LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Crista Petty's family centers around her 2-year-old son, Yeshua.
They haven't had a stable living situation for a couple years now.
"Shortly after Yeshua was born, I think it was September of 2021, my husband could no longer work and that's when everything really started to spiral out of control," Crista said.
Marvin, her husband, is legally blind. As a child, a car hit him while he played outside. He required a cornea transplant, but his vision has slowly deteriorated since, making him unable to perform his previous job as a forklift driver.
"We didn't have much, but we had everything we needed," Crista said.
Now, they're waiting for his disability payments to start. The family used to rely on Crista's disability checks. That was when Marvin still had his job. "I have lupus," Crista explained, "and back problems as well."
Once Marvin lost the job, they lost their home, which impacted Crista's ability to receive those benefits.
"Being homeless has hindered a lot of things for me," she said. "No sure address, I didn't get my disability review papers. So I missed that. They said I abandoned my social security, but I was spending my money every month. I just simply didn't know about my appointment."
They were on a bench, with Yeshua resting in his father's arms, when Amanda Mills came to them with food. She's the founder of Southend Street Angels, a homeless outreach organization. Their grassroots funding paid to move them into a hotel. Mills says it's a situation no family should ever have to face.
"Homelessness is not always a choice," Mills said. "The resources are simply not there. It's not as easy as telling somebody to go to a shelter. Because shelters are full."
After Mills agreed to speak with WHAS News, the mayor's office texted her and paid for the rest of the family's hotel stay through Nov. 7. The struggling mother is grateful but says "there's help out there, just needs to be more."
More for her and the other families like hers, living on the streets, as a cold winter looms ahead.
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.