Homeless Boy With Brain Cancer, 5 Family Members Live In Hotel Room In Phoenix

Tory is one amazing mother. Fighting homelessness is bad enough, yet her 11-year-old son has brain cancer. I cannot imagine the strength it takes just to get through a day.

I met Tory and her three kids living in a hotel room in Phoenix, Arizona. Six people actually now live in this hotel room. They only thought they were going to be there for two weeks, and that was months ago.

The hotel cycle for homeless families is often never-ending. Tory's husband often walks four miles every day to get to work, but he does not make enough money for them to save up for first and last month's rent to get back into an apartment or house.

Tory says she is having a hard time finding support services. Either the service provider is out of funds or they are just placed on a waiting list. Tory is trying to stay in the same area so her kids can stay in the same school. There is some good news, I was with a school liaison who will start helping Tory's family the best to their ability.

Tory's son received an award for student of the month in September. That's amazing. Please watch to the end to hear his three wishes.

 

 

 

Follow Mark Horvath on Twitter: www.twitter.com/hardlynormal

Comments

[mi4]

11:13 PM on 10/30/2012

Brain cancer is serious and the article does not state if the child is recieving medical care. This is so sad.

[Mark Horvath]

06:58 PM on 10/29/2012

UPDATE: family was given rental assistance and moved into a rental house. They are no longer living in a hotel room!

[Takae]

06:20 PM on 10/31/2012

Thank you for posting the update.

[kailua007]

01:31 PM on 10/29/2012

I want to help too. Has anyone found a direct way of ensuring a care package? Has there been a fund set up for this family? I will look into Mark Horvath's contact information and post what I find - in case someone else would like to know.

[wbm bradford]

03:39 AM on 10/27/2012

If we take a look at most "safety nets" in many metropolitan areas, the relationship between "human services delivery systems" involving temporary or emergency housing many times involves Consolidated Planning processes which have been hi-jacked for other purposes. For example, SRO safety nets expanded to include one room motel rooms in depleted and/or red light districts of cities and town. Families in crisis deserve better. But fighting these types of "morally corrupt delivery system" requires holding the committees of committees who control the vouchers and/or affordable housing monies responsible. And sadly that requires endless vigilance, active policy advocacy and identifying local politicians who will stand-up for "efficacy of services" and the "social economics of sustainable redevelopment". If we...... warehouse our most vulnerable in "lifeless solutions" our communities lose their integrity. thanks, brad. 2012 Tampa Bay "Homelessness" on facebook.

[dmcrane]

03:03 AM on 10/27/2012

Is there a way to send this family some donations or a Fund set up for them? I'd like to help; can't do much but maybe a little from a lot of people would help.

[maxfax]

01:43 AM on 10/28/2012

Check the writer's bio for contact info.

[Michaelann Bewsee]

10:01 PM on 10/26/2012

Musical chairs-- homeless families going from place to place and never a place for everyone. Of course it doesn't have to be this way, but so far poverty has not won the necessary attention from the left. Maybe as even more people face housing insecurity, that will change.

[pat4real]

08:56 PM on 10/26/2012

Wish the government had more programs to help families like this. They have the money but it wouldnt be like OUR government to spend it the RIGHT way! Ive got a feeling they will be getting the help they need now because of this story, hope they do.

[Nightengale]

11:47 PM on 10/27/2012

Yes well I agree- the less of these stories I see the better I feel- i would pay more taxes to not be confronted with this
Unfortunately the people against taxing for any reason hate them and the Ayn Rand enthusiasts what too just let them suffer and die.

[enhawaii]

06:16 PM on 10/26/2012

Is there a fund set up for this family to help them.

[Elijah A Alexander Jr]

05:07 PM on 10/26/2012

If AMA would promote the cure for cancer they already know Troy's son would likely already be healed. There is a substance which dark green vgetavles eatten raw, whils abstaining for animal fat including dairy plus salt, will be restore andto control cancer to remittion.

The wife of a friend was given 6 months to live who had lived it down to one month and his eyes stayed red from crying. I wrote her a letter asking her to eat that diet and include nuts and fruit. I informed her she would loose weight and when it stopped the cancer would be remitting. She did and in less than a month was able to drive herself back and forth to Chemo. as she improved her nurse spoke toher about it and she told her of my letter to which she went and brought her a book sayiingthe same thing. So, why wasn't that the treatment given her by the doctors rather than Chemo?

If they are able to get it, they should provide him that diet and see if it doesn't remit so please git this information to them.

[kacebelle]

02:19 PM on 10/26/2012

To all th republicans and those "christians' voting for them and their policies to cut funding for people like this:

WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?

[SURFERMOM]

12:54 PM on 10/26/2012

If Romney/Ryan are elected this whole family will be truly homeless as any service they are getting now will be cut worse and you cannot depend on Arizonas's help either-Jan Brewer is their Governor so they will be out on the street with a very sick child, this is the world Repubs want us to live in, whole stretches of homeless camps and the imaginary 12 million jobs that never materialize but the multi-millionaires and billionares will be able to leave all their giant piles of money intact to their kids so don't we all feel better?

[karlpopperfan]

11:56 AM on 10/26/2012

they need to look into St. Judes or Shriners Hospital

[Bridgett Cash]

10:50 AM on 10/26/2012

A fundraiser would be good to help raise funds for this family.

[vobox3343]

10:29 AM on 10/26/2012

The faces of those Republicans could care less about. Boy do they ever knock on Hell's door. What an awful shame. And it's not like they aren't trying to make it. Republicans paint the poor as folks who enjoy living that way. Just one of the thousand reasons I cannot support their agendas. They have no concept of "what you do to the least of these you do to me."