Fourth draft of the story on social networking helping the homeless family
Katy Hughes has always loved to draw and paint, and carries her sketchbook with her most places she goes. Just sixteen when she and her mother lost their apartment and moved into their Oldsmobile, Katy Hughes started selling artwork online to raise cash for food.
Her drawing, along with creative writing and volunteering at her local Campbell library, help keep her sane while she and her mother, Elizabeth Hughes, look for work and continue to endure homelessness.
Katy chronicles her experiences through a Blogspot blog, also sharing photography and art from her sketchbook.(destinationanywherebuthere.blogspot.com)
“I’d just like a chance to relax. To laugh and read and draw, not to have to move all the time or worry about money,” said Katy. “And not to have people talk about us or judge us for having bad luck.”
People began to read Katy and her mother’s blogs after novelist Brandilyn Collins passed the word along through Facebook and Twitter.
“She was a lifelong fan of my writing, and reached out to me, and we struck up a correspondence over time,” Collins said. “Elizabeth is very polite, in an old fashioned way. She’d send a real, handwritten letter each time thanking me when I’d send a free book.”
Collins’ social media networking inspired others to assist the Hughes family, including public relations professional Julie Bonn Heath. Although she did not personally know the Hugheses, Bonn Heath felt inspired to reach out to them. She herself had lived through tough financial times after giving birth to a premature baby.
Fundraisers for the Hughes family unexpectedly went viral, involving people across the nation. Hundreds of people looked up organizations which could help, donated cash via PayPal, re-Tweeted messages concerning the Hugheses and posted links to blog entries and Facebook pages. Local television news stations and eventually CNN.com picked up the story.
First, dozens of individual donors bought the family a temporary reprieve from the streets, paying for several nights of motel stays. Then, EHC LifeBuilders set them up in a small apartment, where they lived until they could no longer afford even the lowered rent. After another period of homelessness, and another online campaign, a generous donor from the Hughes’ new church paid six months of rent so they could stay in a small apartment.
Unfortunately, Elizabeth and Katy could not find work before the six months ran out, even after going to interviews and applying to every position in sight, including fast food and retail.
Elizabeth held regular garage sales in her temporary apartment, and sews reusable cloth tote bags to make a few bucks. Katy tried to land work at Best Buy or a bookstore - or anywhere else.
Unfortunately, despite their resourcefulness, they could not put together enough money every month to stay in the new apartment. So, as of mid-January, they once again call their beat-up 1988 Oldsmobile, and various shopping center parking lots, home.
Some unusual circumstances prevent the Hugheses from taking advantage of social-service safety nets which can help others. Katy’s medical condition causes her to become sick at random moments. At night the Hugheses’ two small dogs awaken her mother during her dizzy spells, so Elizabeth can help her into a more comfortable position. Area shelters lack the capacity to handle family pets, even medically necessary animals, so the Hugheses often cannot go to shelters, even when places have beds available.
The Hughes family is not alone in Santa Clara County. The 2007 Homeless Census counted 7,202 homeless persons.
The primary reasons the 2007 Homeless Census cited for Santa Clara County residents’ losing their housing were unemployment and underemployment. People are much more likely to have landed on the streets due to sudden job loss than addiction issues, family violence or incarceration.
“Everyone says to be responsible and have six months to a year of income in your savings account, but what if your job search goes beyond a year?” Collins says.
Elizabeth agrees, and describes some further challenges job seekers face, including the cost of gas and bus fare to make it out to interviews.
“It’s hard to find work if you’re older,” she said. “Every place, even retail stores, tends to want a young, hip image. It’s especially hard if you’ve been a stay at home parent and have gaps on your resume.”
Also, some San Jose neighborhoods where they have found temporary housing were so unsafe Elizabeth did not want her daughter to go out alone, even to work during the day, and worried about leaving her alone at night.
