Cora* has been at Mustard Seed Shelter since early August. She and her 16-year-old granddaughter, Sarah*, came to our home after sleeping in their car for two nights.
Cora shared the events that led up to her current crisis. “My life has been up and down,” she said. “I’ve been on my own since about a year after graduating from high school. I was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder and sometimes I couldn’t work. And when I was working, I was laid off here and there and then ended up on SSI.”
Cora’s first time in a shelter was when her oldest daughter was a toddler and the youngest was a newborn. Throughout her life, she moved around a lot, living in Illinois, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas and Michigan. But she raised her two daughters in Saginaw, so they’ve always considered Saginaw “home.”
Soon after her husband passed away in 2024, Cora said she went out of town for her aunt’s funeral and while she was gone, lost the home the couple had been renting to own. “The lady we were buying it from emptied out the house because she didn’t think I could make the payments all by myself. She was going to sell it to someone else,” she said. Even with the help of a Legal Aid attorney, it’s a very complicated situation and might take another five years. “I can’t wait five years. Sarah and I bounced around with family for over a year and then decided to move up to Saginaw, near my daughters,” she said.
Once back in Saginaw, Cora and Sarah had difficulty finding affordable and safe housing so they moved in with a family member while continuing to search. Unfortunately, that only lasted a month and that’s when they ended up sleeping in Cora’s car. “None of the shelters I called, including Mustard Seed, had a bed,” she said. But after a second night sleeping in a gas station parking lot, she went to the United Way for help. “I was really frantic. They called Mustard Seed again for me and this time I was in luck,” she said. Someone had just left, so Cora and Sarah waited in another room while their future room was being cleaned and set up. “I thought, ‘God has touched down on somebody’ – because we were really afraid out there.”
Saying that Mustard Seed has been a real blessing and that she “doesn’t need much – just a roof and a bed” – Cora was happy to learn about the programs and resources Mustard Seed could help her access. “I have a little hope now. With the help I get here, I hope I’ll be able to move into my own house and be able to afford it,” she said, adding that her goal is to qualify for housing assistance and find a safe place of their own as soon as possible.
“This Mustard Seed – it’s a home. So welcoming, so comfortable. We had a barbecue on Labor Day and everyone brought a dish. I made my cornbread. We also have game days. And I help out with chores, and even do the dishes when it’s not ‘my’ day. It’s very comfortable here but there is still shame about being in a shelter. It’s especially hard for Sarah. She’s a normal teenager and loves school and sports and just wants to be in our own place. When the miracle happens, I’ll be waiting.”
*not her real name