Our Stories Matter: Annie
Annie worked as a Staffing Coordinator in Denton. While she enjoyed her job, the pandemic caused tremendous stress. She was on call 24/7 and found it very hard to cope. She was already battling depression and other mental health struggles. With the pandemic creating many staffing problems, she felt like she never stopped working.
Finally, she decided to quit and try to find another job… but things got complicated with the pandemic.
With the steady paycheck now gone, it was getting harder to find a job. She started to get behind on bills, and right as the world shut down, she lost her apartment.
Annie found an extended-stay hotel that costed over $1,500 a month, but at least gave her and her 13-year old son Jake a roof over their heads. But, unfortunately, the hotel staff created many problems and kept increasing the rent.
The final straw was when her mother passed away, her car broke down, and the air conditioning in the hotel broke down, and they refused to fix it while also increasing her rent. She had zero savings and no way to pay her bills. She had only part-time jobs with Door Dash, Uber Eats, and Instacart.
With what little she could scrape by, she managed to buy another car, but they had to stay in the car since she could no loner afford the rent. So, they slept in the car at a Sam’s Club parking lot.
When the Sam’s Club manager found them sleeping in the parking lot, he wanted them to leave. So he contacted the police, who got in touch with Scott Butler on the Street Outreach team at Giving Grace.
Annie was unsure about accepting help from a perfect stranger, but Scott seemed kind and connected her with Amanda Hearst at CCA.
Scott went out of his way to get Annie and Jake into a Super 8 Motel right before Christmas so that they would have a roof over their heads. From the Super 8 Motel, Scott and Amanda helped get them to WoodSpring Suites, where they stayed till Giving Grace could help them find an apartment. By February 2023, Giving Grace helped Annie find an apartment and promised to help with the rent for a year.
This helped Annie catch her breath and focus on being a mother to her son while looking for a job.
While they were homeless, she made sure the 13-year-old went to school daily. Finally, she found a way to go to a gym where they could take showers and be clean. She needed to keep Jake in school and give him some normalcy.
While Jake was at school, Annie continued to work with Door Dash and Instacart and saved enough money for them to get a hotel room for the week of Thanksgiving. She desperately wanted to provide for her son and ensure he was cared for.
But unfortunately, she was not able to get back to working with staffing. Because of the pandemic, she could not renew her certification, and the job caused her back injuries. So, she has decided to look for a career in another field.
Giving Grace and CCA have partnered with her until the end of this year to help with the rent while she works on her resume and starts applying for jobs. She has done a few interviews and hopes something will click very soon.
Annie is very thankful for Scott and Amanda. They have been amazing and have gone out of their way to care for her and Jake. They have helped her with furniture and items for the apartment. In addition, Scott and his cop buddies helped her move into the flat and check in on her regularly.
Amanda stuck with them through the entire process and was relentless in helping her find a home. Annie says Amanda was the bulldog who helped her get through all the red tape.
Annie did not have any family in Dallas after her mother passed away. One of her sisters also died during the pandemic. Her other sister lives out of state but is their only family. It has been hard to build community at Giving Grace, but she attends community events regularly and is trying to make new friends. She is a private person who prefers to keep to herself but tries to step out and connect.
Written by E. Sherene Joseph