Debbie was married with two children – a son age 13 and a daughter age 5. Their daughter had some medical issues and many doctors’ appointments the first five years of her life, so Debbie stopped working as a teacher to care for her. Her husband was a long-distance truck driver who was on the road for extended stretches of time. With no warning, four days before Christmas, Debbie received an eviction notice at their rented townhome. She didn’t know her husband had stopped paying the rent. She didn’t know he wasn’t coming back.
A family she knew offered their finished basement, so she and her children put their belongings into storage, and moved in with only the bare necessities. Another friend from her church, Clayton Martin, recommended that she contact Bridge of Hope. Once Debbie was in the program, the church quickly formed a group of Neighboring Volunteers to support her. “My experience was having someone to sit beside me saying, ‘We are going to help you make this better. If you don’t have the skills, we will help you find them. If you don’t have enough for rent, we will supplement it.’ ” Debbie reflected, “I had to learn to accept help. I was used to being the one giving help. It was humbling and scary.”
Debbie took a job at a local company in customer service. She also applied for a Habitat for Humanity house being built by the Elizabethtown College chapter. Several months after she graduated from Bridge of Hope, Debbie and her children moved into the Habitat house. While it was being built, they put in their 500 volunteer hours and got to know the college well. In fact, she still keeps in touch with some of the students who helped build her house. Her son eventually received a full scholarship from Elizabethtown and graduated in a joint program with Penn State as an electrical engineer. Debbie’s been in the house for 24 years and retired from that local company after 19 years. She now cares for her daughter, who has been experiencing health issues. Recently they received a small inheritance and Debbie put the money into a new roof, porch and a small patio. “It is like paradise; this house has been a miracle in our lives” Debbie declared. “I am so thankful for Bridge of Hope. I learned that homelessness can happen to anyone. I was educated, but I still needed help.” Today Debbie enjoys volunteering and giving back by working with several nonprofits in her neighborhood.