A Second Chance Success Story
By Melissa Lydon / Fall 2024 Newsletter
To outsiders, my family looked just like others in our affluent community. My mother, an intelligent, kind, strong single woman, worked full-time as a social worker. She raised three children on her own and appeared to make it work.
Only we knew we were drowning in debt: incurring regular bank overdrafts, moving every year, and desperately trying to rebuild my mother’s credit. Her financial standing had been destroyed by my absent father who had lost our home to bankruptcy years before. The final straw was my incredible mother needing emergency housing due to domestic violence from my soon-to-be ex-stepfather.
This is where Construct came into our lives. We needed a second chance. We had run out of options, and Construct was there. Construct’s staff saw and understood our struggles, despite outward appearances. They understood we needed help.
I still think about how fortunate we were to have people who saw us when we needed them most.
Construct’s Pleasant Street transitional housing became our new beginning. It was the home where my mother finally felt safe and in charge of her family. It was the home where she began to rebuild her credit, pay bills on time, and save enough money to — just two years later — purchase a house.
Construct gave her time and a foundation that allowed her to purchase a beautiful home in Housatonic that was hers and hers alone. This house gave me, her eldest daughter, the knowledge that my family would be safe. Without this peace of mind, I never would have been able to start my life’s journey, my own business, and my own family.
To this day, 20-plus years later, my mother still lives in this house, where her children still feel safe visiting and where her grandchildren love to go and bake in her kitchen. There was a time when we did not think this future would be possible. Now, I want to say thank you to Construct for supporting our family.