Love Cottage & Rabb Cottage welcome new Transitional Living families

Thank you to The Shelter Guild Cottage Committee Chairs Katy Tetta and Karen Colgain and their fabulous team for preparing Love Cottage and Rabb Cottage for new Transitional Living families!

Our TL Director Deb Alvarez shared the reaction of each family when they saw their new home for the first time.

The Cottage of Love – The mother opened the front door and froze. The second she saw her own couches sitting there, she started to cry. She moved slowly into the cottage and kept looking at me and looking around with big, brown eyes filled with tears. When she saw her daughter’s room she gasped “this is the perfect room for her!” She continued through the house loving every single color, decoration and placement of furniture. We went into the kitchen and that is what really took her by surprise. I opened the cupboards and showed her the dishes, pots and pans, etc. and she really started crying. “This is for us?! I can cook for us again, this is a dream!”

This is a message  her daughter sent the following morning: “I am very happy with my new room and house. I love how you decorated it and I’m very grateful because I now have my own room. I really like the Hello Kitty plushie in my room. Thank you so much  for your details and hard work.”

Rabb Cottage – The entire family was there for the first showing of the cottage. The mother and her three daughters were giggling the whole time we waited for the front door to open. As they all looked around, each of them had their hands to their mouths with disbelief. With wide eyes, the two oldest girls slowly walked towards their rooms. They loved their rooms. The six-year-old daughter got a huge smile on her face and said, “This is my first time ever, ever having a big girl room!” We all walked towards the master bedroom and the mom spotted the crib with the little outfit hanging over the side and burst into tears. “This is a blessing from God, thank you all for this home!”

The two oldest girls started crying with mom and we all had a happy tears and a big group hug! The baby was asleep until the end of the tour but when she awoke, she had the biggest eyes she kept looking all around smiling. The girls were so excited to see the playground. The six-year-old yelled, “Mom, I want to go play now. Can I Mom? Can I now, please?!” They were all beyond grateful, excited, and humbled by the beautiful home you all provided for them.

The Shelter is seeking sponsors for additional Transitional Living cottages. For more information on the Transitional Living program, CLICK HERE, or call 239-775-3862.

CLICK HERE to view more transitional cottage renovations.