It was the hardest letter that Heather Hartman of Baytown had ever been forced to read.
The official eviction notice, court-ordered, telling her that she and her five children would soon be put out on the street, kicked out of the home they had been renting for more than a year.
“It’s horrible and devastating and totally out of your control. I mean, there is nothing you can do about it and when you have young children it’s I don’t know,” Heather said.
Heather is a hardworking, single mother raising five children all by herself, who lost her job as a grocery store clerk back in March when the pandemic hit.
She applied for unemployment and got it, but it’s not nearly enough.
“Unfortunately I am only getting $204 a week and you cannot raise your kids on $204 a week, there’s no way,” Heather said.
That’s when Heather called Spencer Solves It for help.
And right away we reached out to Preston Middleton, a Houston music producer and musician, who along with his aunt, Dr. Judith Craven, former City of Houston Director of Public Health, are now donating tens of thousands of dollars to help families who are facing eviction.
“These are hardworking families who deserve a break. And my aunt Judith decided she wanted to help. It’s the godly thing to do. It’s the Texan thing to do,” Preston said.
Within days of our request, Preston agrees to meet with us and with Heather and present her with a check for $3,300.00.
That’s is enough to pay for Heather’s security deposit at a new rental property, as well as two months' rent.
In the meantime, Heather will be looking for a job, hopefully working with senior citizens at a nursing home, that is her hope.
For now, she is just feeling blessed that God answered her prayers and she and her family will have a place to sleep at night.
“Oh, I am so thankful. This is gonna help me out so much and it allows me to put a roof over my kids' heads,” Heather said.