You Gave This Single Dad Hope
Renaldo and his three children were running out of options . . . until you stepped in
Three kids. No back-up plan. No hope.
Renaldo is a single dad. “I was running from pillar to post, going through it,” he says. Desperately, Renaldo wanted a safe place to land — a place to start new. “But I didn’t have anywhere to go with my kids.”
His older children had spent their early years apart from Renaldo. When all three of the kids were placed in Renaldo’s custody, he wanted to give them the world. But instead, it felt like their world was slowly falling apart. Slipping through his fingers. Would this be the month eviction came knocking?
“I wanted to fall down,” says Renaldo. “I had to pick myself up for my kids. To show them that I can be the father they need and not leave them stranded like rveryone else.”
When Renaldo looked at his 13-year-old growing older by the day . . . got his 10-year-old boy out the door for school . . . or tucked his 8-year-old baby girl into bed, he thought, I’ve got to do it. I’ve got to push through. “So I picked myself up and got strong for my kids.” Because you give, fathers like Renaldo can rebuild with their children — instead of splitting up between shelters, programs, or foster care.
An Exit Out of Poverty
A phone call from Metro was the first glimmer of hope for Renaldo’s family. “They told me they had a room ready for me at Uplift Hall,” says Renaldo. “I dropped everything at work and left to go get the kids.”
Uplift Hall — located at Metro’s main Tampa campus — is more than safe housing. Thanks to you, it’s a place of healing and dreaming.
Renaldo and his children didn’t find a stopgap. They found an exit out of poverty. Today, through the services you make possible, the entire family is
on a personalized pathway out of their crisis. “My children are happy,” says Renaldo. “They were so tired of running from one place to another.”
“Metro made me a better person,” says Renaldo. Thank you for helping his family rise above!
Today, Renaldo is getting his Auto Mechanic certification at Brewster Technical College. “I love the program,” says Renaldo. This is the future your gift fuels — one that’s stable, dignified, and full of hope. “Metro made me a better person,” says Renaldo. “Being here made me open my eyes. You can move forward and you can get somewhere in life.”