Meet the McCutchen Family
Crystal McCutchen is a very proud single mother of three young kids who is temporarily staying at our Eleanor Corbett House, She is very bright, patient with her three active children, and is unhappy with her current situation. But she refuses to feel bad for herself.
She married her high school sweetheart and they moved to Georgia where they began a successful construction business. So successful in fact that at one time they had considered expanding the business to landscaping. Then the economy fell apart and “almost overnight” their successful business was failing. With Crystal on bedrest with her son and unable to contribute financially, they eventually had to succumb to their financial problems and move back to New Jersey to be closer to family.
Crystal had two jobs and while she contends they weren’t living to the standard they once were, things were going well. That is until their marriage began to fall apart and her husband decided to leave. After a short stay with her parents she found her own place, but without the ability to pay for childcare she was eventually laid off from both jobs.
She moved into Eleanor Corbett House. In a cruel ironic twist, she was able to get unemployment ($800 a month to support her and her three kids) but she does not qualify for rental assistance; she makes too much money. And she has been unsuccessful in receiving child support. She is looking for a job but admits it has been an uphill battle.
Her two youngest, Even who is four and Noah who is two seem to be adjusting fine. Her oldest, Rachael, who is 11, has had more trouble. She is still at her same school but her grades have fallen since they entered the shelter.
Crystal is keenly aware of the stigma of being homeless but she wants people to know that not everyone there is not trying. “I don’t want to come back to this situation,” she says, “I want my kids to know it’s better than this.” She is grateful for the people of Volunteers of America Delaware Valley especially her case manager who she credits with snapping her out of a funk when she was feeling sorry for herself. And she is happy to be part of Adopt a Family. “I am not in a position to do anything for the holidays but I still want it to be nice for them. They are little and they don’t know all the bad things that are happening.”
Their wishlist for the holidays? Rachael, in typical 11-year-old fashion, wants a phone and a Wii. The younger ones are simpler, they like to draw and the movie Tangled. For Crystal, she just wants a place of her own and to get her life back to where she knows if can be.
You can help families like Crystal's? Call 856-854-4660 or Donate Online