Thursday, February 7, 2013

Homeless family receives donation after story of their plight runs in ...

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(from left) The Grantling family: Eddie III, 9, Eddie, Madison, 8, Terry and Morgan, 8, work on homework at Southfield Public Library, pictured Thursday January 10, 2013. (Oakland Press Photo:Vaughn Gurganian)

Former Southfield resident Terry Grantling, who with her family has been homeless since last year, was pleased to receive a check from a Bloomfield Hills couple after a story about her plight ran in The Oakland Press. Tuesday, February 5, 2013. The Oakland Press/TIM THOMPSON

A generous gift sent to The Oakland Press came as a surprise to a former Southfield resident, homeless for nearly a year.

??Wow,? said Terry Grantling, now living with her husband and three children in Detroit, as she opened a letter from a Bloomfield Hills couple. Inside was a note and a check for $100.

?That was so nice, that is a blessing, wow,? said Grantling, 35, who works teaching special education students on Detroit?s East Side.

The Grantling family?s struggle with homelessness was profiled in a Jan. 28 story by Diana Dillaber Murray in The Oakland Press.

?I don?t think we really realized what we?d been through until we did the story,? Grantling said.

Eviction happened last August

Only last May Terry and husband Eddie ? and three children, twins Morgan and Madison, 8, and Eddie III, 9 ? were looking forward to moving from their Southfield apartment to a new home.?

Terry was finishing her degree in education from Eastern Michigan University to become a special education teacher. Eddie was in his 13th year of employment at Detroit Diesel and working on a degree in electrical engineering at Wayne State University.?

Then on May 29, Eddie was laid off. The couple lost their chance to buy the house. Eddie even pawned his wedding ring to generate some money to pay a month?s rent. Continued...

The Grantlings were evicted from their apartment in August, and then got by staying with friends and family. Staff with the Oakland Schools Homeless Student Education Program assisted the family by helping the children stay in school.

In the meantime both Terry and Eddie have gotten work and the family has been able to temporarily stay at a cousin?s Detroit foreclosed home.

The couple is saving money to be able to move into their own home this year.

The note from the donors which accompanied the check said, ?We were very touched by your struggle to keep your family together. Please accept this small gift and our prayers for all of you. We are well aware that most of us are only a couple of paychecks away from being in the same position as you are. In Jesus Christ?s name, we give this to you.?

The couple did not immediately return a call made to them by The Oakland Press.

Grantling had immediate plans for the money.

?My kids are sick with the flu, and it?s $30 per child to go to the doctor so this will go toward that bill,? said Grantling.

?I?ve been trying to do everything on my own to get them well.?

She paused, again looking at the check, ?It?s a blessing!?

Source: http://www.theoaklandpress.com/articles/2013/02/05/news/doc5111281c98326696802608.txt

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