Both mother and daughter have skills which could enable them to succeed at work, if they can find a way to surmount those obstacles. Liz helps design Katy’s homeschool curriculum, as her daughter’s medical condition, Benign Paroxysmal Vertigo of Childhood (BPVC) causes extreme dizziness and nausea and makes attending regular high school difficult. Elizabeth also previously worked in retail and customer service, and says she’s excited and willing to pick up new skills. Katy has already passed the California high school exit exam and Collins expects she will turn her graphic design and copywriting skills into a professional career as an adult. Both hope to find employers who will appreciate their skills despite their lack of track records of corporate employment, and then to share their success with the rest of the unemployed.
“Once we’re back on our feet I’d like to do something for others in this situation, especially women. Help them get back into the job market,” said Elizabeth.
First, though, the Hughes family and others face a more basic challenge: locating a decent place to sleep. During the Homeless Census’ point-in-time count, the survey found that 29 percent of the homeless were living in shelter facilities and 71 percent were considered unsheltered. The Hughes family comprises part of that unsheltered majority.
“The police know us,“ said Elizabeth. “Every now and then some random person online blurts out that we’re probably just con artists and not really homeless and they should call the cops on us. But the cops have all seen us asleep in the car, so they know our story’s true.”
Formerly middle-class, the Hughes family lost everything when Elizabeth could not find permanent employment after Katy’s father passed away in 2005. Now, the two struggle to survive on around $900 a month in government benefits.
When they had a place to live, there were days every month when they went hungry after covering medical expenses, utilities and a tiny bit of gas for their car. To save money, the Hugheses did not run their heater, even on freezing days.
Mother and daughter fall through the holes in our social safety nets, earning too much in Social Security survivors’ benefits to qualify for some Santa Clara County social services, and too little to completely support themselves.
“I’ve talked with people at the top of the largest charities in town, and they say that unfortunately they can’t help us,” said Elizabeth. “And we don’t qualify for welfare or food stamps either.”
Social service organization Step Up Silicon Valley proposes a significant update to the official guidelines for public assistance eligibility.
According to Step Up’s research, ‘In Santa Clara County two adults with a pre-school and school age child would need to earn $68,430 a year to make ends meet; this is more than three times the Federal Poverty Level of $21,200 for the same-sized family.”
The federal poverty level, used to determine whether lower-income families qualify for many types of supportive services, has been calculated the same way for decades. The number represents triple the family’s estimated grocery bill, which policymakers once assumed would cover people’s other survival expenses.
Step Up Silicon Valley has found this measure inaccurate over time and instead uses the Insight Center’s measure, which incorporates transportation, child care, health care co-pays, taxes and money set aside for savings.
Bonn Heath, Collins and others also sought out private charity groups in Santa Clara County to assist the Hugheses. These included leading private charities, food banks, and a church group where people reached out and befriended Katy and Elizabeth. However, local groups can only do so much.
“Especially in this economy, the local groups want to help, but they’re often understaffed and underfunded and don’t have the resources to take care of everyone they intend to serve,” Collins explained. “The online and news media attention can often help the local charities by making people aware and encouraging them to donate,”
“Charities don’t provide everything people might need,” added Elizabeth Hughes. “It’s harder to get help with dental care, for example, and I could use that. And people don’t know this, but you have to have good credit even for affordable housing. Some people have bad credit, and it’s not their fault - it’s from a divorce, or a wrongful eviction, or mistakes on their credit report.”
Elizabeth and Katy’s extended family cannot help at this time and live far out of the county.
“Americans assume your family will step in to help if things get too bad for you, but that doesn’t always happen for everyone,” Elizabeth said.
So, the pair relies on assistance from the makeshift online social group which has developed over time.
The Internet works well to bring many people together for short-term actions. Especially with people such as Collins, who are already well-known and respected, on board. Also, the online medium can harness the energies of those unable to donate, because they can spread information about social media campaigns for free.
However, one can only sustain so many long-term relationships or causes. One major challenge friends of the Hugheses face with social media tools is maintaining interest in their situation as the family continues to struggle.
“Everything got so much harder last summer, when Katy and Elizabeth became homeless for the second time,” Collins said. “People wondered why things didn’t work out in the beginning, but these things can take awhile.”
