$550.00/month

A little while ago, I made a plea for some extra change for an unexpected electric bill. Anything would have helped, but the people in our community, and some farther away, jumped in to help. My goal was $400.00, but you tripled that amount. Little did I know, a teen had been aware of our teen siblings’ situation awhile ago, and he made a plea to his church youth group. “I would like to take up a second offering for a girl at our school and her siblings.” They quietly did this for several months, and the pastor agreed to match it. His mother read my post and called me with an amazing surprise. They had over $1000.00! That money was paid directly towards their rent. One man immediately came to my place of work and handed me the $400.00. He didn’t care if I collected more than enough. “They can use it for future bills.” With guidance from Beth, the money will be managed and handled carefully. One person was critical of my plea. “Why didn’t you find an apartment with utilities included?” I did. My friend lives in a rental property behind a business. It is one bedroom. 5 family members share one bedroom. The living room is just big enough for a couch, chair and TV. You can’t open the front door all the way because the chair is in the way. The kitchen is really a kitchenette. The sink is baby sized, and there is no room for a table. There certainly isn’t room for 2 people. This place rents for $550.00/ month, utilities included. Ok, let’s examine that. There is a window A/C unit and 2 space heaters. There is a big square opening in the bedroom where the heat should be, but it is gone. A little kid fits nicely in the space, but the heat is gone. So while she has the “luxury” of having her “utilities included”, how can this even be legal? The kids’ go to school full time, but they all have part-time jobs. Their rent is $400.00 a month, and they expected their electricity to be $138.00/month based on other 3 bedroom units. So for the same monthly cost, the two rentals aren’t even comparable. Beth worked hard to find the kids a safe, nice place to live. Their apartment is a dream. They each have a bedroom. The bathroom is big. Their kitchen is lovely. They are so fortunate. Yes, the town is full of rentals. Are there many openings? No. You take what you can. Beth wanted these kids to be safe. The manager is on site. She keeps the place nice, safe and secure. I hope the owners decide to continue to build in Paris. My friend deserves a place this nice. Our 3 siblings have lived in other places. This is the nicest home they’ve ever had. Before they moved, they shared one mattress. They actually slept on other peoples’ couches. When they were growing up, all they knew was they needed to do whatever they could to stay together. They are currently separated from their 2 brothers, but the boys come to visit. I can tell it hurts their sister that they aren’t living together. She used to spend her Saturdays going from one friend’s house to the next trying to get food to feed her siblings. All she wants is to have her family together. She didn’t ask for this money. It was me. I probably overstepped. I appreciate the response from our friends. I hope to help more people in the future. It’s ok if you don’t agree, just unfollow me…