Almost as soon as Aberash moved to the United States, she was at risk of eviction. Through a Neighborhood House Family Center, she found help for not only paying rent, but also turning her family’s apartment into a warm home.
When you are living in a new country, surrounded by unfamiliar people who speak a language you do not understand, home becomes everything. Our apartment had become my refuge, a small slice of the big city we could call our own.
We had been in the country for less than a month when I learned that my children and I would soon be evicted from our small, unfurnished apartment.
One morning at the bus stop, as I watched my children ride away on the school bus, I suddenly felt great loneliness and fear. Unable to hold back my sadness, I began sobbing on the roadside.
Other parents noticed my tears and asked me what was wrong. When I told them, they encouraged me to visit Neighborhood House’s Highland Family Center. The moment I met my case manager, Frewoine, I felt like I had hope.
Frewoine was kind and warm. She spoke my language and understood the needs of my family. She helped me talk with our landlord, visit the Food Market, and finish our immigration papers. Without Neighborhood House, my children and I would be homeless.
There are still struggles, but when my children come home from school (where they are all honor students!) they return to our furnished apartment and a mother who loves them.
7/26/17
