Rebecca’s Story
Unpaid Leave Leads to Impossible Choices
When Rebecca’s* child was born in March, what should have been a time of joy became a period of mounting uncertainty. Without paid maternity leave, she faced three months without income, disrupting the careful payment arrangement she had established with her landlord.
Cascading Financial Pressures
The financial strain of unpaid leave coincided with Rebecca’s post-partum depression, creating a complex web of challenges. Prior to her maternity leave, she had already fallen behind on rent and worked out a catch-up payment plan with her landlord. Despite communicating proactively about her temporary leave, she found herself unable to maintain even these reduced payments. The landlord sent notice that if she couldn’t get current on the payment plan, the arrangement would be cancelled and she would become responsible for her full rental debt at once.
Rebecca explored multiple avenues for assistance. She applied to the housing stabilization program but learned her previous receipt of ERAP assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic made her ineligible. Other rental assistance programs couldn’t help – the amount she needed exceeded their limits. While she managed to secure a welfare diversion payment, pressing bills consumed those funds before she could address the rent.
Rebecca’s oldest child began to notice subtle changes in their home life. While she tried to shield her children from their financial circumstances, the stress of potential eviction affected how she carried herself as a parent. Now back to work full-time and simultaneously pursuing a nursing degree, she found herself unable to focus on work, school, or self-care. The constant pressure of finding a solution occupied her thoughts, undermining her confidence in her ability to provide the stability her family needed.
Finding Stability Through Timely Support
Footbridge provided $2,500 to resolve the past-due balance, enabling her to negotiate a new payment arrangement with her landlord. This assistance came at a crucial moment, as Rebecca had returned to full-time work and could maintain future payments with her bi-weekly income.
“It helped reduce my anxiety and allowed me to start showing up for myself and my children better,” she shared. The stability meant she could remain in her current home while working toward her longer-term goal of homeownership. It also allowed her to refocus on her education – particularly valuable as her employer offers tuition reimbursement for maintaining passing grades in her three classes.
Where Family and Housing Rights Intersect
Rebecca’s experience illuminates how quickly a family’s stability can unravel when faced with the impossible choice between bonding with a newborn and maintaining housing security – a choice no parent should have to make. Her story reveals a critical gap in America’s safety net: the lack of universal paid family leave often forces families to risk their financial stability to care for their children.
When timely, targeted assistance prevents an eviction, it does more than avert a housing crisis – it preserves a family’s dignity and their opportunity to build a more stable future.
*This name has been changed for privacy reasons.