Tameka's Story

Tameka radiates joy when she talks about the antics of her six-year-old son. He loves school and basketball, and the toy cars and Michael Jackson poster on display in his bedroom. "We have such a good life," she says, smiling. "When we walk through the door of our Cicero apartment every evening after work, I get this indescribable feeling. We're home. We're safe. We're together. And the future looks really bright, for both of us."

But this wasn't always the case. In fact, only a couple of years ago, Tameka and her son found themselves in a spiral of bad luck and unfortunate circumstances. "We didn't see it coming" she says, the smile leaving her face. "One moment we're a family with a beautiful baby and a nice home, and then suddenly my son and I are living on the streets. That's not something that anyone can be prepared for."

First came the divorce. Tameka and her husband had adopted their son when he was an infant, and she felt strongly about her commitment to raise him in a two-parent home. But it was not to be. So she began working, with success, as a medical assistant. “My dream was to become an emergency room nurse,” she says. This was a first step toward realizing that dream. “So my son and I were just starting to get back on our feet, in the midst of the divorce, when our lives were devastated once again. There was a terrible fire in my apartment building. We lost almost everything.”

And that’s when things really fell apart for Tameka. Her medical assistant salary was not enough to cover the costs of starting over in a new place. She simply could not afford a security deposit plus first and last month’s rent. She lacked the education and training to get a higher-paying job. She did not have a safety net of family and friends whom she could trust to care for her son.

At first, Tameka relied on friends for a place to stay, “couch surfing” with her son because no one had the space keep them for more than a day or two. But this transient lifestyle, Tameka explains carefully, meant that her son was being exposed to behaviors that simply were not appropriate for him. For his sake, she says, they had to leave.

On a cold, rainy day in March, Tameka and her pre-schooler son became officially homeless.

“I didn’t know where we were going to stay that night,” she says. “I felt like I had a million-pound weight on me, standing out there on the street with my son’s little hand in mine. I don’t remember who gave me the phone number for West Suburban PADS. All I know is that it was a blessing that saved our lives.”

Tameka and her son made their way to the PADS emergency shelter, in tears. “I was so grateful to have a safe place, a warm place, to sleep. And to have good food for my little boy. But we were scared. And I kept telling myself this was not possible. This could not have happened to us. The shelters are for homeless people. I had a job. I lived a clean life. How could this happen to us?

Tameka knew she had to be strong for her son, so she told him they were at a big sleepover. He put on a good face, she says, but “I heard him crying in the night.”

“We lived in the shelters for two months. I would go to work every morning at six a.m., and my son would still go to kindergarten. The shelter locations are different every night, so we had to move every day, but we had safety, warmth and food. The PADS staff helped me wash our clothes and gave us the supplies to make sure we kept our hygiene up. The staff and volunteers in all of the shelters worked hard to make sure we were comfortable.”

During this time, case managers for PADS’ Family Transitional Housing program met with Tameka to devise a self-sufficiency plan that would enable her to move out of the shelter and into her own home. PADS gave Tameka and her son the helping hand they so desperately needed.

PADS’ Family Transitional Housing Program provides the financial support and guidance that homeless families need to make a successful transition to a stable housing situation, through subsidized rent, one-on-one case management, job and financial literacy counseling, and wrap-around supportive services.

“There were three things I had to be able to do in order to be approved for the Housing program,” she explains, “I had to show that I could increase my earning potential, strengthen my basic life skills and maintain housing stability. In other words, if PADS got us back on our feet, they wanted to know that we’d be able to stay there.”

Tameka was approved for the program, and signed a lease for her very own two-bedroom apartment. On move-in day, a team of PADS volunteers donated and delivered furniture for all the rooms in Tameka’s new home. “We have our own beds and dressers and a dining table and a couch,” she says proudly, “and a pantry full of healthy food, and a back yard for my son.”

“Since we’ve been here, our lives have been filled with serenity and peace.  PADS turned everything around for me.”

PADS case managers helped Tameka navigate the complex public aid system and the paperwork involved in enrolling her son in a nearby school. “PADS taught me about finance, about saving and credit and planning for the future,” she explains. “They encouraged me to get a better education so I can get a better-paying job, and they helped me research schools and financial aid options.”

Tameka begins a two-year nursing program next month. Her son is, as she says, “really geeked”  about the idea that she’ll be carrying a book bag every day, just like him. She is contributing 30% of her monthly income toward her rent and paying her own utilities, also working toward her self-sufficiency goals for education and financial savings.

Today, Tameka and her son are safe and at peace. “What would we have done without PADS? I don’t even want to think about it,” she says, shaking her head. “It’s really scary to know that you can go from a state of being comfortable, of having the basic necessities of life, to suddenly having nothing. I thank God every day for PADS because I know they will make sure everyone, no matter who they are or why they’re homeless, has safe shelter.

“PADS gave us so much more than a home and hope for the future,” Tameka adds. “PADS gave us back our dignity. For that, we will be forever grateful.”

Note: Of the 14 households that exited the Family Transitional Housing program in 2009, 10 (71.4%) increased their income. Of those 10 households that increased their income during their participation in the program, the average increase was $667.90 per month.