Kim has a big tree in her backyard, and she loves to sit under its branches. Sheltered under this tree, Kim thinks about everything: “from the smallest thing to the sky, to life, to people, to politics. I would even sit out there in the wintertime, just for the freshness of the air.”
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From left to right: James, Davion and Kim |
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As she sits and reflects, Kim retraces her family’s journey. She thinks about where she and her two sons used to live (in a Colfax motel), and where they live today ‒ a real home of their own, with a fence and a backyard. In the motel, she remembers living in panic and fear. “I was so devastated. I was out looking for work constantly, daily, nobody calling. It was beyond stress. I don’t know what that word is, but it was beyond stress, because how do you tell your kids?”
Today, Kim and her family have the unique peace that came with escaping homelessness. “I know what life has to offer, and I know what I can give back.… I don’t think I’d be this far if they hadn’t given me that strength,” Kim says.
Who are “they”? Kim is speaking of her mentor team from Cherry Hills Community Church. “They’re my angels,” she says, with a laugh. “My guardian angels.”
At first, Kim wasn’t sure she wanted to be mentored. When another motel resident told her about the Family and Senior Homeless Initiative, she feared that a mentor team would judge her for her homelessness. “Being in a hotel, people kind of tend to look down on you,” Kim explains. “I’m not good at asking. My pride was so big and so huge and hard to swallow. But when you have kids, that goes out the window.”
The mentor team swiftly put Kim at ease with their kindness. After only a few meetings, Kim was surprised to find herself trusting her mentors. They didn’t push anything on her, or try to “fix her.” They sat and listened to her talk. “It was a relief to talk to somebody and to have them really look at me and understand,” Kim says. “They care. It isn’t even spoken, it’s just there. And I’m like, wow! I’ve never had that, even with some of my closest friends.”
The mentor team listened carefully because they wanted to support Kim specifically, and to help her with what she most needed. “They were really interested in what the boys needed, and what I needed as a mother,” Kim says. The mentor team learned that like all parents, Kim needed a break sometimes, and that her boys needed male role models ‒ so the men took the boys out fishing, to soccer games, and bowling, while the women took Kim out to lunch, and laughed and talked with her. “They are my family. It’s just so wonderful,” Kim says.
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Kim, James and Davion with their mentor team. From left to right: Lyndel Navarro, Tammy Navarro, Gail Covert, Tom Scott, Gwyn Crumplar, Val Scott, Jack Crumplar, Davion Banks, Kim Banks, and James Banks. Not pictured: Barry Covert, Dennis Downing and Tyanne Downing. |
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Besides supporting Kim emotionally, the mentor team helped connect her family with necessary resources during the moving process. The mentor team assisted Kim with her security deposit, and also helped her find the basic household items she needed. “They helped me from the ground up!” Kim exclaims. “They found us furniture, stuff for the kitchen…if they didn’t have it, their friends had it. They took us over to the Denver Rescue Mission’s warehouse, and now we have a washer and a dryer, and a kitchen table.”
With her mentor team’s encouragement, Kim was able to find a good job as a tax assistant. At her previous job, she had to catch the bus in the dark. Now, she can see her boys off to school every morning. In the future, Kim wants to work in social services, and to that end, she’s applied to college. “I know the things I’ve gone through are a testimony for other people,” she says enthusiastically.
Kim attributes her family’s newfound stability, and her faith in herself, to the care, love and example she received from her mentor team. “It’s gratifying to me now to do the small things and accomplish them and be able to follow through,” she says. “They are a group of people that really care. I mean, really care … I have a big problem trusting people, but because of my mentors, I’ve learned to grow personally, beyond my old thoughts of what I could do.” |
