Today we’d like to introduce you to LaToya Carter.
Thanks for sharing your story with us LaToya. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am the Executive Director for Family Promise of Montgomery County. We’re a homeless shelter for families with children and have been serving the community for 16 years. I have been working for the agency 6 years come August. Prior to that, my family come to Family Promise as a homeless family in need. I was a single mom of 3. I had no job, no transportation, and no money saved. My children’s father and I separated after dealing with financial difficulties which caused a lot of stress in our relationship. We weren’t being financially responsible and had been affected by the 2008 economic crisis which also caused our family to lose money.
From that point, we had to leave our apartment to go stay with family. Moving around a lot with children was hard and we eventually moved into his double cab 18-wheeler truck and traveled up and down the east coast as he made deliveries.
We did this for several months, he and I, my 5-year-old son who I was homeschooling, and our two daughters who we were potty-training and had their little pot on the floor in front of the passenger seat. We had a mini refrigerator and would stop at Walmart to buy groceries here and there. It was a double bed and the top bunk held our luggage while we all slept on the bottom bunk. I worked on online classes and the kids had a TV with a DVD player. We did this for about 3-4 months, stopped, eat, and showered at all kinds of truck stops.
However, this became very stressful, and eventually we separated. I went to stay with my mother, but that was just as hard, so one day I googled shelters and found out about Family Promise. The staff interviewed me and accepted me into the program. I had a case manager who helped me with anything I needed while I searched for work. Once I found work, I was required to save all of my money since Family Promise was taking care of all of my basic needs. We slept at churches in the evenings, attended life skills classes on Thursdays, reported to the Day Center during the week, applied for other resources to help my family, and searched for housing opportunities. I did all of this and still continued to take online classes with Lone Star College. Once they saw I was making progress, they referred me to another agency that approved me for rental assistance. I found a local realtor who drove me around the county in search of an affordable home. I will always remember that after looking at numerous houses, the very last one turned out to be the perfect location. I also remember how I had to harass and beg the homeowner into leasing to me and trusting in my word. I got my first job while participating in Family Promise at a retail store working part-time, Then, I began working for an office supplies store. When I completed Family Promise, they donated a car to my family and continued to help pay for me to go to school. When I moved out and into our new home, I started working at my children’s daycare because I had a more flexible schedule. About a year later I went one day to visit the staff at Family Promise and the Director informed me that she needed an Assistant Director and asked me to apply. I did and the board agreed on hiring me. I worked at the Assistant Director/Case Mgr. for 3 1/2 years. After the second Director left, the board voted for me to take her position.
I become the Executive January 1, 2015 and have resided in this position ever since.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
An easy life is a boring life and what doesn’t kill you can only make you stronger.
Nothing about my life has been easy, but I’ve just gotten so use to things to where it doesn’t really bother me when times are hard. My children’s father and I have gotten back together and are married now. We have since had another child. Homelessness happens so unexpectedly and it was definitely not fun moving in and out of homes of our family members and shuffling our children around. It wasn’t easy closing them off into bedrooms, so they wouldn’t disturb family who weren’t accustom to having children in the home. It wasn’t easy falling out with my mother because she wanted to control everything. It wasn’t easy when he’d stay gone over the road for weeks at a time, leaving me home with small children, little money, and no transportation. It was heartbreaking to have to keep my children confined in a truck for such a period of time. Rarely could we stop at play areas, there was no parking and their dad usually drove at night, slept during the day. It was horrible when I’d have to wake up in the middle of a winter night, put on layer after layer of clothing, just to walk into a truck stop to use the restroom. I got tired of eating tuna fish sandwiches, I got tired of showering as a family at truck stops, I got tired of hotels, I got tired of traveling in his truck. I HAD to change our situation.
Family Promise of Montgomery County – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Family Promise of Montgomery County is a homeless shelter for families with children.
We partner with local churches which house our families in the evenings and over the weekend. The churches provide shelter, meals, transportation, and networking opportunities for our families. During the day our families report to our Day Center, where we help them develop and work towards goals. They also apply for resources, develop resumes, job search, and look for affordable housing. We are always proud when we can help a family get back on their feet. Once a family completes our program, we will also assist them with $500 towards rental and utility deposits and donate household furniture and goods to them.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Last year, we started inviting our graduated families to come back for an Annual Connection Event. We’ve recently hosted the event for the second year and it’s so great and rewarding to see many of the families we have helped and hear their stories of continued success.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.familypromiseofmc.org
- Phone: 9364418778
- Email: email@familypromiseofmc.org
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/FPMCT
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