“Growing up in a broken home in Fairhope, I saw my parents fight all of the time. Some days the abuse was so bad that my grandmother met me at the bus stop and took me away. My parents divorced, but by age 16, I was in my own abusive relationship. I had my first child when she turned 17, and another 11 months later. I wanted to keep my family together and give my kids a better life, so I stayed.

He gave me a concussion when I was eight months pregnant with our first child. He always apologized and said he would change. I believed him, but he and the drugs just got worse. By the time I finally got out, my babies and I were homeless. My parents disapproved of the marriage early on and bridges were burned. Making $9 an hour at a daycare, housing in Baldwin County was unaffordable on my own. Friends and strangers took us in for weeks at a time until I found Family Promise during an internet search for homeless shelters. There are no homeless shelters in Baldwin County. Family Promise provides shelter for families with children in a different host

I was nervous about going into Family Promise but it turned my life around. I was in a dark place, but it got better. Family Promise provided everything for us so we could save and get back on our feet. I walked into Fairhope Methodist Church and there was a mountain of diapers for us. One of the churches in Fairhope was the church I grew up in. My children and I slept in one of my Sunday School rooms.”

I was in the program for five months and saved more than $1,000 for an apartment in Robertsdale. That sounded like a lot of money, but I had $62 in my account after I paid for the deposits and move-in fees. My rent is income-based at $137 a month. It’s still a stretch, she said, especially if I miss days of work caring for a sick child. The daycare where I work has been good to me, and gave me a raise when they heard I was homeless and in Family Promise.

It’s not easy, but I can now see how I can give my kids a better life than I had. They won’t live in fear.”

“Asleigh’s” story from “Unaffordable Housing in Fairhope.” Here is the story: https://www.lynnoldshue.com/home/2020/5/8/unaffordable-housing-in-fairhope-1