Blueberry Cottage welcomes new family

Thank you to The Shelter Guild Cottage Committee Chairs Karen Colgain and Katy Tetta and their fabulous team for preparing Blueberry Cottage for a new Transitional Living family!

Our Transitional Living Advocate shared the family’s reaction when they saw their new home:

“The participant completed the lease signing yesterday morning. During the signing, she told me that she hadn’t even told her two sons yet that they had been selected for the cottage! She said she was just going to bring them to the cottage after school instead of emergency shelter and surprise them. I thought, OMG what an amazing surprise these kids are going to get today.

We went to the cottage and the second the front door opened the participant dropped to her knees holding the back of the couch. Her smile was huge, and she had beautiful happy tears running down her face. Then of course I started crying, too!

As we moved through the house, she ran over to the big blue artwork of the angel in the kitchen and hugged the wall. She just kept laughing, crying, and smiling as we looked from room to room. When we got to the master bedroom she gasped! “This is the first time in my life, I have had a bedroom to myself! It’s a beautiful dream.” We all hugged, and the participant couldn’t stop thanking everyone at The Shelter for choosing her family.

As the day went on, I wanted to know the boys’ reactions. The participant shared that her youngest son cried when he saw his bedroom. The older son emailed me and said, “Hi Ms. Deb. I think the house is the most amazing and beautiful house in the world! The decorations are incredible. Thank you so much for the football players on my wall!”

The participant also sent an email, stating, “This is the best dream of my life. Thank you and God bless everyone from The Shelter.”

For more information on the Transitional Living program, CLICK HERE, or call 239-775-3862.

CLICK HERE to view more transitional cottage renovations.