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A Story of Michael and Tina
Michael and Tina came to our family services department for assistance with their rent payment on a recent afternoon. Michael kissed Tina good-bye and left to pick up their daughters -- her 11-year-old, Kim, and his 10-year-old, Lily. Tears began flowing as Tina explained their predicament to our caseworker. Michael and Tina are out of work. The current economic woes forced Michael to close his business, putting over a dozen people -- including he and Tina -- out of work. Repeated attempts at finding work have been futile.
They lost their home and their cars. For a short time they were homeless, living in a van that they borrowed from Tina's mother in northern Iowa. General Assistance (Polk County) helped them get into a rental house. Michael is bartering with the landlord to help pay the rent. When Tina visited us they owed the balance of the current month's rent and their lights and water were about to be turned off. The Salvation Army's caseworker was able to provide rental assistance and then referred Tina to another agency where they qualified for additional assistance. While their names have been changed, Michael and Tina are real people and typical of the family situations our caseworkers deal with on a daily basis. Bad things happen to good people. Your gifts to The Salvation Army allow us to extend a helping hand in the name of Jesus.