Herlinda Diaz’s life changed dramatically after separating from her husband two years ago.

Once able to buy anything she wanted for her children, she found herself scraping money together for milk, bread, bologna and ramen noodles.

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“That time, I was a lot skinnier because I was giving them food instead of me,” she says.

Diaz moved in with her mother, then her sister and brother-in-law, and finally with friends, But the arrangement didn’t work out.

Her job at a Sonic drive-in didn’t pay enough to cover expenses. And besides, she had become pregnant and couldn’t work much longer.

She and her three children, Gilbert, 7, Andy, 5, and Stephanie, 2, moved to a Downtown emergency shelter and stayed there until her caseworker told her about Family Gateway shelter.

And her commitment to improving her situation led Family Gateway to offer her family an opportunity to live in a new transitional living apartment complex at 4712 Gaston Avenue in East Dallas.

“Our goal is to preserve the family unit, so we believe the family should be housed together,” says Polly Miller, volunteer coordinator for Family Gateway.

Established in 1986, the shelter first offers dormitory-style rooms Downtown for 30 families. Each family is allowed to stay one month.

“We are looking for the working poor,” Miller says. “The program is specifically designed to work with people who want to move through this, and all they need is some assistance.”

After acceptance into the program, families receive free housing, clothing, medical care and meals for one month. Adults also receive job counseling.

While adults are looking for a job during the day, the children are taken care of by volunteers from the Jewish Coalition of Dallas.

Greater Dallas Kiwanis Club members volunteer their time conducting mock job interviews with the adults, as well as leading a self-improvement course.

“(The speaker) tries to get people to feel good about here they are in their circumstance and that this is just a jog in the road of life and things will get better,” she says.

Since education plays a large role in finding employment, Family Gateway offers a high school equivalency exam preparation course for the approximately 43 percent of shelter residents without a high school diploma.

Although the shelter receives a HUD grant, the majority of its operating funds come from private donations. In fact, donations allowed Family Gateway to acquire the 25-unit apartment complex in East Dallas, where families can live in a furnished apartment for up to one year. Rent is based on a sliding-scale fee, and assistant director Dot Brown says donations of time and furnishings are helping rebuild the complex.

Residents are required to continue attending nightly seminars and classes at Family Gateway, and they continue receiving free medical care.

Because of Diaz’s commitment to improve her situation, her family was chosen to live in the transitional apartments in December 1990. She has been seeking employment since the birth of her fourth child in February.

“I’m mad at myself for not finishing school,” she says. She talked with a counselor at El Centro College about attending night classes, but “it’s not the right time to do it yet.”

Even with Family Gateway’s support, Diaz occasionally becomes depressed about her life. She says her oldest child, Gilbert, inspires her to keep trying.

“He comes up to me and says: ‘I love you mommy. Thanks for helping us get a home.’”