TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — A surprise call before Thanksgiving gave a single mom and her children a fully furnished, affordable home.
- Amanda Arnold, a single mother of two and housekeeper, lost stable housing after her apartment flooded four times.
- Good News Outreach’s Heart Work Initiative provides transitional homes at roughly 50% below area median income, plus rental and down‑payment assistance.
- Watch the video to see how the family plans to spend their first Thanksgiving in their new home.
Displaced Tallahassee family receives keys to a house in time for the holiday
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
While many families will be stepping into the kitchen this Thanksgiving to prepare a holiday meal, one Tallahassee family wasn't sure they'd have a kitchen at all.
In Southwest Tallahassee, a mother and her children were displaced from their home due to a devastating flooding, but one nonprofit organization stepped up and is giving the family a set of keys to a fully furnished home just in time for the holidays.
Amanda Arnold, a single mother of two, faced a life changing crisis a few months ago when repeated flooding left her and her children homeless.
"It's got flooded over four times now. This last time has been the worst. It was so bad that the water was sinking outside of the home," Arnold said.
For months, Arnold had to pay out of pocket for hotel stays, replacement beds, and repairs while they lived without stable housing just to stay afloat.
"It's been one issue after another after another, a continuous issue. So to finally be able to be stable and be comfortable, that's all I was asking for," Arnold said.
All year, Good News Outreach Heart Work Initiative has been renovating houses to provide transitional housing for families in need.
When Amanda Arnold applied, she saw it as a lifeline, but at first she was let down.
"Because the last time I talked with them, they told me it was a waiting list, and I was looking at maybe next year sometime. So I kind of gave up on it," Arnold said.
That changed when Talithia Edwards, the Executive Director of Good News Outreach, called the Arnolds the day before Thanksgiving to say a renovated, fully-furnished house was ready for them.
"She immediately began to just cry. The tears and emotions let us know what we're doing is good," Edwards said.
Through the work of Good News Outreach's Heart Work Initiative, the program offers rents about 50% below area median income and provides down payment and rental assistance to help housing insecure families regain stability.
Arnold, who was a housekeeper, spent months caring for others while she and her children faced homelessness. She says the support made the moment especially meaningful.
"To be helping people and actually receive help, it hits different," Arnold said.
Good News Outreach says they currently have around 30 individuals on their waitlist for transitional housing, an example of just how high the need is in our community.
For more information on how you can help, visit Good News Outreach's website or call 850-412-0016.
Want to see more local news? Visit the WTXL ABC 27 Website.
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