Client Story: Wanda

Wanda and her four children ages 4,5,7 and 9, were on the verge of losing their home. The family had been living with Wanda’s father, and when he died in 2017, she learned he had fallen behind on his mortgage payments. Wanda’s father suffered from a stroke and couldn’t work for 10 years. So it was a struggle for her father to pay his bills. Wanda hired a lawyer who helped get the house put in her name, and she worked out an agreement with the bank to keep the home. “I fought for a year to keep the house,” Wanda said.

The home had been in disrepair, and then Hurricane Irma caused additional damage. Wanda said she couldn’t afford to make home repairs and applied for assistance through Rebuilding Together Orlando. She said the organization painted the outside of the house, replaced a door, fixed the hurricane damage and plans to replace windows. Wanda said when the team at Rebuilding Together Orlando saw she had virtually no furniture the organization referred her to The Mustard Seed for help. Now Wanda’s children have their own beds to sleep in and the comfort of a couch to relax on and a table to eat at. The Mustard Seed also provided Wanda with Christmas toys donated by Walt Disney World and clothing for her children. “I was like, ‘wow,’ this is a blessing,” Wanda said. “I couldn’t do it financially because it’s so much.”