Shaneekua gets her daughter Amyah, 2, ready to go to daycare. The shelter helped provide donated clothes to all of Shaneekua’s children and herself.

After locking her keys in the car, Amyah, 2, and Amir, 2, watch their mother from inside the shelter while she calls someone to help her.

Shaneekua’s children watch as she opens the door to her van. When she arrived Shaneekua had no vehicle, which made it hard to get to her job and transport her children to daycare. With the help of her manager at McDonald’s, Shaneekua was given a van at no cost to her. She said she was in complete shock by the generosity of people in the community who wanted to help her and her family.

During a lull in customers, Shaneekua sweeps the kithen area. With the help of Our Daily Rest, she was able to get a job at the local McDonald’s.

Four-year-old Kayah Beaford scoops up some macaroni while eating dinner with her family and the other residents of the shelter. Meal times at the shelter are required for every resident to be present at. Shaneekua says that with four children and a job trying to make a sharp 6 P.M. dinner time was hard to meet most days. During her time at the shelter Shaneekua talked about how she longed to make food for her children and being able to chose the ingredients. She also said it made her nervous having her children around so many of the other residents at the shelter.

Amir, Amyah and Kayah eat dinner in the shelter dining room as other residents walk by to grab food from the kitchen.

Amyah, from left, Kayah and Amir read a book together on a set of bunk beds the family pushed together in the room they all share. For most of their stay at Our Daily Rest, the younger children slept on the bottom bunk with their mom while the two older girls slept on top.

Shaneekua Young dances and smiles as she finishes signing the lease on her brand new apartment.

Members of the Utica Baptist Church carry donated furniture up to Shaneekua Young’s new apartment. Over the course of several days, Young received enough furniture to furnish most of her home.

After loading new furniture into Shaneekua Young’s new apartment, Utica Baptist Church members gather around Young and pray for her and her future endeavours.

Shaneekua Young cries tears of joy as she hugs Utica Baptist Church Ministry Leader Jerri Harper and thanks her for all that she had done to get her moved into a place of her own.

Shaneekua holds her daughter Amyah as she puts helps put on her socks and shoes before heading out to daycare for the day.

Before heading outside to play, Amir stops to give his mom a kiss.

4-year-old Kayah Beaford and her sister Amyah, 2, open the fridge door to look for a snack. While living in the shelter, kitchen access was limited to strict meal times, but now the children have kitchen access at all times.

Kiara takes a moment to clean her room before heading outside to play. After sharing a bed with her siblings at the shelter, nine-year-old Kiara said she is thankful to have a space of her own.

While washing up for dinner, Amir and Amyah stop to look at their reflections in the mirror and play with the water in the sink.

Shaneekua prepares hamburgers for dinner while Amyah and her sister Kayah hang out with each other in the living room. While living in the shelter, Shaneekua said what she missed most about living independently was having a kitchen and the ability to cook meals. Now she is able to cook meals at home for her family and chose what foods they eat.