JL is the father of seven children and a St. Francis House client. Recently the children’s mother brought them all to him, not just for a visit, but to take care of. The oldest child is thirteen, and the youngest is just seven months.
JL works at a fast food restaurant. Prior to the children coming to live with him, he had fallen behind on his electric bill. With children to care for, JL desperately needed to keep those lights on.
Thankfully, St. Francis House was there and fortunately maintains an Emergency Fund for these types of situations. Luckily for JL and his family, there was still money in the emergency fund. The St. Francis House Emergency Fund is available for with rent and utilities and is entirely donation based. But many months the fund is exhausted after only a couple of days.
Over several visits, JL came in with his youngest daughter, a beautiful and contented child. Unfortunately, JL owed $100
0 on that bill which was far more than we could cover. However, thanks to the relationship our Social Services Director, Phyllis Jones, has built with the electric company, an agreement was reached to keep the light on. St. Francis House paid part of the bill, and JL paid the balance over a four month payment plan
As Miss Phyllis said “Thank God we could help them.”
Help us keep the lights on for single fathers like JL by making a donation to the St. Francis House Emergency Fund today.