When Bianca first walked through the doors of COTS with her eight-year-old daughter Ebriah, she carried more than bags. She carried uncertainty, worry, and the weight of a life upended. After a breakup, a job loss, and the death of her mother, all in the same difficult season, the financial strain of managing a home alone became too heavy to bear. With bills piling up and no safe place to turn, Bianca made the hardest decision of her life.
“Where are we going to sleep?” her daughter asked. For a mother who had never experienced homelessness, the question was hard to hear. “It was a transition for both of us,” Bianca recalls. “I had to reassure her that even though things were hard, God was with us and wouldn’t forsake us.”
Bianca was skeptical at first. She worried about stigma and what shelter life would mean for her daughter. But a trusted boss at Sweet Potato Sensations noticed her struggle and connected her with COTS, with a word Bianca has never forgotten: “In order to receive something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done.” So, with a prayer and a deep breath, Bianca said yes.
The adjustment wasn’t easy. “I was standoffish at first,” she admits. “I didn’t want people to look down on me.” But COTS staff met her walls with compassion and practical support, and the steady presence of Mrs. Matthews, Director of Employment and Training.
Mrs. Matthews saw potential in Bianca even when Bianca doubted herself. She encouraged her to apply for jobs, enroll in school, and tap into community programs. When Bianca felt overwhelmed by paperwork, Mrs. Matthews sat beside her and filled out applications together. “She wanted all of us to succeed,” Bianca recalls. “She’d say, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll get these to the right people. You can do this.’”
A turning point came when housing approvals began arriving. Past denials had left deep marks, but this time was different. “I asked Mrs. Matthews, ‘What did you do to my name?’” Bianca laughs. “She just said, ‘You’ve got to want better to receive better.’”
With COTS’ support, Bianca moved into her own apartment, a milestone that brought relief, joy, and transformation for Ebriah. Initially nervous, the young girl soon thrived. Her grades climbed. She became an honor student. Now nine, she proudly decorated her own room. “She’s always been sweet,” Bianca says, “but now she’s more confident and giving. She tells her cousins, ‘We have to share because we know what it’s like to have less.’”
For Bianca, stability opened doors to new dreams. She enrolled in medical billing and coding classes and discovered a passion for juicing, imagining her own juice bar one day. She’s also working toward homeownership. “I want a house for me and my daughter,” she says. “I want her to see that we can keep building.”
“Many of us worked, had savings, and had families,” Bianca says of those who’ve experienced homelessness. “We just needed a hand up.” For her, COTS was more than a shelter. It was a community, a family, and a place where lifelong friendships formed.
Looking back, Bianca doesn’t see her time at COTS as a setback. “It didn’t slow me down,” she says. “It sped me up. It gave me hope. It reminded me that God places people in your life for a reason.”
This is a feature story from COTS: The Art of Family. COTS creates and facilitates opportunities for families in poverty to thrive and succeed. To learn more about COTS or to support families overcoming homelessness, visit cotsdetroit.org
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