Program to Help US Homeless Helps Neighbors

May 26, 2011

"For Sale" signs line the front yards of several houses in a Hollywood, Florida neighborhood (file)

It’s spaghetti night at the Blomgren home, and the family is just sitting down to supper.

Brad and Sonya Blomgren, their four children, three dogs and a cat have been living in a modest tract house since losing their own home to foreclosure last August.

The family’s troubles began two years ago when the economy started to slow and Brad lost his construction job. Then his health failed, and a series of surgeries kept him sidelined for months. The last straw came when a trusted employee stole Brad’s truck and all his carpentry tools.

With supper over and the kids headed upstairs to do homework, Brad and Sonya sit down to talk about losing their home. One of Brad’s deepest regrets is that he was away when a sheriff’s deputy served the eviction papers. His teenage daughter answered the door.

“So when I came back, I find her on the floor just in tears," said Brad. "Of course, she didn’t tell the younger children. And she told me about how he had come up and, you know, gave us notice that we had to move. I was heartbroken that she happened to be the one that was home at the time.”

The family had been in denial, hoping the bank would offer a last minute reprieve, so the eviction notice caught them off-guard, without plans about what to do next.