A brain tumor nearly tore Temica’s family apart– and left she and her children homeless.
When her musically-gifted oldest son was diagnosed with a brain tumor the size of a fist, Temica dropped everything to take him to Atlanta for surgery and rehabilitation. Against the odds, he survived the surgery but emerged with significant brain damage. He needed an expensive medication regime and full-time care and even needed to learn how to walk again.
Without anyone who could reliably look after her newly-disabled son, Temica was unable to work and she and her other children soon found themselves homeless in a new city. Temica was determined and well-organized, but struggled to find resources that would allow her entire family to stay together due to either her sons’ age or the size of her family– until she found Nicholas House.
After entering our emergency shelter, Temica was able to keep her family intact and allow her younger children to focus on just experiencing childhood while she cared for her oldest son. She worked with her case manager to secure benefits and make a plan that would allow them to move forward with her son’s disability.
Temica is proud to share that she has secured a beautiful rental home, where she is now living with her children. Her next step is earning disability benefits for her son and finding a work-from-home or weekend job that will allow her to continue caring for him full-time. Her youngest son, who is only five years old, shares that he plans to be a doctor one day so that he can help people like his brother feel better.
We are so inspired by Temica’s strength and willpower in the face of hardship and so proud of the steps she has made toward self-sufficiency. Seeing the smiles on her children’s faces reminds us why we are honored to serve homeless families in need of compassion, stability and a second chance.