Pirates Log

Issue date: 3/8/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Ben Jackson Kim Davey

There are many who take the ability to go school for granted. Many students do not want to miss out on parties, hanging out with their significant other, or sitting at home and playing videogames. For others, working, completing homework, and maintaining a fun lifestyle can be too stressful. Ultimately, many students end up either not attending or dropping out of college.

For Modest Junior College student Kim Davey, not even homelessness could keep her from attending college, fulfilling a promise to her mother, who recently passed away.

About three years ago, after a divorce from her husband, Davey moved to California to be with her mother, who was ill with stage four cancer. Her mother's condition gradually became worse and she finally succumbed to the disease. Before she died, Davey's mother made her daughter promise that she would attend college. Little did Davey know that the promise she made to her mother would be her saving grace.

"The idea of enrolling in college was so scary," Davey said. "I was a high school dropout and hadn't been in school in decades. But I made a promise to my mom on her death bed that I'd go to college."

Things were bad, but they got much worse. Once her mother had passed, on Davey's 38th birthday, Davey had to find a place for her and her 3 year old son Reno to live. Welfare and did not cover the rent, let alone food, clothing, and all other necessities. Davey sold everything she could in order to pay the bills. Unable to pay the next month's rent, Davey had to move out of the apartment she had just moved into.

A two week stay at the Travelodge as a part of a program her social worker got for her provided only temporary relief. Once the two weeks were up, the two hotel residents were out. There were no more apartments or comfy hotel rooms. Kim Davey came to a harsh realization. She was homeless.

"It's a terrifying feeling," Davey said. "You realize my dad's dead, my mom's dead, and you have no one to fall back on."

Homeless shelters were out of the question for Davey, who was unwilling to accept the possibility of being separated from her son: even though he was 3, he would likely have been sent to sleep in the adult men's dormitories.. After exhausting her stay at the homes of her few friends, Davey purchased a small travel trailer for them to sleep in.

Continued...

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