Growing up in Elkhart, Tia was familiar with Faith Mission but never imagined she would need to stay here until she returned to the area with her two children so that she could help take care of her mom, who was dealing with health problems.

“I thought we had everything set up,” she remembers. “I had a job ready to go. I had a place to live set up. But the apartment didn’t go through, so I ended up having to stay with friends for a couple of months. Then we stayed in a hotel until literally my last dollar. I didn’t know what I was going to do. I was praying, ‘God, protect us, because we have to do something.’”

Tia called Faith Mission and stayed at our main campus before eventually moving into our Graber House, where your support provides housing for homeless families.

“Even before we got to Graber House, the first night we stayed at the main campus at Faith Mission was the first time I took a deep breath in so long. I felt such peace. There were smiles, and we were hugging again. We were communicating again. It was like day and night.”

“At Graber House, I was fl oored,” she says. “I was not expecting to see what I saw. Those are apartments. You have your own space, and you’re back to feeling like you’re living on your own.”

Tia and her family also appreciated the structure that Graber House provided.

“I had to set a schedule, and I loved that,” she says. “Knowing that you’re going to be held accountable for how you spend your money encouraged me to budget. I saw a financial future that I had never seen before. I could see how to get myself out of debt. I could see how I could save for retirement. I could see digging myself out of a hole.”

And the family’s faith thrived. “Having to go to church every Sunday strengthened my faith. And seeing how much my kids love going to church is super cool.”

Tia was our first to graduate from Graber House this summer, and she is now in the process of securing a home of her own.

“This is more than a shelter to keep people safe. What they’re doing here at the Mission and at Graber House is literally changing lives.”

Thank you for making a difference in Tia’s family through your prayers and generosity!