On Friday, November 29, 2019, NPR’s Morning Edition featured a StoryCorps segment that highlighted a conversation between Ashley and Sandy Baker, graduates of Family Promise of Collin County in Allen, Texas. This interview took place as part of a partnership between Family Promise and the StoryCorps Mobile Tour.
When Ashley and Sandy Baker found themselves facing homelessness, Sandy had just left a troubled marriage and Ashley had just turned 16. They spent their first night without a home in a Dallas motel.
But the story didn’t end there. The mom and daughter spent two-and-a-half years battling homelessness. During that time they slept at the motel many more nights, sometimes split rent with a friend, and on one difficult evening were even faced with the decision between sleeping in a tent or their car.
Sandy’s determination to provide a home for her daughter and a recommendation from a leader of Ashley’s youth group eventually led the pair to Family Promise, where they slept at welcoming congregations and were given help with reaching their goals.
Now Sandy and Ashley share an apartment, Ashley is a college graduate, and Sandy gives back by serving on the board of Family Promise of Collin County.
In October, when the StoryCorps Mobile Tour stopped in Dallas, TX, they sat down to discuss all they experienced and accomplished together.
Listen to the segment below and read the rest of Sandy and Ashley’s story at NPR.
