Betty
Many people think that people who become homeless are lazy and don’t work. This, however, is not the case. There are people who become homeless who are working two or three jobs. The “working poor” become homeless because they get paid minimum wage, and often that is not enough to support the basic needs of their families. I want to share with you Betty’s story so you can understand how homelessness can happen to hard working people. Read more about Betty.
Buruk
Local student Buruk, senior at Arvada High school, was recently awarded student of the month, with the highest scores ever received at Arvada High School. This you man has worked diligently and studied hard to reach this high level of achievement. What’s even more remarkable is that Buruk, along with his parents and four siblings live in the CHF transitional housing program. He comes from a family of high-achievers who are working hard along the path of self-sufficiency. Read more about Buruk.
Christina
Christina, of African American and Native American descent, was married and had three young boys. Her husband left them. She scrambled to take care of her boys, then ages 1, 2, and 3, and herself; as well as to find work and pay rent on her own. She was able to get training to provide specialized care for persons with disabilities, and within a few years she was making $13 an hour. Unfortunately, the only housing that she could afford was low-income government housing in a run-down Denver neighborhood. Read more about Christina
Dakota
Dakota and his family, a single mom and two siblings, came to Colorado Homeless Families as a last resort. His mother had nowhere to go, was unable to pay the bills, and suffered from the after effects of emotional, mental, and physical abuse that left her feeling weary and beaten down. Read more about Dakota.
Darcella
Darcella grew up in the foster system. She was bounced around from house to house until she turned 18, when she was left to fend for herself. She became a mother herself soon after, and stayed at a shelter for pregnant teens until her son became too old for their assistance. Read more about Darcella.
Dah and Taw
Dah, 30 years old, and her husband, Taw, came to Colorado Homeless Families from Burma with their two young children ages 4 and 2. For as long as Dah can remember, she was on the run and hiding in the jungles of Burma with her family. They were trying to escape ethnic cleansing in their country and were running for their lives. Living in the jungle was a daily struggle for survival. Often family and friends who were captured were sold into slavery or killed immediately. Read more about Dan and Taw.
From Tears to Laughter
A mother and 9 year-old daughter became homeless after the husband/father abandoned them. Although the mother worked hard as a Nurse’s Aid, they had to resort to living in their truck. Read more about From Tears to Laughter.
Helen
Helen is a young professional and only 23 years old. She worked hard and graduated from college with a Bachelor's Degree, and was planning on going to graduate school when her family's life dramatically changed. Helen's grandmother died, and upon her death, her mother's mental illness meant that she was no longer able to care for Helen's twin teenage brothers. Read more about Helen.
Jane
My name is Jane, I am a single parent and have a son, Mark who is 10 years old. Three years ago we were living in poverty barely making ends meet because my job paid so little. I couldn’t even pay my car insurance and one morning while driving my uninsured car, I ended up in a 3 car pile-up which totaled my car. I had to go to court and was ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution. My license was suspended until I paid it off. I was without a drivers license, had no car and no money. I felt like I was in a hopeless situation with no way out. Read more about Jane.
Janeen
Janeen, a mother of 7 children, was married to a successful obstetrician with a six-figure income. She had her Bachelors Degree in Psychology... Due to some serious problems with Janeen's husband, she found herself homeless with no money and no place to go. Read more about Janeen.
Jim and Mary
Raising a family of three, on a reservation was not always easy for Jim and Mary, poverty was a part of everyday life. Jim, Mary and their 3 children lived in a trailer with no running water. Three or four times a day Jim and Mary and their children had to haul water from a well about a quarter mile away. Read more about Jim and Mary.
J.M.
I don't know if you remember me or my family, but my name is J.M. My mom's name is E.M. and our family lived at CHF about 6 years ago. And recently I started thinking about my past and I thought of you. Read more about J.M.
Kevin and Sue
Kevin and Sue have three young boys, owned a home and worked full-time jobs. Sue worked for a large mutual funds company and Kevin was self-employed as an interior/exterior and commercial properties painter. Kevin needed help to run his company so they decided that Sue would quit her job to assist Kevin and the paint company. The business was growing and clients were increasing when Kevin suffered a severe incapacitating injury to his back. Read more about Kevin and Sue.
Larisa
Larisa, her husband and three boys came to CHF six years ago. After immigrating to the United States from Russia , they found themselves homeless. Larisa and her family did not speak English, which made it impossible for them to find jobs. They lacked a support system. The new culture and way of life in America was also very difficult for Larisa to understand and navigate. Read more about Larisa and her family.
Lilly
Lilly, a single mom with three children, including one with diabetes, was having trouble making ends meet. She was attending Medical school and couldn’t afford to keep paying rent on her own, so they had to move to a shelter. Read more about Lilly.
Mary
When Mary was a child, she though it was normal for parents to disappear for days at a time. Her mother was an alcoholic and would often leave Mary and her younger brother, George, alone for days at a time. They would eat what little food was left in the house and go hungry when the food was gone. When their mother returned, she would often beat Mary for no reason. One day, Mary’s mother decided she was leaving for good. She took her belongings with her, but left her children behind. Read more about Mary.
Mary and Her 3 Children
One special resident was a single mom, Mary and her 3 young children. Mary’s husband and children were the most important thing in her life. When her husband stopped coming home at night and he started drinking heavily she became fearful for her future. Read more about Mary and Her 3 Children.
Mary Lou
Mary Lou was a dedicated mother who was home schooling her two boys and supporting her husband as he worked on his PhD. However, her husband would occasionally burst into fits of raging anger. Read more about Mary Lou.
