Brandy’s Story: Motel to Home

It’s a sad fact that housing instability often leads to job loss no matter what the cause of it. Brandy had a bright future ahead of her working as a home health aide since 2009 in Florida. In 2019, she left Florida on a job transfer with a national healthcare company. Being new to the Atlanta area, Brandy needed some time to find housing and so she, her 5 kids, and her grandmother moved in with another family member on a temporary basis. Within a few months that situation ended in tragedy as the family member’s house burned to the ground. Suddenly homeless, she and her family moved into an extended stay motel.

In the chaotic days after the fire, Brandy was having to take a lot of time off from work to find new housing, purchase new clothes for her children and get them settled in a motel. She was then let go from her job. That’s when she reached out to Motel to Home through the Norcross Public Library. With the help of her caseworker, Brandy was able to enroll her youngest children in Head Start daycare and found a “Transitional Job” while her grandmother looked after the older children. She continued to work and live in the motel while constantly looking for a higher paying job with more opportunity for advancement. This fall she started a full-time position with an assisted living center.  She has been working 80 hours a week during Covid to earn extra money to get back on her feet. She attended financial counseling and created a debt reduction plan. Just before the new year, she and her family moved out of the motel and into their own apartment.

Brandy is so relieved to finally be in her own space and have some calm and stability in her life. Her dream is to one day own her own assisted care facility.

*Name changed to protect client’s privacy