The recent pandemic has rocked our worlds. Our lives as we know it came screeching to a halt and for some people—it turns their lives completely upside down. Caleb Harris knows this all too well.
Harris served our country in the US Forces and was going to college with hopes of securing a solid career afterward – that’s when COVID hit.
Much like many college students, Harris’ courses went online, however, there was a major problem – he didn’t have a laptop. Unable to attend his courses virtually, Harris lost the GI Bill money that was paying for his tuition and living expenses.
As if things weren’t stressful enough, Harris found out during this time that his wife was pregnant. Of course, as exciting as this was, the veteran couldn’t help but worry about the future for him and his growing family.
The 28-year-old was able to find part-time employment through a moving company, however, the income just wasn’t covering their expenses – sadly, the couple was forced to move into their car.
Harris and his wife had applied for Section 8 housing along with all the veterans’ assistance programs they could find. Sadly, their hunt never led to anything – and the waitlist for many of these housing programs was weeks or months long.
When Harris’ wife was 8 and a half months pregnant, the couple was sleeping in their car and at 2 AM, their lives were about to change. Harris’ wife began to experience contractions and her water broke – not to mention, her placenta had already been delivered.
By the time Harris woke up, there was no time to get her to the hospital – the baby was on its way.
Caleb Harris called the paramedics immediately as they helped walk him through the delivery process. As Harris was holding the baby’s head in his hands he said, “a little arm reached out, and this tiny hand hung on to mine and before I knew it, he pulled himself out”.
Harris and his wife eventually made it to the hospital with a healthy baby boy in tow. And even though the scary situation ended up going smoothly in the end, there was still one major problem – Harris and his new family had nowhere to live.
The hospital staff immediately called social workers, trying everything they could to secure housing for the young couple and their newborn son – that’s when they found Project Roomkey.
According to the Project Roomkey website:
“Project Roomkey is a collaborative effort by the State, County and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) to secure hotel and motel rooms for vulnerable people experiencing homelessness. It provides a way for people who don’t have a home to stay inside to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Project Roomkey aims to not only protect high-risk individuals, but to also prevent the spread of the deadly virus in our communities and protect the capacity of our hospitals and healthcare system.”
With so many people on the phones trying to help secure them a home, the hard work eventually paid off – the family had a motel room to live in as soon as they were discharged from the hospital.
The Harris family is so grateful and thankful that everyone is healthy, however, they are still scared because they know the motel situation is temporary and many available benefits set up for COVID-19 are about to expire.
“The rent assistance program that began with the COVID-19 epidemic is about to expire. They expect more families to lose their homes,” reports FOX 5 Atlanta. With more families looking for assistance, the Harris family is worried that they still won’t have the tools necessary to make it through this pandemic and these difficult times.
According to FOX 5, a person earning minimum wage in Los Angeles would need to work 79 hours a week to afford a very basic apartment in the area.
Because of these shocking stats, the Harris family has set up a GoFundMe account to help with bills and expenses. All they want and need is a little help to get back on their feet. If you’d like to donate, you can do so here.
Watch more about this amazing delivery and the Harris family in the video below.
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