“Thank You for Saving My Life”
Sharon* didn’t see a way out. She had worked as a nanny in DeKalb until the family contracted COVID-19. When they recovered, they made alternate arrangements and didn’t hire Sharon back. She eventually found another job, no easy task in the middle of a pandemic, but the gap in wages caused her to fall behind in rent.
Sharon’s landlord charged a fee for every day she was late with rent. “This compounding bill left her feeling overwhelmed and like she was in a hole she couldn’t crawl out of,” said Major Angie Hansen, corps officer at The Salvation Army DeKalb Corps Community Center. “By bringing her current with rent, she is able to move forward with her head above water.”
The message Sharon sent to Erin Andrews, the caseworker at the DeKalb corps, shows just how much that assistance meant to her:
I just wanted to let you know that you saved my life. I’ve been struggling with bills and my own demons for a few months now . . . and I was to the point of just wanting to kill myself because I thought I’d never make it. I was to the point of milk and cheese in my house and then I decided to call for help.
I’ve never asked for help. I’ve never asked for help because I’m all I got . . . no family, just me. And I truly thought that taking myself out of this world was my only option as of last week.
THANK YOU. Because of your generosity, I get to not only live because I can catch up, but feel stronger than I was before and I’m so grateful you called me back and decided to help me.
Thank you for saving my life.
-Sharon
When Sharon went to The Salvation Army for help, she was one of 1,500 requests for assistance the DeKalb corps received in 2020, an elevated number due to the challenges of COVID-19. They were able to help 398 families and individuals like Sharon, preventing homelessness through rental assistance and other means of support. “Each of those clients were referred to other programs and services in our community to help them continue to remain solvent,” said Major Angie.
When you donate to The Salvation Army, you enable us to support even more individuals in crisis, keep even more families in their homes, and continue Doing the Most Good.
*Name changed to protect client’s privacy.