Musette
Musette has been a resident at CHF for a little over a year. She will be graduating with her teaching degree in the spring. Musette has been taking 3 buses a day getting to school and taking her daughter to daycare. She receives only $220 a month to cover expenses. She has been unable to afford any transportation other than the bus, with her monthly bus pass paid for by her college tuition. Read more about Musette.
Nancy
Nancy had always dreamed of being a wife and a mother. She was doing just that when her husband decided that he would rather be with another woman. Nancy was left to fend for herself, with 2 little girls to take care of and was pregnant as well.
Promise
Promise and her parents, Mohan and Sangeeta, were humanitarians in Nepal. Growing up in Nepal brought about many difficulties and challenges. When Promise was only 12 years old, an insurgency led by Maoist extremists broke out between the insurgents and the government forces. This led to severe restrictions on civil liberties for the Nepalese people and even the young children were being drafted as soldiers.
The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) used children, usually between 12 and 16 years old, as soldiers, messengers, cooks, porters and suppliers. Promise was just the right age for becoming a child soldier and for her safety would need to leave Nepal. Read more about Promise.
Rebekah
"I could barely believe it when a couple of weeks ago I got called into the principal's office because I had made it onto the Principal's Honor Roll! I was so excited, and I knew my mom and everyone at CHF would be so proud of me. Just a few years ago, I was too worried about my family to do well in school." Read more about Rebekah.
Sally
Sally was just 17 when she got pregnant. Her boyfriend wanted to do the "right thing" so they got married. They had the baby shortly after getting married and a year or so later they had a second baby. He worked while Sally stayed home to take care of the boys. Read more about Sally.
Sarah
Sarah, with son Brandon, age 8, had separated from and soon divorced her abusive alcoholic husband. They came to Colorado on their own to find a better life. Having been raised out east, Sarah had no family or friends out here. Though hard-working, honest, responsible, and having strong conviction, Sarah was at a low point; alone, living in fear and doubt, and needing some help. Read more about Sarah.
Sharoon Din
Sharoon Din is a Pakistani refugee that came to CHF shortly after September 11th, 2001, when businesses in his home village would no longer employ Christians. With no way to support themselves, Sharoon’s parents sought refuge in the U.S. Read more about Sharoon Din.
Stephanie
Stephanie was living with an abusive husband. He was not only abusive to her but with her children as well. She felt as though she was trapped. She had no money and had no place to go. She moved into Colorado Homeless Families transitional housing program where she received counseling and case management and other support services. Read more about Stephanie.
Sue
One day, a mother, Sue, came into Colorado Homeless Families sobbing, desperate to speak to Connie Zimmerman. She was at her wits end. In between sobs, she told her story, what started out with such promise, turned out to be heart breaking. Read more about Sue.
Mr. Thomas
Mr. Thomas came to Colorado a few years ago to try to find a way to support his family, who still lived out of state at the time. Mr. Thomas was able to find work at the airport as a baggage handler, making $7 an hour. He was living in the basement of a church that took him in. Soon, his family moved to Colorado to be with him (his wife and 5 children, ages 10 to 20). However, there wasn't enough room for all of them to live in the church basement. Read more about Mr. Thomas.
Tim and Sara
Tim and Sara had only known each other a short time when she became ill. They were planning to be married when they found out that Sara's kidneys were failing. Read more about Tim and Sara.
Amanda lived a very normal life in the Congo with her husband and 18 year-old daughter. She ran a Christian Radio Station in the Congo for 11 years that was very popular in her community. Her community was safe and her family always had enough food to eat. A rebellious army began to build in the Congo and word spread that they would be arriving in her village very soon. When the rebels arrived, they were walking into people’s homes, stealing all of their food and valuables. There was chaos, rage, destruction, abuse, beatings and killings.
Not knowing how to respond to the unjust violence, Amanda used her radio station to be a voice for the less fortunate and to stand up for the rights of the people in her community. A few days later, the rebel army broke into Amanda’s radio station and abused and beat her. They threatened to kill her husband unless he joined the army. Left with no choice, Amanda’s husband left with the armed men.
Amanda's life was in terrible danger because she spoke out against the violence. She had no choice but to flee for her life. Amanda and her daughter, left with her sister and brother-in-law and their three children to go and live at a refugee camp.
Amanda would be safe at the refugee camp for only a short time. It was at the camp that Amanda was given refugee status and was permitted to come to the United States.
When she arrived in the US she lived in the basement of a Congolese family.
She studied hard to become a Certified Nurse’s Aid. She sent almost all of the money that she made at her job to her surviving relatives living in the refugee camp in the Congo. Three years later, December 2011, her brother-in-law, sister, and their three children also received immigrant status and were permitted to come to the United States. The Congolese family Amanda was living with would not allow them to live in the tiny basement and Amanda could not afford to support three adults and three children on $8 an hour. They had no where to go and almost became homeless when Colorado Homeless Families allowed Amanda and her extended family to come and live in CHF’s transitional housing program. All three adults are enrolled in ESL classes, and participate in educational seminars and support groups at CHF.
Amanda is very grateful for all that CHF has provided for her family. Amanda seeks
to give back to the community and CHF on a regular basis by volunteering to help
others at CHF. Amanda has also been a voice for those in the Congo. She has been interviewed on Channel 9 News and other news media shows to speak against the horrific violence that is going on every day in her country. It is Amanda's hope to expose the terrible things happening in the Congo but she is very grateful for the freedom and the opportunities that she has in America and at CHF. She plans to take every opportunity to improve her life, as well as her family's.
Metro Denver area (7 counties) and to help them become self-sufficient within 18 months to two years.