Crandall Family – 2016 Cass Lake
By Kendra Crandall
“My name is Kendra Crandall and I have 5 children: Adrianna (11), Lilianna (9), Nayanna (7), Frederick Jr (5), and Eveanna Littlewolf (1). I work at the hospital as a Certified Nursing Assistant. It’s hard being the only parent providing for my children. I have tried for many years to make things work with my children’s father, but have concluded that my children deserve stability, and that is something he just can’t offer right now. I have a hard time paying my bills and end up working as many extra shifts as I can to make ends meet. I usually miss a lot of my children’s’ activities because of my work schedule. My two oldest daughters are usually gone over 12 hours each day for school, after school activities, and the long bus ride (to get to and from the immersion school they attend).
My current living situation is not very sustainable for me. I live in a rental 20 miles away from my children’s school, and 30 miles to my work. The cost of driving to work has become a burden. More importantly, it takes more time away from me spending time with my children. The rental home we live in right now has a lot of problems that never seem to end. Something always breaks down and needs to be replaced, which means we go without. There are gaps in the door frames and cracks in the walls that leave me with gas bills that have been as high as $1,200 a month in the winter time (and an electric bill of around $500 a month on top of the rent). We seem to move a lot, but we just can’t afford to move into better housing conditions. We can’t afford to live like this anymore either. If it’s not high rent, it is high utilities and I just can’t seem to get caught up.
When I applied to become a partner family with Habitat for Humanity, I never thought I would be chosen. I cried and cried and screamed with joy when Kevin called me to tell me my family and I had been approved to have a home built in Cass Lake. Moving to Cass Lake would help me immensely because my work is closer as well as the school my children attend. But most importantly, my family will have a stable, affordable, and safe home to grow in.
I am eternally grateful for this opportunity for my babies and me!”
Cass Lake is a harder to serve area with very limited resources. 100% of your donation today helps us provide more families in Cass Lake with a safe and affordable place to live. Donate today https://www.lakesareahabitat.org/donate/ways-to-give/