Hi, my name is Paige Adams. This is my family. As 2018 comes to an end, I’ve been thinking about the challenges we overcame this year. At the beginning of the year, my husband, Tony, and I were living in Flint, Michigan, with our four children. You probably recognize Flint as the city with the bad water. Life was tough there. It wasn’t just the water. Crime was rampant, and drugs were everywhere. It wasn’t the kind of place to raise a family. Then one day we came home from a weekend camping trip and found our place had been ransacked. Someone stole the appliances, the pipes, even the bathtub and doorknobs. We were devastated. So, Tony and I grabbed some clothes, packed our four kids into the van and left for Florida with my brother, Steven. Starting over in a new state is hard enough, but it’s really hard without identification. I had a Michigan driver’s license that was torn in half, but my husband and my brother didn’t have any ID at all. Without our birth certificates, we couldn’t get our Florida IDs. Thankfully, we found jobs through a company we had worked for in Michigan, but there was still so much we couldn’t do. We couldn’t cash our paychecks at a bank. My husband and brother had to sneak into our hotel room because they didn’t have IDs. And, we couldn’t enroll our kids in school. When our employer, Ms. Turton, heard that we had trouble getting our Florida IDs, she told us to go to the next IDignity event. Thanks to the people who make IDignity possible, Steven, Tony and I have our IDs. Our family has a place to live, and our children can go to school. Life is a little brighter and happier. Without Ms. Turton and our friends at IDignity, I don’t know where we would be. I ask that during this holiday season you’ll consider donating to IDignity. Your gift can make a big difference in the lives of families like mine who need a little help to get back on their feet.

Hi, my name is Paige Adams. This is my family.

As 2018 comes to an end, I’ve been thinking about the challenges we overcame this year.

At the beginning of the year, my husband, Tony, and I were living in Flint, Michigan, with our four children. You probably recognize Flint as the city with the bad water. Life was tough there. It wasn’t just the water. Crime was rampant, and drugs were everywhere. It wasn’t the kind of place to raise a family.

Then one day we came home from a weekend camping trip and found our place had been ransacked. Someone stole the appliances, the pipes, even the bathtub and doorknobs. We were devastated. So, Tony and I grabbed some clothes, packed our four kids into the van and left for Florida with my brother, Steven.

Starting over in a new state is hard enough, but it’s really hard without identification. I had a Michigan driver’s license that was torn in half, but my husband and my brother didn’t have any ID at all. Without our birth certificates, we couldn’t get our Florida IDs.

Thankfully, we found jobs through a company we had worked for in Michigan, but there was still so much we couldn’t do. We couldn’t cash our paychecks at a bank. My husband and brother had to sneak into our hotel room because they didn’t have IDs. And, we couldn’t enroll our kids in school.

When our employer, Ms. Turton, heard that we had trouble getting our Florida IDs, she told us to go to the next IDignity event.

Thanks to the people who make IDignity possible, Steven, Tony and I have our IDs. Our family has a place to live, and our children can go to school. Life is a little brighter and happier. Without Ms. Turton and our friends at IDignity, I don’t know where we would be.

I ask that during this holiday season you’ll consider donating to IDignity. Your gift can make a big difference in the lives of families like mine who need a little help to get back on their feet.