TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) \u2014 A surprise call before Thanksgiving gave a single mom and her children a fully furnished, affordable home.<\/p>\n
Amanda Arnold, a single mother of two and housekeeper, lost stable housing after her apartment flooded four times.Good News Outreach\u2019s Heart Work Initiative provides transitional homes at roughly 50% below area median income, plus rental and down\u2011payment assistance.Watch the video to see how the family plans to spend their first Thanksgiving in their new home.<\/p>\n
Displaced Tallahassee family receives keys to a house in time for the holiday<\/p>\n
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:<\/p>\n
While many families will be stepping into the kitchen this Thanksgiving to prepare a holiday meal, one Tallahassee family wasn’t sure they’d have a kitchen at all. <\/p>\n
In Southwest Tallahassee, a mother and her children were displaced from their home due to a devastating flooding, but one nonprofit organization stepped up and is giving the family a set of keys to a fully furnished home just in time for the holidays.<\/p>\n
Amanda Arnold, a single mother of two, faced a life changing crisis a few months ago when repeated flooding left her and her children homeless.<\/p>\n
“It’s got flooded over four times now. This last time has been the worst. It was so bad that the water was sinking outside of the home,” Arnold said.<\/p>\n
For months, Arnold had to pay out of pocket for hotel stays, replacement beds, and repairs while they lived without stable housing just to stay afloat.<\/p>\n
“It’s been one issue after another after another, a continuous issue. So to finally be able to be stable and be comfortable, that’s all I was asking for,” Arnold said.<\/p>\n
All year, Good News Outreach Heart Work Initiative has been renovating houses to provide transitional housing for families in need.<\/p>\n
When Amanda Arnold applied, she saw it as a lifeline, but at first she was let down.<\/p>\n
“Because the last time I talked with them, they told me it was a waiting list, and I was looking at maybe next year sometime. So I kind of gave up on it,” Arnold said. <\/p>\n
That changed when Talithia Edwards, the Executive Director of Good News Outreach, called the Arnolds the day before Thanksgiving to say a renovated, fully-furnished house was ready for them.<\/p>\n
“She immediately began to just cry. The tears and emotions let us know what we’re doing is good,” Edwards said.<\/p>\n
Through the work of Good News Outreach’s Heart Work Initiative, the program offers rents about 50% below area median income and provides down payment and rental assistance to help housing insecure families regain stability. <\/p>\n
Arnold, who was a housekeeper, spent months caring for others while she and her children faced homelessness. She says the support made the moment especially meaningful.<\/p>\n
“To be helping people and actually receive help, it hits different,” Arnold said. <\/p>\n
Good News Outreach says they currently have around 30 individuals on their waitlist for transitional housing, an example of just how high the need is in our community.<\/p>\n
For more information on how you can help, visit Good News Outreach’s website <\/a>or call 850-412-0016.<\/p>\n Want to see more local news? Visit the WTXL ABC 27 Website. <\/a><\/p>\n Stay in touch with us anywhere, anytime.<\/p>\n Like us on Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n Follow us on Instagram <\/a>and X.<\/a><\/p>\n