“I am so sorry for making you stay late to help me”, said Shandra in a slight panic as she rushed into the office last Friday. We received a call from her while she was on her lunch hour earlier that day, trying to figure out how to move into a new apartment with her daughter. She had found a place by pure chance and was finally going to be able to move out on her own after staying with family for several months when she arrived in Blount County. Even though they supported her by letting her live with them, it was a small home that already housed a family of four. With Shandra and her daughter, it was tight around the dinner table, and having only one bathroom for six people sometimes meant getting up really early just to get ready for work. 

Shandra had heard about Good Neighbors through her church, but she thought the assistance was just for utilities; what she needed was help with a rent deposit. A friend had encouraged her to call and find out how we might be able to help her move into her own place, even if just to get some information. Shandra looked at our website and saw that we could help with deposits. This excited her, thinking it could happen sooner than she had thought. A few days passed, and she came across a listing for an apartment close to her work. She called the landlord and was told that another person was interested in the property. Shandra worried that she would lose her chance if she could not come up with a deposit by the end of the week. She was very determined and made sure to call and tell us what was happening and what her tight timeline was to secure the apartment. 

The volunteer coach decided to stay a little later than normal to meet with Shandra after work. She knew this coming in and that we would work with her to contact the landlord and advocate on her behalf. As it turned out, the landlord already knew about GNBC and would let her move in and pay the remaining deposit balance over the next couple of months. GNBC helped pay a portion of her rent deposit with our SURE Deposits program, and she left the office with a big smile, saying, “I appreciate you taking the time to help me today. My daughter and I will be really happy in this new apartment.”

It took a village to help Shandra and her daughter. Through a network of people from her church, friends, and volunteers at Good Neighbors, she was able to find a new home!