved to  Boston to be near family and were able to stay with her sister upon their arrival—an arrangement they all thought would be temporary. But Luz would be back and forth for the next (not quite) five years as she struggled to find affordable housing for her family of three. During those years, Luz worked to support her family while navigating the court system to secure a restraining order against her ex. She tirelessly applied for public housing and Section 8 because the eight dollars an hour her job paid her did not cover rent for a single family apartment in Boston. They stayed together on the floors and couches of friends and family until the spring of 2006, when Luz and her children moved into a shelter.
With the help of Project Hope’s PCWD and Travelers Aid Family Services, Luz now has secure employment with a Boston area hospital and is the happy resident of a three bedroom apartment, where her kids each have their own rooms. She has generously offered to share some of her thoughts with us and believes like we do that, “Everyone deserves a place. Nobody should be in the streets sleeping on the sidewalk. A mother shouldn’t be walking around, not knowing where she is going to spend the night.” She also remembers that, “Not having a place is hard, no matter how you see it, no matter how you put it. It is not easy to leave [a marriage] and think that you are going to have your situation fixed right away…If you don’t have support, if you don’t have help, if you don’t have information, if you don’t have people that can direct you to the right place, it is hard.”
Luz wanted to contribute to Sound Proof because she still asks herself every day why it is so hard to have stability in this country. She wants people to know that they are not alone. She has this message for people still struggling to find housing:
"Today I feel free, safe, and happy to know that my children have their much deserved space.
This situation has taught me that being persistent pays-off. Also, I asked a lot of questions when I wasn’t sure of something and I was very organized with all of the information given to me and given by me. Hopefully at some point, you will find the right person with the right information. Sometimes that's all it takes-- someone who cares about their job and about helping those in need, providing them with the right resources.
I give sincere thanks at every opportunity to those who helped me. I am thankful every day for finding not only one person, but a group of people that cared about me and my children's well being. When I needed direction, they directed me. And now I'm right where I wanted to be for so long. It is a great feeling.
Thank you Travelers Aid Family Services, Project Hope, PCWD, Two people from 90 Washington St, and special thanks to my entire FAMILY for all the support they have given me throughout the years. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
It's a hard and painful process but never lay down.... It will come to you somehow some day. Good luck to every one going through this journey."
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