Stories of Hope

Alexander

I want to thank Hands of Hope America for what they've done for me and my two kids.

I was in an abusive relationship and fled from the relationship ending up in a homeless situation. I did it to protect my children and to avoid the situation from turning tragic. I found myself without a home and then through a friend I was referred to an organization that claimed they would help us out. That was a big mistake. In the midst of this we met Evelisse & Maritza. I believe in god and since the organization that said would help was a church, I believed in them. After seeing the behaviors of the church leaders it was a complete turn off. We were placed in a one bedroom RV with the understanding that certain things would be fixed and that we would live there for few months for free so I can get back on my feet and that wasn't true . We were living there without a refrigerator, no working stove (there was a gas leak), leaking toilet, AC not working properly, at time the temperature on the RV would reach about 120%. The Pastors knew of all of this and were being informed by myself and Mrs. Maritza. I was told I had to pay for the RV parking lot although I could not afford that and those were not the terms.

I was working making about $9 an hour, I had an eviction on my credit and my credit was horrible, therefore finding a place to live became nearly impossible. In the midst of this nightmare I reached out to Mrs. Maritza at Hands of Hope and she immediately stepped in. My 13 yr old son fell into a depression and wrote that he was going to commit suicide due to the environment and circumstances that we were in and was immediately baker acted. I couldn't go to work due to this new situation. I was at the verge of losing my job and my car which I desperately needed. Evelisse stepped in and spoke to the finance people that had the car loan. We also spoke to my employer and explained the situation. My kids school knew about our environment and teamed up with Hands of Hope to try to help. Mrs. Maritza ran around with me and referred me to various other nonprofits. We kept hitting obstacles. Shelters were full to capacity, every other agency's answer was "fill out this application and we will put you on a waiting list". My son was released after 7 days of being baker acted to return to the same environment, I was losing my mind. Hands of Hope set up a fundraiser for us. They collected money, food, and clothing. They paid my car payment so that I could be able to go to work and drive my kids to school. They moved us from the RV and rented a room for me and my two children. The burden became lighter and things became so much better. I was finally able to see a smile on my childrens faces. Things are not 100% but they are a lot better than what they were, thanks to Hands of Hope America. The hearts of these two women are amazing and although I had lost faith because of what the people in the church did. God sent us two angels, that filled us up with hope, love and faith, they restored us. Although they are not Pastors but are great women of faith, they thought us how to seek God in the midst of our troubles, led us to his true word in bible scriptures. I end this by saying, may the god bring forward Hands of Hope America and may him to continue to bless and protect these two wonderful women.

Elizabeth's Story

Hands Of hope America helped me obtained the documents my family needed and connected us with housing resources so that we could take those next steps toward self sufficiency. The organization was very supportive and encouraging along the way. Their words and prayers kept our spirits uplifted during one of the toughest seasons my family and I had faced. I’m grateful to have the blessing of being connected with Hands of Hope America! Thank you for your help and support!

Chevalier Siblings

My sisters, brothers and me received mentorship and counseling when we were dealing with school issues, specially bullying. They empowered us to make better choices and guided us and thought us on how to communicate with our parents and teachers so they can have a better understanding of the challenges that we were facing. Although we are just a bunch of teenagers, through this program we realize that there are individuals out there that are willing to help and care. As a teenager is hard to communicate with adults, we feel that many do not understand our generation but Ms. Evelisse was able to understand our frustration, guided us in the right direction, got us involved in different activities. Thought us how to handle situations without getting into fights with others. She is tough, firm and a sweet lady, that allowed us to open up to her. If you are going through something as a teenager we recommend that you speak to her. We did and it was a great help.