And, 149 years later, we astonishingly hold the same technology in our hands that used to take an entire huge room to hold. All along the way, the additions, fixes on past problems, and better cameras were someone’s great idea. At Community Purse meetings, the person speaking about their organization is sometimes the “inventor” of it, and often because they have experienced the situation they are now trying to change for others. I’m always amazed when someone goes through a very dark time, comes out the other side, and then, after catching their breath, turns around and offers a hand to someone in the situation they just came through, trying to make their time in the darkness less taxing.
This is true for AnnaMaria Mattey, the most recent grant recipient from the McHenry Chapter. She never expected to be in this position, but as a result of her husband’s addiction to pain medication and the subsequent separation, she found herself leaving the rental home they shared without a place to go with her 2 boys, ages 11 and 5. She remembers standing in a line to register them for school, and knowing she didn’t have a new address to provide. She desperately wanted to keep them in the same school but had no housing leads in the area. With no money, and just two weeks to move, she was facing the very real possibility of uprooting them from the one stable thing they had left.
Standing in that line with homelessness staring her in the face, she prayed desperate prayers to keep the boys in the same school and have a place to live that would give them security and safety. She was exhausted, and her only hope was God.
God answered. After speaking to another mom about her situation, she got a transitional job making decent money. In the next two weeks, she had help finding a tiny apartment in the district that she could afford, received funds from Catholic Charities for a deposit, was gifted one month’s rent to give her some breathing room, and received help moving, school supplies, love and care. For this woman, who had been living in perpetual “fight or flight” for years, it was this community that came to her side, this group of people – not all from the same place, but all in her corner – that saved the day. God’s people went into action. They paid, helped, loved and schlepped. They were from different churches and various organizations. Some were friends and some she had never met. When her car died on Rt. 53 with the kids in the backseat, after lots of tears, she was guided to call a friend with ties to a ministry fixing cars. They sent a tow truck and ended up donating a car. All these people became the community around her, and to be released from the isolation her situation often causes was to throw sunshine in a dark and scary space. From there, God filled AnnaMaria’s heart to help others. She worked at a church next, then another non-profit, building communities around people like the one she had. It was at that point that the housing crisis in our area doubled, and she knew what God was asking her to do.
From this was born the Lighthouse Housing Alliance. AnnaMaria is reaching back to help other families with housing insecurity with what she now knows works – it takes a community to help. A one-time gift to a family in crisis, though welcome, will not create security. AnnaMaria has gathered support through many organizations, individuals, and donors to offer hope and help at a time when both seem thin on the ground.
God redeemed the pain she experienced and made it gold. He took the necessity of housing and care and made this mother the inventor of light in a dark place, a place she once was and wishes no one to be again.
Praise God, praise God.
– By Shannon Plate
Community Purse members are invited into heartwarming stories like this one at each meeting. We invite you to join our giving circle so that you, too, can engage with your community and other like-hearted people through collaborative giving. Information about our chapters and meeting times can be found on our website.
Learn more about Lighthouse Housing Alliance here: https://www.lighthousehousingalliance.org/
