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‖
The Barnum family has grown in size and
in number since moving out of our Family
House in late 2009, and they‘ve continued
their success story. They‘ve stayed connected
to us through CAFSI and the summer youth
program, but they‘re doing so well on their
own that they don‘t need much from Our
House anymore.
Suddenly homeless
Before coming to Our House, Cliff Barnum
and his four kids lived in Cliff‘s grandmother‘s
house. When his grandmother died, she left
the house to her whole family, which included
Cliff and other relatives. When Cliff‘s uncle
moved in and brought drugs into the house,
Cliff chose to get his family out, even though it
meant they‘d have no place to go just yet. ―I
didn‘t want to keep my family in there with the
drug problem that he had,‖ he says. ―When I
discussed with my mom what was happening,
no one backed me up because it was his house
as much as it was mine.‖
Photo: the Barnum family in 2009