Citizens Bank Helps Families in Crisis

Prevention is the First Step in the Fight to End Homelessness

Through the Front Door’s Prevention & Intervention of Homelessness Program, the Agency helps individuals and families when they are at their lowest point…about to be evicted or have their gas or electricity turned off.  So many of us think it will never happen to us, but an unexpected crisis can happen at any time and completely upset the balance of family life.  But the Front Door is here to help, thanks to the support of local organizations including Citizens Bank, which generously awarded the Front Door a grant of $10,000 for this critical program.  Citizens Bank cares deeply about the local community and has been a long-time supporter of this program for over 10 years!  Through homelessness prevention, families are able to regain self-sufficiency and maintain their existing housing and ultimately avoid homelessness.  Lisa and Andrew know this all too well…

                                               A Tragic Loss

Little Girl with Baby Brother RESIZEDLisa and Andrew were faced with a sudden family tragedy when Lisa’s sister died tragically in a car accident leaving behind a young son and daughter.  Lisa and her husband did not want the children to be separated after suffering the loss of their mother, so they took them into their own home which was already full with two children of their own and a third on the way. Talk about a full house!  While it was a stressful adjustment (both emotionally and financially), the family seemed to handle the situation as well as could be expected. Thankfully, there was lots of love to go around.

An Unexpected Crisis

Unfortunately, things changed unexpectedly again when Lisa experienced serious complications with her third pregnancy and she had to leave her job much earlier than planned.  Lisa and Andrew really needed Lisa’s income and now with more children in the home– Andrew’s income was stretched as far as it could go.  Inevitably, they fell behind with their expenses and were in danger of losing their home. Where was this family of six — soon to be a family of seven — going to go?

A Family Back on Their Feet

That’s when Lisa and Andrew turned to the Front Door for help.  It was evident the family had just fallen on hard times and would be okay moving forward as soon as Lisa returned to work, so the Agency helped them pay the back rent due. Thanks to the ongoing support of organizations like Citizens Bank, the Front Door was able to give the family the chance they needed to get solidly back on their feet again.