Cody and Debra Simmons’ house finally feels like a home, with everything they never had before under one roof for their family of six. furnished by the Alma Randolph Charitable Foundation, finally feels like theirs.
After the family became homeless in January, Debra and their four children went to the Daniel Pitino Shelter while Cody started a journey to recovery at Friends of Sinners. Debra said living at the Shelter brought embarrassment to the children, and being separated wasn’t desirable for their situation.
They eventually had a chance to get a home roughly 2 months ago, but the opportunity ultimately fell through.
With Cody discouraged they wouldn’t get their own place, Debra kept reminding him that it wasn’t the right time and something else would come along.
“Stay positive. God didn’t want us to have a house in that area or something about that house, but he didn’t want us there. Then we waited, we found this, and we were blessed with Alma Randolph. So it was all meant to be,” Debra said.
The Simmons were the latest family to receive a blessing from the Alma Randolph Charitable Foundation and other community partners who consistently lend a helping hand to local families working to better their situation.
The Foundation’s Hands Up To Succeed (HUTS) program was established in 2016 to enhance the living conditions of deserving, disadvantaged families. Randolph Crump stresses that it’s truly a “hand up” not a “handout” because there is a selection process and the families must show they are working to better their situation.
The Foundation enhances families’ living conditions by providing furniture, bedding, and dinnerware, among other things to assist with everyday life. The Simmmons’ home marked the 79th one for the HUTS program.
The timing was just right for the family. Cody said he has been sober since enrolling in Friends of Sinners, and the family is on a better path forward as a whole.
“It’s a good feeling to be clean and sober and to have people see that you are. Though we’re not staying clean and sober for other people to see, we’re doing it for our family, and it took a while to learn how to get that way,” Cody said.
As the family walked through their furnished home for the first time, the biggest blessing they found was having a dining table where they could have dinner with everyone around one table.
Previously, the kids had to sit in different rooms or even just avoid everyone else at the shelter to have the meal.
“It’ll be so good to be able to actually sit at the table with everybody and actually pray before we eat. They don’t have to get up, and we can all sit together,” Debra said.
For 16-year-old India, seeing the journey her parents embarked on to make better for their family and leading to their new home brought tears to her eyes.
“I thank everyone for this blessing,” she said. “I’m just thankful my parents were able to change. We’ve come a long way from what we’ve started with, and it’s a big blessing to me.”