Katy is still determined and optimistic, despite her hardships and waning public attention. She recently updated her blog with a new assortment of abstract paintings, available for order. After a long break from the blogosphere, she’s back in business.
Her drawing, along with creative writing and volunteering at her local Campbell library, help keep her sane while she and her mother, Elizabeth Hughes, look for work and continue to endure homelessness.
Katy chronicles her experiences through a Blogspot blog, also sharing photography and art from her sketchbook.(destinationanywherebuthere.blogspot.com)
“I’d just like a chance to relax. To laugh and read and draw, not to have to move all the time or worry about money,” said Katy. “And not to have people talk about us or judge us for having bad luck.”
People began to read Katy and her mother’s blogs after novelist Brandilyn Collins passed the word along through Facebook and Twitter.
“She was a lifelong fan of my writing, and reached out to me, and we struck up a correspondence over time,” Collins said. “Elizabeth is very polite, in an old fashioned way. She’d send a real, handwritten letter each time thanking me when I’d send a free book.”
Collins’ social media networking inspired others to assist the Hughes family, including public relations professional Julie Bonn Heath. Although she did not personally know the Hugheses, Bonn Heath felt inspired to reach out to them. She herself had lived through tough financial times after giving birth to a premature baby.
Fundraisers for the Hughes family unexpectedly went viral, involving people across the nation. Hundreds of people looked up organizations which could help, donated cash via PayPal, re-Tweeted messages concerning the Hugheses and posted links to blog entries and Facebook pages. Local television news stations and eventually CNN.com picked up the story.
First, dozens of individual donors bought the family a temporary reprieve from the streets, paying for several nights of motel stays. Then, EHC LifeBuilders set them up in a small apartment, where they lived until they could no longer afford even the lowered rent. After another period of homelessness, and another online campaign, a generous donor from the Hughes’ new church paid six months of rent so they could stay in a small apartment.
Unfortunately, Elizabeth and Katy could not find work before the six months ran out, even after going to interviews and applying to every position in sight, including fast food and retail.
Elizabeth held regular garage sales in her temporary apartment, and sews reusable cloth tote bags to make a few bucks. Katy tried to land work at Best Buy or a bookstore - or anywhere else.
Unfortunately, despite their resourcefulness, they could not put together enough money every month to stay in the new apartment. So, as of mid-January, they once again call their beat-up 1988 Oldsmobile, and various shopping center parking lots, home.
Some unusual circumstances prevent the Hugheses from taking advantage of social-service safety nets which can help others. Katy’s medical condition causes her to become sick at random moments. At night the Hugheses’ two small dogs awaken her mother during her dizzy spells, so Elizabeth can help her into a more comfortable position. Area shelters lack the capacity to handle family pets, even medically necessary animals, so the Hugheses often cannot go to shelters, even when places have beds available.
The Hughes family is not alone in Santa Clara County. The 2007 Homeless Census counted 7,202 homeless persons.
The primary reasons the 2007 Homeless Census cited for Santa Clara County residents’ losing their housing were unemployment and underemployment. People are much more likely to have landed on the streets due to sudden job loss than addiction issues, family violence or incarceration.
“Everyone says to be responsible and have six months to a year of income in your savings account, but what if your job search goes beyond a year?” Collins says.
Elizabeth agrees, and describes some further challenges job seekers face, including the cost of gas and bus fare to make it out to interviews.
“It’s hard to find work if you’re older,” she said. “Every place, even retail stores, tends to want a young, hip image. It’s especially hard if you’ve been a stay at home parent and have gaps on your resume.”
Also, some San Jose neighborhoods where they have found temporary housing were so unsafe Elizabeth did not want her daughter to go out alone, even to work during the day, and worried about leaving her alone at night.
Both mother and daughter have skills which could enable them to succeed at work, if they can find a way to surmount those obstacles. Liz helps design Katy’s homeschool curriculum, as her daughter’s medical condition, Benign Paroxysmal Vertigo of Childhood (BPVC) causes extreme dizziness and nausea and makes attending regular high school difficult. Elizabeth also previously worked in retail and customer service, and says she’s excited and willing to pick up new skills. Katy has already passed the California high school exit exam and Collins expects she will turn her graphic design and copywriting skills into a professional career as an adult. Both hope to find employers who will appreciate their skills despite their lack of track records of corporate employment, and then to share their success with the rest of the unemployed.
