River of Refuge newsletter, November 2024

‘It Was Life-Saving’: ROR Program Makes Homemaker Dream a Reality for Mom of 7

Savannah Swenson grew up in gated communities in California and Texas, the daughter of a father who earned a good living in the auto business, moving the family to the Kansas City area to become an executive with a high-end dealership.

Josh Nichols, too, had a relatively stable upbringing in Ohio, though he became a father at 17 years old, worked in a pizza shop, and found his way to the metropolitan area with his two kids and the woman who is now his ex-wife.

Swenson, 31, and Nichols, 40, now have a home life resembling their upbringings. They live with their seven children in a four-bedroom, three-bathroom home they purchased in Independence.

But the couple would not have gotten there without River of Refuge. “It was life-saving,” Swenson said.

Swenson and Nichols worked the program for nine months before finishing in May. They wiped away more than $10,000 and had $26,000 saved by the time they started house hunting.

“The program was not easy and it took a few months to finally let the program take over,” Swenson recounted to attendees at last month’s River of Refuge gala. “We had to admit that we were not responsible enough to manage our own household finances and we needed help.”

The downward spiral began when the couple lost their 12-day-old baby on the Fourth of July in 2020. They battled addiction to methamphetamine.

“We were still managing,” Swenson said, “but we were not managing in a healthy manner.”

Life without stable housing began in January 2022 when the couple lost their beautiful rental house in Belton. They stayed with relatives for stints, and then when Swenson had to serve a few months in jail last year on an outstanding warrant, Nichols couch-surfed.

At one point, they were living in their late-model Cadillac Escalade after state authorities placed the children in foster care. The oldest two children were Nichols’ from his previous marriage; their youngest, a girl, is almost 8 months old.

The SUV was their home when they slept in the hospital parking garage after their now-3-year-old daughter was born prematurely. They also frequented casinos so they could stay in those lots overnight.

Rock bottom was about two years ago, Swenson said. “You knew in your heart you could not continue this way, but you did not know how to get out of it,” she said. “It was like a nightmare you were never waking up from.”

The situation began to improve when Swenson moved to a shelter for women and children upon her release from jail and Nichols moved into a sober home. He works as an arborist for a tree-trimming company.

They gradually regained custody of their children, including their twin boys, and found out about River of Refuge through a friend of Nichols’ at the sober living house.

Swenson has always wanted a big family and is living out her dream as a homemaker.

“I kind of took the bumpy road to get where I wanted to get — I took a lot of left turns — but I made it,” she said “I can pretty much honestly say I made it.”

 

A Month of Memories

It has been an eventful month at River Refuge captured in the photo above from our Oct. 25 gala, and those below from a graduation with several families and their children, and our Halloween trunk-or-treat party.

 

FROM THE DIRECTOR

Holiday traditions are wonderful, and we have several at River of Refuge, including festive meals.

But another event we enjoy repeating is our annual trip to the Hy-Vee at 9400 E. Missouri Highway 350 in Raytown. We hope that you’ll visit us there on Dec. 3 to help stock our pantries. If you can’t stop by, here’s a link to our Amazon Wish list so you can shop from the comfort of your own home.

Giving Tuesday is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of radical generosity. Giving Tuesday was created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. Since then, it has grown into a year-round global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.

Join the movement and give, whether it’s some of your time, a donation, or the power of your voice in your local community.

It’s a simple idea: whether it’s making someone smile, helping a neighbor or stranger out, showing up for an issue or people we care about, or giving some of what we have to those who need our help. Every act of generosity counts and everyone has something to contribute toward building the better world we all want to live in.

Speaking of giving, we had a wonderfully successful Gala this year.

We held it again at the Grand Street Café’ near the Country Club Plaza, and approximately 175 guests enjoyed a buffet dinner, drinks, and program. It was also a shopper’s paradise with a spirits pull, raffle, silent and live auctions, and to finish, fund-a-need.

We are happy to report that we surpassed our goal this year! Thanks to everyone who supported our families through this yearly event. We appreciate you!!

Until Next Time,
Pamela Seymour, Executive Director