News from Family and Senior Homless Initiative - One Congregation. One Family.

Maria has always taken care of others. On top of the challenges of being a single mother to son Edward (15), daughter Vanessa (21) and daughter's baby, Grace (2), Maria has also extended herself to serve the poor and needy by working in various human services organizations. However, in the spring of 2006, Maria fell on some hard times and needed someone to help take care of her. Edward's father had fallen behind on his financial commitment to pay child support. With only one salary, Maria couldn't keep up with all of her expenses, and the family was forced to move out of their home. Without a home of their own, Maria and her family went to stay with Maria's mother. But when Maria's mother needed to sell her home, the family again found themselves with nowhere to turn.

Working for a homeless service provider at the time, Maria came across some information for the Family and Senior Homeless Initiative. Through FSHI and her faith mentor team from Highlands United Methodist Church, Maria was able to receive financial assistance towards first month's rent and security deposit for an apartment of her own, as well as much-needed relational support to continue pursuing her goals.

Read below to find out more about how Highlands UM has served this family.

When a small team from Highlands United Methodist decided to answer Mayor Hickenlooper's call to the faith community to mentor a homeless family or senior, they weren't quite sure what to expect. However, their team members were armed with degrees in social work and education, and had collective experience serving families with special needs, low-incomes, and diverse backgrounds. According to faith mentor team leader, Tamera Ford, they assumed that they were well equipped to handle whatever needs this family may present. What they didn't expect was for Maria to have so much going for her, in spite of her homelessness!

"We went into the mentoring relationship with an open mind, but we expected to encounter a family that was needy and helpless. What we found instead is an incredibly strong woman, finishing her bachelor's degree, and pursuing a meaningful career."

Like many of the clients served by the Family and Senior Homeless Initiative, Maria was working full-time and well on her way to being self-sufficient. Many stories about homeless families include traumatic life events or a series of bad choices that lead to a point of crisis. Homeless families and individuals can often be portrayed as destitute, helpless, broken. And while those characteristics sometimes ring true, what Highlands UM team's experience with Maria points out is that homelessness has many faces, and can affect individuals across a broad spectrum of educational and employment histories.

Without a defined set of needs to help address, the mentor team was at a crossroads: Do we pat Maria on the back and send her on her way, or do we continue to meet with her anyway? Sticking to their commitment to complete 7 meetings with the family, the team has continued to meet with Maria. "It would have been easy to get discouraged or feel useless, but our focus from the beginning was on building a relationship, not to try and "rescue" someone to make ourselves feel important," remarks mentor Tamera.

And over the past 6 months in working with Maria, they have built a wonderful, empowering relationship. Tamera shared, "We get together with Maria for coffee, or meet with the whole family over pizza. Everything hasn't been easy for the family, but we've been able to listen and encourage, and learn from them in return. It's almost turned into a women's empowerment group, more than anything else!" Maria echoed the same sentiment, sharing that her team has been wonderful," a real encouragement to me while I'm getting back on my feet."

By taking a leap of faith and reaching out to a family during their time of need, the team from Highlands United Methodist has been able to provide a homeless family with additional support and encouragement, offering healthy, supportive relationships. And in return, the members feel like they've gained a friend and an example for them to chase after their dreams. What a beautiful picture of the sense of community that can be experienced when people come with open hearts and open minds.