Covid affected many people all over the world, from illness and death to job loss and confinement. Jennifer was working and going to school to be a nurse when all of this hit hard. With her baby boy constantly being sick, reliable childcare was hard to find so going to school was on hold, and then Jennifer lost her job and her apartment. Everything seemed hopeless.

Jennifer’s mom came up with an idea. Come stay with me and get back on your feet, get school started again, and everything will be great. So Jennifer packed up her son and their lives and off they went to a new place to start over.

After living with her mom for a couple of months, Jennifer was working and trying to get back into nursing school. Her agreement with her family was they would babysit until Jennifer completed the nursing program. Unfortunately, things were not as they seemed, and Jennifer no longer had babysitting help or support from her family.

The living situation quickly deteriorated, and Jennifer and her son were no longer able to remain in that unhealthy environment. Her family kept all of their belongings and would not return them to Jennifer. Jennifer and her son had nowhere to go, so they lived with a relative until housing could be found.

Jennifer knew this would not be a permanent solution and reached out to NUMAS Haus. “I was very nervous about living in a shelter, but the staff and other families helped me to feel safe and welcomed. We arrived with basically nothing and the staff helped with clothing and food for my son and me. I was able to quickly get a job and also daycare lined up too.”