Landlord’s foreclosure puts young family on the streets

A child of immigrants, Jamie grew up in the Pittsburgh area. At the age of 17, when her father was facing deportation, Jamie chose to remain in the United States and be emancipated. A kindly attorney helped to secure an apartment for her; she worked part time to support herself as she finished high school graduating with a 4.0 GPA. In 2003, Jamie moved to South Florida to attend college. While in college, Jamie became pregnant with her now two year old son, Alejandro.

One evening when she came home, Jamie found that the locks on her apartment door had been changed because her landlord had gone into foreclosure and had sold the unit two days before. With nowhere to turn, Jamie found shelter at a church through the Community Based Shelter program and was referred to BPHI two days later when beds became available for her and her son at the Broward County Central Homeless Assistance Center’s Family Dorm.

Since she’s been at the Center, Jamie has worked with the Job Developer and registered with Workforce One to aid in her job search. Jamie attends the bi-weekly Motivated Moms support group, attends Parenting Classes and visits the Family Therapist on a weekly basis. While Jamie searches for work, Alejandro enjoys his days at BPHI’s on-site Early Education Center and loves the volunteers who watch the children during the Mom’s support group and Parenting Classes.

Jamie’s immediate goals are to get a job, car and have $2,500 in savings before leaving the Center so she can find a nice apartment for her and Alejandro.