Helping in Real Life Situations
Homeless for One Night
In the state of Michigan, the parent is unable to care for their children for even a single night the children can be taken away and put into foster care. After that, it can be very difficult for that parent to get the children back from foster care. As we volunteered with the ministry to the homeless, we saw numerous examples of this law in effect.
It was another family, they were being evicted from their house and for a single night did not have anywhere to go. If they could wait one more day, supposedly they would be able to move in with the mother's parents, and have a place to stay. But for that one night he would not have a place to stay in the children could be taken away and put in the foster care. Instead they were brought to the ministry for the homeless and within a few days time I think they were out of.
Babysitter for Three Days
In one case, there was a woman with an unpaid traffic fine and she had 2 children one aged 4 years old and the other aged 2 years old. She was going to be taken to jail for 3 days because of the unpaid fine. She was a single mother and really had no one to turn to for help and was already living at the ministry for the homeless. It was discovered that in Michigan, a person can arrange for the care of their children with the babysitter even for long periods of time. Less, is able to ask someone she trusted to babysit her children for those 3 days while she would be in jail, and then pick them back up when she is out of jail. The babysitter and the children were able to stay at the ministry for the homeless those 3 days and she was able to keep her children. Just a note, it was probably several weeks later, but this woman was able to move out of the ministry for the homeless and into a home with their children a short time later.
Depressed Father
In another instance there was a single father with 3 children included 2 daughters and one son. It was a case of the business he was employed at moved overseas. After a few months, he could not pay his bills and he was now being evicted from their home. As is often the case with families, there was no room at the government shelters. Government shelters typically only have one or 2 rooms available, if any, for families with both genders of children. Often, the family can keep either the girls or the boys but not both the other gender would be sent to into foster care this family came to the ministry for the homeless and stay for some time during this time, the children were able to continue attending school while the father dealt with some depression and once motivated, managed to find a job and get a house that family could move into.
| Encouraging Life Children's Mission Summary | |
|---|---|
| Poverty | |
| Mission |
Motto, Goals, Vision, Mission, Outreaches, Statement of Faith, Partners |
| Outreaches |
Objectives, Operations, Buildings, Training, Staff, Volunteers, World, |
| Services | |
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