Kids and Foreclosure
Rhonda Porter on 02 3, 2009
This morning I received an email of a poem that my niece wrote for a school assignment she read to her classmates.
Just Maybe
I came home from school to a notice on the door.
It’s not the first time, it’s been happening more and more.
This time it’s our water, last month the gas
Who knows what it’ll be next time, the money just doesn’t last.
This month we’ll make the car payment, we’ll hold off on cable for now.
Next month, we’ll work on credit cards, it’s hard, we’ll have to figure out how.
Maybe that will be enough to save the house. Just maybe.
Don’t cry, honey, and don’t answer the phone.
Maybe I can get a second job, or maybe a family loan.
I can sell my pet hamster, one less mouth to feed.
I will baby-sit, mow lawns, go without, whatever you need.
Don’t worry, she says, tears on her face,
You shouldn’t have to struggle to save this place.
Maybe that will be enough to save the house. Just maybe.
I came home from school to moving trucks outside.
My belongings in boxes, my tears I try to hide.
We tried in vain, and tried so hard
New house, new school, new friendships to start.
I’m nervous and scared, but cover it with a smile
I’ll be back on my feet, but it may take awhile.
Just wasn’t enough to save the house. Just wasn’t.
by Shayann ~ 16 years old
Her words touch me…yes, she’s my sweetie-pie and I’m so sorry that her family lost their home last year. I wonder how many other classmates of Shayann and kids like her are feeling the pain of foreclosure.
About the Author: Rhonda Porter
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23 Responses to “Kids and Foreclosure”
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Rhonda – that is just horrible. Last year there was a little girl in my 9 yr old’s class that lost her home. We offered help and so did a lot of other people, but the mother was not very receptive. They lived in the car for a while even though we offered shelter and she is at a different school now. It is sad:(
I don’t know too many people that have not been impacted by our housing/economic situation. It’s all around—people we work with and friends losing houses to foreclosure, lost jobs, illness, families busted up due to financial stresses and so on. The wake of this thing is wide and far.
The key is that if you have the means, get out there and do your small part to support those in need. It could be me, you or your next door neighbor that is in need next.
Courtney,
it is really tough to watch your family go through something like this. They’re doing fine now. Shayann (and her brother) are very adaptable, friendly and easy going… I think that’s also why this really touched me.
By the way, I should let everyone know that she (and her Mom) gave me permission to reprint this here. It may be picked up by their local newspaper as well.
Moved me…beyond words.
Tim, I know of folks from all income levels that are being impacted. I’ll bet that everyone (if they’re not directly impacted) knows of a person who is having a very tough time.
I’m proud of my niece for speaking up and sharing her circumstance with her classmates. Who know–it could help others at her school who are going through the same thing and feeling all alone. Being a teen can be tough enough as it is.
Thanks, Ardell. Our kids see and hear so much of what’s going on around us…more than we know.
WOW! It’s sad to see how this economy is hurting the innocent, our children!
Hi Rhonda,
I admire your niece for being so forthright and open. That takes a lot of courage. I hope she and her family are able to make their way out of this.
I agree with everyone here who has mentioned how important it is to remember those in need. Local food banks and shelter need our support.
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By the way, I love the way my last name shows up below when I visit you on this site, it shows it as “sin!”
Hi Rhonda,
Thanks for sharing this part of your family with us. Having to leave a house not by choice is emotionally disruptive for a child because the house represents a sense of security. With parents in financial (and maybe their own emotional) distress, sometimes the needs of the kids are put on the back burner.
Once expressed, those emotions of sadness become processed and the child can move forward.
Sometimes children who can’t safely express their emotions in times of distress end up carrying those emotions around with them for years, sometimes into adulthood.
Please let your niece know that I cried when I read her poem and I hope she was able to cry too, so she can move on.
Life is full of loss and rediscovering joy.
Fascinating how rough it can be to read a poem like that, let alone live and write it. She did am amazing job articulating the struggle and uncertainty.
I was taken back when I read her poem this morning. At family gatherings she is always so bubbly…smiling from ear to ear. She’s a strong young lady and they (the family) are getting through this.
I’m also amazed with my sister’s willingness to share this. I’m honestly not sure if I would…I’m more private (says the blogger). When Shayann was born, I swear my sister had everybody there to celebrate the big event. When my son was born, it was just his dad, the nurse and the doctor.
This poem has affected me more so much… It really sums up the pain so many families must be going through. Your niece is really a talented, special young woman and I wish her all the best in the future.
Tim is right about doing what you can. I dropped off a check and a couple of sacks of food at our local food bank and was surprised to see how long the line was for their food distribution.
There by the grace of God go I.
I was lucky not to have my house foreclosed when I lost my job with Bank of America last year. But I had to move to Chicago to take a new job to keep paying the mortgage. So in a sense, I was personally affected, but I was lucky to still have a job in the financial industry.
I recalled when I was in BoA, I was working in the Countrywide merger project, and you just see piles and piles of foreclosure docs, and new one coming in every day. To the bankers, these docs are just a bunch of numbers, there is no emotion attached to these docs, and there can not be. Behind these docs, there are thousands untold emotional human stories, but when you are working in the financial industry, you have to be able to emotionally detach from them.
I think we in the financial industry should take some blames for the loose landing standard that started this whole mess. But the consumers also have to take responsibilities in borrowing money that they have no means to re-pay back. Kids are innocent in this case, but not the parents.
Brian, this post is about the “innocent victims” of foreclosure…and I want to make sure we keep it on that subject and not about choices parents/borrowers and lenders made.
Sorry to heard about your niece’s story, Ronda. Unfortunately, her story isn’t that unusual and we are seeing more and more of such stories. I think what’s been done has already been done, the real challenge is how to get out of this whole mess to prevent any more stories like this happening in this country.
Thanks, brian_sun.
That’s a good poem and so illustrates what’s happening a lot in the nation.
My niece has been reading the comments along with her Mom. They’re touched by everyone’s kind words and I thank you all.
That’s awesome! She lost her house last year and already has a new one? Wonderful!
70ford, my sister’s family is renting another home. This post is about kids and foreclosures, not the parents. I almost deleted your comment.
“Home is where the heart is.”
My house is getting foreclosed now. I just heard it today. Mom says its gonna be ok and I think it will be. We also have a baby. we can afford the water and stuff like that
kaity -7
Hi Kaity, what’s most important is that you and your family have each other.