Becoming homeless when her son Beau’s father abandoned the family, Carey worked hard to build a more secure life for her and her son and was able to move into an apartment in East Dallas; however, she was still struggling to make ends meet each month.

 

Carey learned about and applied for housing at CityWalk, a 15-story multi-family building managed by CitySquare  Housing in downtown Dallas. This unique and diverse vertical neighborhood provides quality, affordable housing for low-income wage earners.

 

“We loved the fact that we were in downtown and it was so easy to get over to the park,” said Carey. “Beau actually was able to play outside; he also loved sitting out on the large third-floor patio and playing with his Legos. He got to be a  typical boy.”

 

Beau was three when he and Carey moved into their apartment at CityWalk. For the first three years of his life, they had 

moved 11 times.

 

“I know emotionally and mentally moving so much is challenging for a child,” added Carey. “It helped a lot knowing that once we were at CityWalk he was safe, secure, and stable. He had a positive environment around him to help him deal  with some of his challenges; that gave us both stability and it gave us a place we called home.”

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Carey was also able to access other programs available through CitySquare, including counseling, the community clinic,

and the food pantry. 

 

“Living in CityWalk was such a great opportunity, especially having the support system in place,” said Carey. “It’s not just an apartment where you’re thrown in and you do your own thing. One of the best things was knowing there are people in this organization who really wanted to see us succeed. They are people who care and want to know how you’re doing today.”

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One of the things that meant the most to Carey was being able to spend quality time with Beau since she didn’t have to worry as much about working overtime to cover the bills. 

 

Becoming stable again through a few years of comprehensive support lead Carey to be able to reconnect with family, and she and Beau moved to Oklahoma to be near her Mom and her sister. Beau is now 11, a Boy Scout, and is doing well in school. Carey was excited to share that with the help of her Mom she now owns a home and continues to use the 

valuable lessons she learned while at CityWalk to move forward each day.

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“Every day I feel so blessed to have been able to learn valuable lessons there,” Carey said. “And feel as I am somewhat on the same level as those who helped me. CitySquare helped give me the courage to move forward despite my daily battles."