'It can happen to anybody': Ohio mother living in a van with 4 kids as she struggles to find housing
Jamie Coleman says she gets her kids ready for school every day in a gas station bathroom
Jamie Coleman says she gets her kids ready for school every day in a gas station bathroom
Jamie Coleman says she gets her kids ready for school every day in a gas station bathroom
With the temperatures dropping in much of the country, it creates dangerous conditions for people who are experiencing homelessness.
Jamie Coleman is a proud mother of four Cincinnati Public School students ages 5 to 17.
Hesitant about living in a van, Coleman was desperate to find a warm place to live as winter sets in. Coleman says she was living in a home for eight years until she was assaulted by her ex.
She was a recipient of a one-year rapid re-housing program, but the term ended in August.
Coleman is a medical assistant who picks up 12-hour shifts where she can, but between that and raising her kids, she says it's difficult to navigate the hurdles of finding Section 8 housing.
Colman said she's trying to make things as routine as possible for her kids.
"I make sure they wash they face and brush they teeth even if we have to go to our gas station in a bathroom," said Jamie Coleman.
She says the children are trying to understand, especially the 5-year-old.
"[She asks] can we go home? Can we go home? And it's hard because I don't have a home to go to," Coleman said.
Coleman said the hotline for these situations is only available once a week and many times she gets put on a waitlist or doesn't get a call back.
She said it's been dead end after dead end.
"You never know what you're willing to do until you get in a situation where you have nobody at all and your back against the wall and you have nothing, so for people to feel like they would never be homeless or can never happen to them, I'm a firm believer that it can happen to anybody and you never know what will happen until it's you," Coleman said.
There are an estimated 3,600 Cincinnati Public School students considered homeless. The population of folks who experience homelessness in the city went up nearly 30% since COVID-19 began.
Coleman stresses that she's not looking for sympathy or handouts, she's just looking for resources.
Homelessness assistance organization Maslow's Army was able to put Coleman and her family in a hotel Tuesday night.
If you would like to help or donate, you can Venmo her at @Jamie-Coleman-113 or CashApp $lightskinreddread.