Isabella and Gabriella, lively two-year-old fraternal twins, laugh and giggle as they put on costumes during playtime at the Coalition’s Early Childhood Development Center. It’s hard to imagine that just two months ago, their father Todd walked into the Coalition’s intake office with his girls, homeless, with nowhere to go.

Todd, an experienced electrician, had a steady job and was living with his parents, his twin daughters and their mother in an Orlando home. Because of a health emergency, his parents moved from Orlando in May, leaving Todd and his family searching for an area apartment. Despite Todd’s ten years as an electrician and a steady income, they had a difficult time finding affordable housing. They moved into an inexpensive motel room while desperately searching for a new home.

Todd went to work every day, while the twin’s mom took care of Isabella and Gabriella in a small room with few toys and little space. One month passed and their situation grew more desperate as their financial resources dwindled. Then one evening, after the girls had gone to sleep, the twin’s mom told Todd that she couldn’t cope any more; she packed a bag and left Todd with Isabella and Gabriella. Todd waited for hours for her to come back, hoping she’d change her mind. “Six hours passed before I realized she wasn’t coming back. I looked at my girls and knew we were in trouble,” Todd said.

A Turning Point: Todd realized he had to reach out for help, but where? The motel manager suggested he call the sheriff’s office for help. Todd, Isabella and Gabriella sat in the nearby sheriff’s office for hours, watching as the deputy called shelter after shelter, looking for a place that would take a father and two children.

“I’ve never faced a point where there seemed to be no hope, no options,” Todd said. “Each shelter kept saying we would have to be separated. I was terrified that they would take my girls away. Finally I heard someone say that Coalition for the Homeless was the only shelter in Central Florida that would take an intact family – in my case, a father with kids.”

A New Beginning: Todd, Isabella and Gabriella arrived at the Coalition with a few bags of clothing, toys and little else. With the help of a Coalition case manager, Todd put together a self-sufficiency plan. Because he was already employed, Todd didn’t need the help of the Coalition’s Life Strides program, where adults are provided job skills evaluation, training, counseling, and financial support to improve their education. Instead, a case manager helped Todd put together a budget, including a savings account that would provide a future safety net for the family. Todd began to attend parenting classes to help him deal with his two active daughters.

Isabella, a short-haired shy toddler with brown eyes, and Gabriella, with long hair and piercing blue eyes, spend their days at the Coalition’s licensed day care facility, while their dad works. Both girls were evaluated by an onsite child psychologist to determine their needs and benefited from play therapy to help cope with their difficult experiences. Speech therapy was arranged for Gabriella to improve her communication skills. Immersed in a new world full of songs, games, and stories, both girls have blossomed. “They have learned so many things and without the care they are getting during the day, there’s no way I would have been able to keep working and start saving,” Todd notes.

What’s next?: Two months after coming to the Coalition, there is a light at the end of the tunnel for Todd and his little girls. With a savings account, a monthly budget and counseling in place, Todd has worked with his case manager on a target date to move back into the community – early January 2006. They still have challenges to face, but they are facing them together.