SHARON — On a recent sunny day, Helen Hupp’s 8-year-old son Robbie practices his spelling words in the living room while her teenage daughter Rachel texts away on her cell phone and little Libby, 4, and Rayden, 2, are busy playing.
Ms. Hupp and her family have lived in four-bedroom townhouse at Willow Village in downtown Sharon for four years, but before that they lived in a shelter for victims of domestic violence.
They lived in a shelter in Kittanning for a few weeks after leaving their Slippery Rock home because Ms. Hupp’s ex-husband tried to run her over with his car.
Ms. Hupp and Rachel packed their belongings and put them in storage before they left her ex-husband.
She said she stayed so long because they had nowhere to go.
Ms. Hupp said her family tried to help and she and her kids spent some time living with a friend in Harrisville, but that proved too much because about eight people already lived in the home.
It was difficult living in the shelter with five people in one room, Ms. Hupp said. Libby was just a baby and her older son was with them and there were lots of other kids running around, too, which caused strain.
They had no privacy, she said, and little things like not being able to watch what you want on television or use the computer whenever you want were hard for the children.
When Ms. Hupp heard Project RUTH had a three-bedroom home available for them, she said she didn’t even need to look at it.
“I’ll take it,” she told them immediately.
Ms. Hupp said things are going well for her family now. But without Project RUTH, she’s not sure that would be the case.
She spent two years in Project RUTH, where staff helped her get on the right track and get her own place.
“If it wasn’t for Project RUTH, I don’t know what I would’ve done,” Ms. Hupp said.
Even though she’s done with the program, Ms. Hupp said she still goes to classes at Prince of Peace Center in Farrell.
Even though the news is plastered with doom and gloom about the American economy, Ms. Hupp, who doesn’t work, said she’s not really worried.
“I got my confidence from Project RUTH that I can do it,” she said.
She said she got a lot of strength from her experience and now knows she’s able to do things on her own.
Ms. Hupp spends her days running her kids back and forth from school and taking care of a busy toddler. Rachel, who no longer attends school and is looking for a job, is a big help around the house, Ms. Hupp said.
She said they miss living in a house and are on the Mercer County Housing Authority’s Section 8 housing voucher waiting list and are hoping to move out of their apartment sometime this year.
She said they want to stay in Sharon so her kids don’t have to change schools.
Ms. Hupp said she wants her kids to get an education and for them to make good choices in life.
She has some advice for other people struggling out there, who are homeless or on the verge. “Don’t be ashamed,” Ms. Hupp said. “There’s help out there. You just have to ask.”
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