Families Helping Families holding fundraising walk
Megan DeAngelis sums up her past quickly and concisely.
“I never saw it coming,” she says.
DeAngelis, married 14 years and raising two sons, was blindsided by homelessness.
For her children’s sake, she knew she couldn’t let herself be swallowed by depression, self-pity or self-reproach. She knew she needed to give her sons the consistency and security of having a home.
She turned to Families Helping Families, a Naperville-based volunteer group that works with homeless families and other area agencies to get parents and children back on their feet.
Run entirely by volunteers, FHF provides transitional housing and tries to assist with transportation, child care and other services families in need typically can’t afford. The group even maintains a gift closet so parents can give their children a birthday present or allow their children to take one to a friend’s party.
But key to the success of FHF clients is its mentoring program. Volunteers coach clients in budgeting and money management, giving them the skills they need to maintain their independence.
DeAngelis and her sons now live in Naperville, and she works in the administration of a local college.
She and her family will join clients, volunteers and program supporters Sunday, May 15, in the Family Fun Walk to benefit Families Helping Families. She wants to be sure the organization will be able to help others the way it’s changed her life.
She sums up her transition just as clearly and concisely.
“I have come out a far greater and spiritually sound woman and mother.”
Today, DeAngelis tells about her experience with homelessness and with Families Helping Families.
Q. What inspires you to participate?
A. I am forever inspired to be a part of the Family Fun Walk as it, and any other event that supports this amazing program, hits a personal note with me. Myself and two sons, ages 6 and 14, were clients of FHF and have now graduated the program.
I went into the program in need of help; I walked out of the program able to help myself and others. I gained back years of lost momentum and am forever changed with fresh goals and new perspective.
Q. How has homelessness affected you?
A. We were left homeless after my husband left the country due to legal issues. We had been together 14 years and I never saw it coming. I find this to be the case with many homeless families, being abruptly left “without” in many senses of the word. Homelessness is more than losing your home, which is just the beginning.
Homelessness has been bittersweet for me. It affected me in the expected negative ways, but then with the passion and care of FHF, Bridge Communities, and my little “village” of supporters, I have come out a far greater and spiritually sound woman and mother.
Q. What has been difficult about coping with homelessness?
A. I can only speak for myself personally, and I’ll use a play on words here, that homelessness comes with all sorts of “baggage,” and, unfortunately, it’s not the type of baggage you are in the market for. The greatest worry, pain and struggle for me was for my children’s sense of normalcy lost.
A home, the place that parents strive to maintain for their children’s sense of security, is now suddenly gone. It is one thing to disrupt your own life, quite another to know you are responsible for a child’s well being. What a great sense of disappointment you develop for yourself that you now need to mentally shove to the side so that you can filter through a list of priorities for your family but have no idea where to begin.
Q. What might surprise people about homeless life?
A. I think the sheer numbers of homeless people alone are significant enough to demand more attention, a huge amount of which are children. This is not just a bag lady on the streets anymore; this is your co-worker, schoolmate, neighbor and friend right in your own daily path. It does not discriminate and could really happen to anyone for various reasons.
Q. What have you learned about yourself because of your experience?
A. We are not defined by our losses, but rather, how we handle our gains.
Q. What support have you received from Families Helping Families?
A. It is paramount to understand the beauty of the fact that FHF did not simply assist me for two years by providing me with material things. Rather, they recognized and helped my family as a whole move toward self-sufficiency in a way that was previously unrecognized by me, the sole head of household.
It began with getting us housing, food, clothing, transportation, education, counseling and legal advice; but ended up giving me independence, a sense of normalcy and security back for my children, self-motivation and determination, sense of direction, goals, confidence, intellect and pride. I could go on and on.
Q. Have you ever done this walk before and, if so, what was the experience like?
A. I have participated in the walk before. For me it is an opportunity to express my thanks and passion for the community that gave me so much.
Q. What would you tell someone interested in participating in the walk but might be hesitant?A. I think a lot of people are interested in finding a cause that they can be passionate about but may not know how to begin. This one is right in your own backyard. This is like real estate in human commodities. The more we help each other locally the stronger our own community and children will be. That in turn spreads globally. Small momentum grows big on its own, start in your own community.
If you go
If you go
What: Family Fun Walk
Why: To benefit Families Helping Families programs to help homeless parents and children
When: Registration, lunch and activities begin at noon Sunday, May 15; walk steps off at 1 p.m.
Where: Naperville Riverwalk from the Grand Pavillion west of Centennial Beach, 500 W. Jackson Ave.
Cost: $20 per person, $40 per family; pledges encouraged
Info: famhelpingfam.org