“I took my son to my country in Somalia, and it’s really tough there because there’s a war going on and everything,” Faduma explains about her journey into homelessness. “When we came back last year, I was living with my boyfriend and things didn’t work out.”
Faduma has lived in Calgary on and off for the last ten years, and has an eight year old son and a three month old daughter. After leaving her boyfriend, they found themselves at a second-stage shelter where their time was coming to an end. “I didn’t have a place to go,” Faduma says, “rent is really expensive and I’m not working right now.”
In hopes of finding a safe and affordable home for her family, Faduma completed a Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool (SPDAT) Assessment and was a candidate for Journey House.
“I got a call from Randy (Journey House staff), he asked me about my situation, and I told him I was pregnant at the time,” recalls Faduma.
With the help of our Journey House staff, Faduma and her family settled into their new home. “They have kids’ games, kids’ programs, they can order you food bank items,” shares Faduma about her time in Journey House. “If you’re interested in education they’ll help you out; the rent obviously is cheap. They have a lot of different programs, it depends on what you want help with.”
Without Journey House Faduma says “I don’t even want to think about it, I would probably be homeless with a new baby.”
“It’s not a weakness if you say I need help,” says Faduma who has now secured housing in the community. Although she has faced many challenges she is courageous and has a positive outlook on the future for her and her children. With one year already under her belt, Faduma hopes to go back to school for accounting, and have the opportunity to give back to the community through volunteering.
And, Faduma has a message for other mother’s experiencing homelessness and poverty:
“Darkness doesn’t last forever…just keep pushing. There’s always another day, there’s always tomorrow; the sun will always come up.”
