It started with a flood. For many families, their journey from housing stability to homelessness begins with one unforeseen event. For Ashley and her family, that event was the flooding of their home.
On December 16, 2024, rains came after a hurricane hit and left them standing in calf-deep water just two weeks after Ash and her three children moved into their new rental home in Alabama. Ash, who works for an insurance company, had renters’ insurance, but the policy didn’t cover her losses because her landlord didn’t carry homeowner’s insurance; a prerequisite to her renters’ insurance covering temporary housing and damage to their belongings.
As a result, Ashley had to find an alternative place for her family to live while they waited for their rental home to be repaired, and she worked to replace all of their belongings ruined in the flooding. She called the father of her two sons, who lives in Minnesota, and he agreed to take the boys in temporarily. But when they arrived in Minnesota, he failed to meet them. His rejection spurred a mental health crisis in her youngest son, causing him to be hospitalized. Ash and her family had to stay in Minnesota and were unable to return to Alabama.
Ashley, who works a fully-remote, full-time job (currently from the one shelter room she shares with her two kids, ages 17 and 7), was able to afford a hotel for a couple of weeks, but not for such an extended stay. She and her family quickly needed some place to stay and came to People Serving People’s Downtown Shelter in January 2025.
We are all doing the best we know how to do and to share our light with each other. The Advocates do that. They ask what we need help with and provide as much support as they can.
At People Serving People, Ashley experienced the power of care and support. Ashley experienced homelessness once before. She was first unhoused at just 14 years old and has been providing for herself ever since. Even though her home was damaged from the flood and she was unable to return to Alabama, her landlords sued to evict her family, and charged her a year’s worth of rent even though they had lived there for just two weeks. People Serving People found her a lawyer and helped pay a settlement to prevent her from having an eviction on her record—something that could prove to be a significant barrier to being able to rent in the future.
Ashley teared up thinking about how People Serving People helped her, “It was the first time in my life that someone did something like that for me.” The wrap-around services of mental health support, financial classes, family activities like Game Night, and the K-6 after-school program have been essential for Ashley and her family’s journey to housing stability. But what has been equally crucial to Ashley is being surrounded by people who don’t see her or treat her differently.
