Lillian avoided homelessness and the loss of her job thanks to support from CASS’ Glendale Center
Lillian is a 74-year-old Hispanic senior who sought assistance from the CASS Norton and Ramsey Social Justice Empowerment Center (NREC) when her rental home of the past 12 years was sold in mid-June. This abrupt displacement from housing put Lilly in jeopardy of becoming homeless.
Working together, Lilly and a case manager at NREC were able to contact the owner of the house and the home buyer, both of whom agreed to defer the date by which Lilly would have to move out until July 1. Buying extra time was critical because Lilly earns her income as an in-home childcare provider, and many rental properties have policies barring the performance of daycare services within their units. For this reason, Lilly’s search for a new home progressed slowly, as she struggled to find a property that would allow her to continuing performing her work.
Eventually, Lilly was able to secure approval for a two-bedroom apartment in which she could continue to provide in-home childcare. However, the move-in date was set for July 15, well beyond the move-out date from her existing home. Lilly’s NREC case manager was able to reach the parties involved in the sale of Lilly’s home of over a decade and successfully negotiated with them to allow Lilly to remain in that home until July 15. That successful negotiation ensured Lilly would not be forced to endure two weeks experiencing homelessness in the midst of Phoenix’s extreme summer heat.
With her move to the new apartment imminent, Lilly needed to pause her work as a DES childcare provider until the new apartment passed inspection, and she completed her move-in. This temporary hiatus from her work left Lilly deprived of the majority of her income during this period between homes. Though Lilly had the majority of the money to cover her move-in costs put aside, she still needed assistance to satisfy the full amount.
Fortunately, NREC was able to provide Lilly with the move-in assistance she required, clearing the last barrier on the path toward her move to a new apartment, so that she would avoid homelessness altogether.