Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, December 6, 1993 TAG: 9312060043
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETSY BIESENBACH STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The streets of her Roanoke neighborhood belong to drug dealers. Andrea fears that one night, one of them will decide to break through her flimsy front door. She won't go into her back yard, even in daylight, and she and her children have spent several nights lying on the floor while gunfire blasted outside.
Andrea, 35, comes from a large Midwestern city. The neighborhoods there were rough, but "it wasn't anything like this," she said.
When Andrea moved into the tiny two-bedroom house last summer, she didn't know what she was getting into. She decided to rent the place because the security deposit was affordable and a relative had promised to help with the rent. But when the relative died, Andrea was left with a $325 monthly payment for a house in such poor shape that the wind blows through gaps around the door and windows.
She also had a misunderstanding with the landlord about the water bill, which she thought he would take care of. As a result, the family's water was cut off for 2 1/2 weeks in October. When she went to pay the bill, she discovered a cousin had used her name and left a bad payment record. Andrea was told she would have to pay a deposit as well as the bill and reconnection fee.
Although Andrea works, her job is seasonal. She said she would be lucky to work 28 hours a week during the winter. She was attending business school and had a student loan, but had to quit to help take care of a sick family member.
Her paycheck is being garnisheed by creditors, and she brings home less than $50 some weeks.
She would like to work two jobs, but because of the neighborhood, the children are afraid to be at home without her after school.
By early November, the family couldn't live any longer without water. A neighbor had let them fill jugs at her house, but after the children had gone two weeks without a bath, they refused to go to school.
That's when Andrea went to Roanoke Area Ministries for help. Through the Good Neighbors Fund, the agency gave her enough money to pay the deposit and the reconnection fee. While she was there, she and one of her children had a meal in the shelter's kitchen.
Andrea would like to move, but can't afford to. Her dream is to someday return to her hometown, where job opportunities are better and public transportation can get her wherever she needs to go.
"I don't know what to do," she said. "I want to leave."
Checks should be made payable to Good Neighbors Fund and mailed to Roanoke Times & World-News, P.O. Box 1951, Roanoke 24008.
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by CNB