Adult Mission Ministry – Christmas Gift or Miracle?

On December 8, our Adult Mission Ministry was contacted by Laura Ogram, business manager at St. Helena’s Church in Clayton, GA, and one of our contacts in North Georgia. She reached out about a young family in urgent need and asked if we could help.

The family owned their home, but it had fallen into poor condition after years of neglect by a family member who struggled with hoarding. The young family had a six-week-old newborn and a five-year-old child with special needs. DFCS deemed the home unlivable for children until it could be made safe. 

Overwhelmed and facing the possibility of losing their children to foster care if they became homeless, the parents were in great crisis. They were temporarily staying in a basement apartment and had to vacate by December 20. Both parents were working and doing everything they could to keep their family together. The mother is a teacher on maternity leave, and the father works at Walmart.

The question became whether we had any volunteers who could help with what Laura described as an “extreme home makeover.” This required clearing out, cleaning, and repairing the home so the children could safely return.

Seven incredible volunteers answered the call. 

On December 17, the team traveled to Clayton and completed what was expected to take two to three days in nine hours. The work included drywall repairs, deep cleaning the house, cleaning the ceilings, washing the walls in the kitchen and living areas, and covering all exposed floors. 

Thanks to DFCS, the hoarded items were removed to a dumpster.

Thanks to the generosity of Karen Miller and Joanne Simpson, the family received three large boxes of food and gift cards for Christmas dinner and gifts.

Thanks to these volunteers, DFCS approved the home on December 19, allowing the family to move back in and look toward a brighter future.

Volunteers:
Ted Colebeck (Holy Family)
Doug Krutick
Kevin McBride
Diane Orlando
Theresa Mulhair (St. Ann’s Habitat)
Connie Perry
Jim Perry

This project is exactly why Adult Mission Ministry exists, especially during this time of year. These needs are all over North Georgia and we are grateful for the opportunity to bring hope to this family during this Christmas season. We plan to return in the spring to tackle the structural problems in the house as well.