Housed, but stuck - in a motel

[Liberal_in_LA]

Just passing through
How an American family slides into a motel room — and off the radar


Housed, but stuck

Dawn, Conner, Victor, 14-year-old Rafael "Gabe" Paiz and patriarch David Ford have lived in this motel for more than a year now. There's a tiny living room, a kitchenette with no oven, a bathroom with no tub, and a small bedroom.

Comment: Patriarch? Who uses that term anymore? back to the story

The boys sleep in the living room on a fold-out couch and chair. David and Dawn sleep in the bedroom, where the queen-size bed takes up nearly all of the floor space.

Rent here is $195 a week. That exhausts any money the family earns. Groceries are bought with food stamps. For Christmas and special occasions, David, who's the resourceful type, bakes hams and casseroles in the barbecue.

Across the city, you could take similar snapshots. Parents feeding kids out of mini-fridges, cooking meals in microwaves, carving out strips of carpet for sleep, play, storage and more.

http://www.csindy.com/colorado/just-passing-through/Content?oid=2103070

[me b zola]

1. Yes, i found this out unfortunatly for myself

When I was homeless i found out that staying in a (roach)hotel was more expensive then rent...but i had not choice

[grasswire]

2. demand affordable housing now

And get the rental industry off the backs of low-income families. The process of finding a place for a family to live is humiliating and degrading, if you are unemployed or your credit is shot.

[Tripod]

3. I'm glad my taxes can help.

Been there done that. I needed the help.

[ejpoeta]

4. my husband and i lived in a motel for awhile with our daughter. i can tell you it was

eye opening. first of all, it was hard to find a motel to take me with a child. i had left where we were living because we shared a trailer with my husband's brother and my husband's brother is abusive. mostly verbally and threatening to punch people in the head. when he threatened my husband while my husband was holding our baby, i calmly asked for bob to hand me emily and i left. i stayed at my brother's for three weeks the first time. then my husband begged me to come back and I was under the impression his brother was sorry but no he wasn't. I ended up leaving again and refused to go back for anything. I stayed at a motel where when bob came to visit the manager told us if bob was there for more than half an hour he would charge me more. and he wasn't happy that i got his 'best room' which had stains on the floor and was the only one with a tub. after a week of that we left and found a room with a really nice guy who brought my daughter stuffed animals and such. it was $100/wk. we went to rent a center and got a mini fridge for $5/wk and paid extra to the motel for having it there. I don't remember how long we stayed there, but I got $300/wk at my job. $100 went to the sitter, $100 went to the rent and the rest went to gas to get to my job and to pay my insurance. Still not sure how we made it. We didn't have food stamps or anything like that at the time. We were lucky though. bob was remodeling a house which we moved into eventually. I could imagine how you'd end up trapped in one of those places when every penny you make goes to just paying bills.

[Evolve_Already]

5. Wishing you all the best.

Sad state of affairs anyone has to go through what you and your family did.

[ejpoeta]

7. we've been through a lot. but we didn't get through it alone. we've always had

some help through the rough times. Right now we are doing ok, but we would have never gotten here without help of family and friends as well as food stamps and other assistance when we needed it. The thought that they would want to take that safety net away is frightening. And the thought that I have family members who would welcome that is even more frightening. The fact is that we are better off than a lot of other people are. Our house is paid off now, and while we still have student loans and a car payment and a few credit cards, we should be ok as long as no one gets sick. I want that help to be there for people who need it. Period. No one gets through it alone. And not everyone has five siblings to help out. And a dad who was willing to cosign a loan for us.

[Liberal_in_LA]

8. Glad you got past your motel days. n/t

[Evolve_Already]

12. Very pleased

things are looking up for you. The plight of so many is mind blowing to me. My wish for you is ongoing forward movement and peace.

[xchrom]

6. recommend

[kentuck]

9. These folks lived two houses down the street from me.

I had no idea where they had gone until I read this article. My next door neighbor's son is best friend to Conner.

My wife just took the article across the street to our neighbor to see if they knew about it?

[Liberal_in_LA]

10. WOW! So you didn't know they had moved out?

[kentuck]

11. Yes, I knew they had moved ...

but I did not know where they had moved.