Lauree, a single mother of two children, Trenton, age 8, and Sadie, age 7 struggled financially to keep up with rent and basic essentials. She had to make a tough choice to send her children to their father for a while so that she could find work with better pay and regain financial stability. She ended up homeless for a while, before gaining a room at the Samaritan House. Lauree found work at a new coffee house near Samaritan and was hired the same day she applied for the position. At the same time, she was looking for resources to help her with housing when she found Hands. She worked to meet Hands income requirements before applying for a vehicle and was approved for a vehicle placement.
On March 13, 2022, Lauree was placed with a 2013 Mitsubishi Outlander. She was so excited to have a vehicle to get to work, get her children back, and care for them. In a thank you note to the donor of the Outlander, Lauree wrote, “Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Because of you I can be a mother again.” Lauree’s son is partially blind, but is active in sports, and tries not to let his disabilities hinder him. She is very much part of her children lives and is grateful for their safety. Within days of being placed with a vehicle at Hands, the management of the coffee shop sold the business, and left her jobless. At the same time of working at the coffee shop, she met a commercial real estate agent, who asked if she was interested in baking cookies for them. She took the offer to keep working, and started a new position at Pablo’s coffee shop grinding coffee and is a Barista. Lauree is working not one but two jobs to regain sustainability. If she did not have the Outlander at the time she lost her previous job, she would have been homeless again. She is grateful for Hands’ programs that have helped her and many single moms who struggled with homelessness.
