Their rickety home was falling down around them, leaning dangerously to one side. Still, it was a home. With little ones to feed and care for, no money for deposits on a rental, and no hope of securing a mortgage, the Terrell family was just thankful they weren’t living on the street.
Marcus and DeShayla Terrell were shocked by the call they received from their pastor. He said Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries (DRMM) wanted to give them a house!
The Terrells desperately needed a home that wasn’t crumbling around them, but Marcus had just been laid off from his job. Even as they said yes to the offer of a house, they wondered if it was too good to be true. It was not . . .
The Terrell’s were not on their own
They took classes from DRMM to learn how to take care of the house, from maintenance to taxes to budgeting for monthly bills and other expenses. Once their classes are complete and two years of successful tenancy have passed, the deed to the home will be signed over to them.
DRMM first launched the program in 2011 to provide homes to hard-working families on the brink of homelessness. “These are families who can’t qualify for a home loan, but urgently need a safe place to raise their children. We’re taking rundown homes and renovating them to give families—and neighborhoods—a fresh start in life,” says DRMM’s President, Chad Audi.
“As children, we wondered where our next meal was coming from, if the lights were going to get cut off, if we were going to be evicted, or if the rent got paid,” Marcus says. “I had a mother who was addicted to drugs and I moved constantly from city to city, state to state, school to school, and never had a stable environment. I want to make sure that my kids never experience that or having to use candles for a couple of weeks because mom and dad can’t afford to pay the bills.”
“Around the time we were gifted the home, I had been laid off from my job after nearly five years. It was a tough time. I was very afraid for how to make ends meet and provide for my family,” Marcus says. “But the Lord has blessed me to be able to provide for them and I can’t thank Him enough,” Marcus says.
Facing each day full of thankfulness
Not a day goes by that the Terrell family doesn’t give thanks to God for their many blessings, including generous support from DRMM’s caring friends who have given them the opportunity to live in a safe home—and ultimately to own it!
“You may not realize what a blessing you are, but you’re really changing lives,” DeShayla says. “You’ve changed everything for us. Thank you for giving our children a home, a stable place to grow up.”
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47 homes have been provided to struggling families since 2011.
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