From homeless to homeowner: that’s the story of one single mother living in Stockton.After more than four years of living on the streets, Amber Golisano and her son finally have a place to call home.”I did a lot of couch surfing. We stayed in a few abandoned buildings, a lot of really nasty hotels or motels more like it,” said Golisano explaining what life was like leading up to this moment. She says she felt like she had hit rock bottom after her toxic relationship came to an end.”He used all my money. He broke down my car. He took my last $100 and left me with furniture literally on the lawn with the sprinklers coming on before we were about to be evicted,” Golisano said. She says she was also struggling with drug addiction because of her ex and had nowhere to turn. But, just a few years later, she gave birth to her son, Elliot, which became a turning point in her life. “I got to the point where I was like, ‘I can’t do this with a child.’ It wasn’t about me anymore and I needed to do something and be better for him,” Golisano said. That meant reaching out to family members she hadn’t heard from in years and when they told her she overstayed her welcome, she started After learning Golisano was pinching pennies, walking from the shelter to daycare to her part-time job and back, Hope Ministries helped get her a car, which helped her get a better job and allowed her to save more money. The next step for Golisono was to find permanent housing. Hope Ministries paired her with a real estate agent, Ben Adrian, who offered up his services free of charge and after 10 long months of putting in offers, she secured a home.”I have a three-bedroom house now and it’s all mine,” Golisono said.
STOCKTON, Calif. —
From homeless to homeowner: that’s the story of one single mother living in Stockton.
After more than four years of living on the streets, Amber Golisano and her son finally have a place to call home.
“I did a lot of couch surfing. We stayed in a few abandoned buildings, a lot of really nasty hotels or motels more like it,” said Golisano explaining what life was like leading up to this moment.
She says she felt like she had hit rock bottom after her toxic relationship came to an end.
“He used all my money. He broke down my car. He took my last $100 and left me with furniture literally on the lawn with the sprinklers coming on before we were about to be evicted,” Golisano said.
She says she was also struggling with drug addiction because of her ex and had nowhere to turn. But, just a few years later, she gave birth to her son, Elliot, which became a turning point in her life.
“I got to the point where I was like, ‘I can’t do this with a child.’ It wasn’t about me anymore and I needed to do something and be better for him,” Golisano said.
That meant reaching out to family members she hadn’t heard from in years and when they told her she overstayed her welcome, she started looking for shelters Eventually, she stumbled across Hope Ministries.
After learning Golisano was pinching pennies, walking from the shelter to daycare to her part-time job and back, Hope Ministries helped get her a car, which helped her get a better job and allowed her to save more money.
The next step for Golisono was to find permanent housing.
Hope Ministries paired her with a real estate agent, Ben Adrian, who offered up his services free of charge and after 10 long months of putting in offers, she secured a home.
“I have a three-bedroom house now and it’s all mine,” Golisono said.
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