SEASIDE – Diane Rodriguez and her two youngest sons, ages 13 and 15, were forced to move out of their Marina home in June due to mold growth.
“There was a lot of mold…and so they needed to renovate the house,” Rodriguez said. “Because of that, we had to move out.”
Following this, Rodriguez and her two sons found themselves homeless. Luckily, her daughter, age 26, was able to take care of the boys while Rodriguez searched for a solution.
As generous and fortunate as this was, it was only a short-term solution.
“I was on a time limit finding a place for (my sons) because they were going to start school,” Rodriguez said. “(My daughter) could only take them for two months because she was going to start going back to school and work.”
During this time, Rodriguez was bouncing between places. She said that she was back and forth between her cousin’s and mother-in-law’s homes, never staying for longer than a few weeks.
Rodriguez’s daughter was instrumental in bringing the Salvation Army to her mother’s attention.
Too many know, emergency housing is a daunting prospect. It is hard to admit you need help, and even harder to accept help and push through to secure a more stable life. But this is exactly what numerous families have done through the Salvation Army’s housing program in Monterey County according to the organization.
Rodriguez said that her kids’ father had graduated from a Salvation Army program, but was unaware of the resources for homeless women and children.
“I didn’t know there was a program… until my daughter sent me the link,” she said. “I said ‘I’ll check it out’ and I applied.”
The timing couldn’t have been any more perfect, as Rodriguez applied, was accepted and moved her two boys into the Salvation Army’s Frederiksen House 90-day housing program a week before school started.
“The way it worked itself out, like God’s plan, is always on time,” said Rodriguez. “That’s what I feel personally.”
This was only the first battle, though, as the family still had to juggle school and searching for a more permanent home with strict time limits.
“They took the bus from Seaside to Marina every day,” Rodriguez said about her sons. “They got up every day, extra early, to get to school on time.”
She emphasized that her sons were happy to be reunited with their mother and continued to put in the extra effort to get to school every day. “They were able to come move in with me and they were really excited.”
While her sons focused on school, Rodriguez was hard at work applying to jobs and, of course, searching for housing with a computer the Salvation Army provided.
“It would have been hard to go to the library and they just had (a computer) right there (for me to use).”
Rodriguez recalled that one of the most integral resources that the Salvation Army provided was educational seminars.
“I wish I could still be a part of (those), because that is informational stuff that I didn’t know,” she said. “On programs for your kids, for your kids’ rights being homeless, housing rights, renter information.
“They need to have seminars like that for the public,” she said. “People really need to know this information, resources and programs that I didn’t know about my rights as a person.”
The Salvation Army also provides personal case management for their housing clients. Rodriguez met with the Salvation Army once a week to check in with job applications, housing searches and budgeting.
Rodriguez is especially grateful for the strict budgeting requirements from the Salvation Army.
“(They told me) you need to put this much away and show me what you are doing,” she said. “I was taught how to do that, and to this day I still do it. It’s really helpful.”
While staying at the 90-day housing program, Rodriguez and her family did not have to pay for any necessities — they were provided with toiletries, food and bus vouchers. When Rodriguez landed job interviews, the Salvation Army provided clothes for her to put together an interview outfit.
In the midst of this, the main goal was to find and secure housing. Rodriguez worked with both the Salvation Army and Medi-Cal-funded Health Advocacy Team Support, which have a Community Support service which helps their clients with housing needs.
Health Advocacy Team Support “helps with your first month’s rent and your deposit, (HATS and the Salvation Army) were working together in my case,” Rodriguez said. She doesn’t think enough people are aware of the HATS program, and encouraged those with Medi-Cal to look into it for housing and health care needs.
The search for, and securing, housing was another example of perfect timing for Rodriguez. She explained that she also has Section 8 housing, and was able to find a place just in time.
“If I would have lost it, I would have been permanently homeless. I found a place like three days before it was going to expire,” she said.
“God is on time. I was like, ‘this is a miracle.’ But like I said, God’s plan is step-by-step.”
The Salvation Army and HATS both helped fund Rodriguez’s initial stable housing needs. They split the cost of the aforementioned first month rent and deposit and essentials like dish soap, a dish rack and toilet paper, among other necessities. They also bought beds for both her kids.
“Otherwise, they would have been sleeping on the floor because when we moved in, we didn’t have anything,” Rodriguez said.
The Salvation Army also helped Rodriguez provide for her children. They provided school supplies and the aforementioned bus passes. They provided Rodriguez with a turkey and gift card for food on Thanksgiving, and helped out with Christmas as well, ensuring that the family could enjoy the time together.
Rodriguez fondly recalled the little community she found herself in with the other women in the housing program.
“We met once a month for family time, where we come and do a project together,” she said. “I did meet some girls that I still connect with today.”
While it was undoubtedly a hard, stressful experience, Rodriguez said that she would not change anything about her time being homeless and with the Salvation Army.
“It makes you think about life differently,” she said. “(It made me) want to be more responsible and be a better person.
“It made me feel good to do the things I needed to do and achieve the things I needed to achieve.”
If she had to say one thing about the Salvation Army, Rodriguez said it’s that she is endlessly grateful for the support both physically and emotionally from the housing department staff.
“They genuinely care about people and they work really hard,” Rodriguez said. “The support and the care that they give is genuinely felt, and I hope they know that.”
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Operation Christmas Cheer was created in 1985 – a partnership between The Herald, West Coast Community Bank and the Salvation Army. It has raised more than $2.6 million and the Salvation Army has used the money for a variety of services, from buying turkeys to giving away Christmas toys for children, not just military kids but kids throughout the community. The Herald offers to publish a short message from donors, as well as the donor’s name, unless they want to remain anonymous. West Coast Community Bank in Monterey gathers donations and passes them on to the Salvation Army. None of the funds go toward administrative costs. Those wishing to contribute can visit bit.ly/OperationChristmasCheer or use coupons printed in The Herald.