“Once we’re back on our feet I’d like to do something for others in this situation, especially women. Help them get back into the job market,” said Elizabeth.
First, though, the Hughes family and others face a more basic challenge: locating a decent place to sleep. During the Homeless Census’ point-in-time count, the survey found that 29 percent of the homeless were living in shelter facilities and 71 percent were considered unsheltered. The Hughes family comprises part of that unsheltered majority.
“The police know us,“ said Elizabeth. “Every now and then some random person online blurts out that we’re probably just con artists and not really homeless and they should call the cops on us. But the cops have all seen us asleep in the car, so they know our story’s true.”
Formerly middle-class, the Hughes family lost everything when Elizabeth could not find permanent employment after Katy’s father passed away in 2005. Now, the two struggle to survive on around $900 a month in government benefits.
When they had a place to live, there were days every month when they went hungry after covering medical expenses, utilities and a tiny bit of gas for their car. To save money, the Hugheses did not run their heater, even on freezing days.
Mother and daughter fall through the holes in our social safety nets, earning too much in Social Security survivors’ benefits to qualify for some Santa Clara County social services, and too little to completely support themselves.
“I’ve talked with people at the top of the largest charities in town, and they say that unfortunately they can’t help us,” said Elizabeth. “And we don’t qualify for welfare or food stamps either.”
Social service organization Step Up Silicon Valley proposes a significant update to the official guidelines for public assistance eligibility.
According to Step Up’s research, ‘In Santa Clara County two adults with a pre-school and school age child would need to earn $68,430 a year to make ends meet; this is more than three times the Federal Poverty Level of $21,200 for the same-sized family.”
The federal poverty level, used to determine whether lower-income families qualify for many types of supportive services, has been calculated the same way for decades. The number represents triple the family’s estimated grocery bill, which policymakers once assumed would cover people’s other survival expenses.
Step Up Silicon Valley has found this measure inaccurate over time and instead uses the Insight Center’s measure, which incorporates transportation, child care, health care co-pays, taxes and money set aside for savings.
Bonn Heath, Collins and others also sought out private charity groups in Santa Clara County to assist the Hugheses. These included leading private charities, food banks, and a church group where people reached out and befriended Katy and Elizabeth. However, local groups can only do so much.
“Especially in this economy, the local groups want to help, but they’re often understaffed and underfunded and don’t have the resources to take care of everyone they intend to serve,” Collins explained. “The online and news media attention can often help the local charities by making people aware and encouraging them to donate,”
“Charities don’t provide everything people might need,” added Elizabeth Hughes. “It’s harder to get help with dental care, for example, and I could use that. And people don’t know this, but you have to have good credit even for affordable housing. Some people have bad credit, and it’s not their fault - it’s from a divorce, or a wrongful eviction, or mistakes on their credit report.”
Elizabeth and Katy’s extended family cannot help at this time and live far out of the county.
“Americans assume your family will step in to help if things get too bad for you, but that doesn’t always happen for everyone,” Elizabeth said.
So, the pair relies on assistance from the makeshift online social group which has developed over time.
The Internet works well to bring many people together for short-term actions. Especially with people such as Collins, who are already well-known and respected, on board. Also, the online medium can harness the energies of those unable to donate, because they can spread information about social media campaigns for free.
However, one can only sustain so many long-term relationships or causes. One major challenge friends of the Hugheses face with social media tools is maintaining interest in their situation as the family continues to struggle.
“Everything got so much harder last summer, when Katy and Elizabeth became homeless for the second time,” Collins said. “People wondered why things didn’t work out in the beginning, but these things can take awhile.”
Katy is still determined and optimistic, despite her hardships and waning public attention. She recently updated her blog with a new assortment of abstract paintings, available for order. After a long break from the blogosphere, she’s back in business.