We're Helping Turn Around a Family In Dire Need...

This story is a real-world example of how a family can go from being independent to homeless in just a few short months...

Kim and I met Daniel and Naomi at the county spelling bee. Their 11-year-old son, Joshua, had previously won his school's spelling bee, and he was there to compete at the county level. As we waited in the school library for the bee to start, we struck up a conversation, just as parents often do at their kids' events.

It started with the usual questions..."Where does your son go to school? Are y'all originally from around here?" And so on...

As the morning turned to afternoon, however, the conversation got a little deeper. We learned about the some of the challenges that this family has faced, both years ago and in recent months. We also learned about their plans for the future, particularly as they relate to Joshua.

Here's a quick list of some of things you might want to know about this family:

• Naomi came to Atlanta in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina damaged 70% of the occupied housing in her hometown of New Orleans. She arrived as the single mother of a three-year-old boy who had just had surgery for a brain tumor.
• After being in Atlanta for a few years, Naomi met Daniel, who is originally from Atlanta. The two have been married for a few years now.
• Daniel and Joshua have very much become "father and son." You can tell when you talk to Daniel that he really loves Joshua as his own. His eyes light up when he talks about taking his son fishing, and you can tell by the way Joshua hugs Daniel and calls him "Dad" that there's a real father-son relationship there.
• Naomi is a Mom like any other in that she wants her son to have a better life than she did. She is a strict disciplinarian, she knows the value of work, and she knows that education is the only thing that will lift her son out of poverty. (Joshua says he wants to be a lawyer. From what we've seen of him, this is something he can actually do, given the opportunity to get a good education.)

Up until very recently, everything was going about as well as it could go for this family. They were poor, but they were keeping it together. Both Daniel and Naomi worked full-time, they paid their bills, and they even managed to save a little bit of money.

A few months ago, though, this family got hit with two setbacks that completely turned their lives upside down. First, Daniel had a heart attack, so he could not work. As a result, he lost the job he had held for three years as a dishwasher. Second, the family's car was stolen, and naturally they did not have full coverage.

These two events set in motion a downward spiral that the family is having a hard time recovering from.

Between losing the car and having to care for her husband while he recovered, Naomi struggled with getting to work on time, and she lost her job at McDonald's where she would open the store at 4 o'clock in the morning and put in a 12-hour day.

With no regular income for the last few months, they have fallen way behind on rent and utilities, and as of mid-February they are facing eviction. Thankfully they receive $347 per month in SNAP benefits (food stamps), or they would not be able to put any food on the table.

When we heard all of this, we decided that we were going to help. We didn't know exactly how, but we knew we were going to do "something" to help get this family back on track. We thought a good start would be to help Naomi find a job.

Before we did that, however, we wanted to make sure that everything we were being told was true. It's not that we're overly cynical people, but we've been burned in the past by people who weren't willing to put any effort into helping themselves. We also didn't want to vouch for someone who was not being truthful with us.

We did some research, and everything they told us checked out. Based on that, we set up a time to meet them again, learn more about where they're at, and develop a plan to get them out of the hole that they're now in.

That being said, now is as good a time as any to say that this family lives in a pretty rough neighborhood. It's not a complete inner-city war zone, but it's rough. Daniel and Naomi don't let Joshua hang out with the local kids because it's a rough crowd, and there are a number of gangs. There's a nice park and playground close to their apartment, but he's not allowed to play there because it's just too dangerous. The unemployment rate in their ZIP code is 15%, but we're sure it's much higher than that in their immediate area. There are just a lot of people "hangin' out" during the day...

Getting to the punch line, this family really needs a re-boot. They need to move out of that area, they need to start earning some money, and they need a car. And they need all of this to happen NOW, as they are facing eviction on February 24.

Ideally, we'd like to relocate the family to Smyrna. Naomi has had a job there before, and her mother lives there, although she's elderly. There are a number of apartments on Cobb Parkway that appear to be perfect based on location and price. The school district is better, too. (It's certainly an improvement over the school Joshua is at now, which received an online school rating of "1" on a scale of 1 to 10.)

We'd also like to help Naomi find a job, and if we can find something that Daniel can do with his health limitations, he's eager to go to work, too. It's clear when you talk to this couple that they would really prefer to pay their own way as opposed to living on government handouts forever.

In a perfect world, Naomi would have the job lined up before moving to Smyrna, and we'll do our best to make that happen, but the family may have to move into the new place before she gets her first paycheck.

Of course, all of this will take a little money. Not much, but more than this family will ever be able to put together, especially in such a short amount of time.

We've already gotten together offline with a few other families to put together half of the money that the family will need to relocate and start over. Our help won't stop there, however. We plan to be friends with this family long after they don't need us anymore, but until that day comes, we'll help them learn skills that could help them get better jobs, and we'll help them manage their finances, jobs, and lives so that they can get and stay on track. In short, we're not just throwing money at the problem and then walking away. We're committed to this for the long haul.

We don't have ALL of the money we need, though. We're currently short about $4,000.

All together, we figure we need a total of $8,000 to get this family back on track:

• Back rent: $1,700 (must be paid by February 24 or they will be evicted shortly thereafter, before we have time to help: PAID IN FULL THANKS TO YOUR SUPPORT)
• Back electricity: $300 (PAID IN FULL)
• Security deposit on new place: $300
• First month's rent: $600
• Moving expenses: $500
• Contingency for unforeseen expenses: $1,000

Please note: Kim and I will hold the funds and disburse as necessary.

There is one other thing that we need help with, and that's getting this family a car. Not a new Mercedes-Benz, of course, but a solid, reliable used car that they can use to get to work and doctor appointments and so on. Yes, this family is very well versed in public transportation (and walking), but not having a car will limit their job prospects. Employers like to know that employees have their own transportation.

We have a friend who owns a used car lot, and he can get such a car at a dealer auction for about $3,000. A car like this would typically sell for $5,000 or $6,000 at his store. When you add in the first insurance payment as well as registration fees, etc., the total for the car is about $3,600.

That makes a total of $8,000 for everything, and we've raised $4,000 of that so far between ourselves and three other families. We're still $4,000 short, but we know we can get there with your help...

If everyone else we know kicks in $50 or $100, we'll have the $4,000 in no time. And if $50 is out of reach, we fully understand, but even $10 or $25 will help if we get enough people involved.

So please, help us help this family who just needs a chance to start over. Their story is a real-world example of how quickly a good situation can go wrong, with just two events that could happen to anyone, anytime...

Your contribution will truly help turn this family around, because Kim and I are in this for the long-haul. Also, please be sure to share this campaign on Facebook and anywhere else you can think of. If we reach enough people, even the smallest of contributions will add up, and we can make this happen!

On behalf of Daniel, Naomi, and most of all Joshua, we thank you for your time and support.

P.S. When the family relocates and we give them the car, we'd like everyone who contributed to be there. It will help restore this family's faith to know that there are still people out there who will help a stranger in a time of need, and it will help you see first-hand that your money went to a good cause. (And if you can't make it, we'll share a video with you...you won't want to miss it! Please help out now, with whatever you can. Thanks!)