Baton Rouge, La. (WFB) – For the past two months, Melissa and her 15-year-old and 16-year-old sons and their 14-year-old daughter have been living in a U-hall van.
Melissa, whose name has been changed for fear of being recognized, and her family were already on rocky ground before Hurricane Ida tore through Louisiana. She had COVID before the storm, was out of work for a month and then was out of a job completely.
“I basically lost my place to live in, and it went downhill from there,” Melissa said. “I spent all the money I had saved on hotels and different things.”
When the storm struck, the hotel she was staying at got booked up, and when it came time for renovations, she didn’t have space. He could not find another hotel to stay and his money was running out. He applied for assistance but had no permanent address. She said she had been put on a waiting list and did not hear back on any help.
Melissa found a part-time job that brought home $200 a week, but that’s not enough to pay for a roof over her kids’ heads.
Melissa said, “I never want to be like this again in my life.” “It’s just if I can turn around and find a place to live, that I can manage. It won’t be that hard. Everything else is physical.”
However, it is getting difficult to find a place for the last two months. A “friend” has paid for a U-Haul van to help her get around town, but instead, she has resorted to living out of it with her three children. The shelters she reached said she would not accept him and his children.
Michael Acaldo, President St. Vincent de Paul, said such stories are becoming more common due to lapses in eviction restrictions and economic hardships caused by the pandemic, Hurricane Ida and rising inflation.
“I think things like, as inflation goes up, as evictions become more prevalent, you’re going to become more homeless,” Ecaldo said.
Ecaldo said the level of homelessness and the need for housing assistance are as bad as they have seen at any other time.
Fortunately for Melissa and her family, Acaldo and St. Vincent de Paul found a place in their shelter for her and their three children. This means they will no longer have to stay out of the van, but it is the first step towards recovery. Melissa said she still needed a better-paying job, something that would help pay the bills and maintain a permanent roof over her family’s head.
“I would rather work on someone’s work than do it because I don’t want anyone to give me anything,” she said. “I want to work for it.”
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