DETROIT, Mi. (WXYZ) — For the past decade, COTS Detroit has been working to help families move beyond homelessness — not just into housing, but toward lasting stability with their program Passport to Self-Sufficiency.
Watch Carolyn's story in the video player below:
To date, nearly 1000 adults have successfully completed the program. We are lifting the voice of one Detroit mother who tells me the program changed the path of her entire family.
She and her five children used to squat in homes just to survive, but now they are on the road to self-sufficiency and not looking back.
“I was in a bad place. It was me and my son, my oldest son. I just knocked on the door. I was like, ‘here I am,” said Chantelle Jones.
For Chantelle Jones, that door opened during a time when she and her children had nowhere stable to live.
Years later, she found herself facing homelessness again — determined to keep her family together and build a different future.
“They helped me to get my high school completion. They helped me with housing, financially, and just my life to keep me stable,” said Jones.
That long-term support is at the heart of COTS' Passport to Self-Sufficiency program.
CEO Cheryl Johnson says the organization realized getting families into housing wasn't enough.
“We placed people in housing, but we didn't break the cycle of poverty,” said Cheryl Johnson.
The program pairs families with mobility coaches who work with them over several years — helping them set goals around education, employment, finances, and family stability.
“Mobility for us is about movement. That person is really tied to you for almost up to five years, addressing the particular goals that parent has decided,” said Johnson.
For Chantelle, that relationship helped her stay on track long enough to graduate from the program — and earn her high school diploma.
Rachel Minion, who was once homeless with her eight children, has watched that transformation from the beginning.
“She has unlearned so many bad habits, and she's adopted those good habits, and those good habits have impacted her life in a very positive way. She got out of her own way,” said Rachel Minion.
Chantelle says the biggest measure of success isn't just what changed for her — it's what changed for her children.
“My oldest son said, ‘Ma, we're not homeless.’ They used to ask where we wanna sleep at. They can go climb in that bed without no problems now,” said Jones.
Ten years after COTS launched Passport to Self-Sufficiency, Johnson says the lesson is that lasting change takes time.
For Chantelle, with time, her family NOW has something she once feared they might never have — stability.
Chantelle says she knows without COTS — she would likely still be homeless, and possibly without her children.
Children who are now excelling in track, boxing, cheerleading, soccer and most importantly, school.
Now, she's looking ahead.
The CEO of COTS says the goal over the next decade is to help even more Detroit families do what Chantelle did — move from surviving a crisis to building a future.
