craig’s family finds home again

For Craig, home had always been the apartment where he was raising his two kids, Tanner and Ellie. It was where the kids’ height was marked on the wall each year, where birthday candles were blown out, and where the small joys of everyday life unfolded.

Then, one day, their world was turned upside down. Severe water damage made their apartment unlivable. Overnight, they lost not only their home, but many of the belongings that carried their memories. The sudden move left Craig with significant housing debt, and nowhere else to go, Craig and the kids began an exhausting cycle — moving between hotels, crashing on friends’ couches, and eventually, sleeping in their car.

Those nights were the hardest. Craig did his best to keep Tanner and Ellie warm, but the car grew bitterly cold at night. He worried constantly about their safety and what the future might hold, all while trying to reassure his children that things would be okay.

Through it all, Craig never stopped working. He held a full-time job, but still, the dream of finding a safe place to live felt further away with each passing week. His income was just high enough to disqualify him from low-income housing, but with depleted savings and debt weighing him down, market-rate apartments were still out of reach. It was a painful place to be: working hard, but still unable to provide his kids with the stability they deserved.

Feeling stuck and out of options, Craig reached out to Mary’s Place. That’s when hope returned. Our outreach team walked beside him, building a housing plan that could work for his family long-term. Together, we worked with his former landlord to resolve housing debt and clear the way for a new lease. With the help of generous donors, we also provided move-in support to cover the deposit, ensuring Craig and his kids could quickly move into their new apartment.

Today, Craig, Tanner, and Ellie are home. They have a safe, stable apartment where they’re making new memories and dreaming of a bright future again! This fall, no longer spending evenings huddled together in their car, they’re planning their trick-or-treating route through their new neighborhood and looking forward to hosting family and friends for cozy holiday meals.

Craig’s story is a reminder of just how quickly life can change — and how, with community support, families don’t have to face those challenges alone.