All Colleen Philips wanted to do was focus on her 8-year-old son Christian recovering from a bone marrow transplant, but life had other plans.
"My son was born with sickle cell. He suffered with it pretty bad, he had the worst form of it," said Philips. "So since age 3, he's had to have blood transfusions every other week."
Philips said she knew she could not work so she could focus on her son's health. The plan was to stay at the Ronald McDonald House while he was at Children's Hospital of Michigan receiving a bone marrow transplant from his 10-year-old sister, Zion, and then when he was well enough, they would go home.
However, just days before his transplant, a fire destroyed their Port Huron home and much of their belongings. When Christian was well again, they had no place to go.
"As of right now it's successful. He's doing great, he's healthy. It's just been one miracle after another," said Philips.
They received help from Matrix Services and have found a home in Detroit to rent.
"We've actually found housing now and I've actually had interviews, I am looking for work so I actually had an interview last week. Things, they are starting to turn around, but it's been a long journey. For the last 6 months, it's been a long journey," Philips said.
Philips is getting more than a place to rent for her new start, she has been connected with the metro Detroit nonprofit Humble Design, who quickly made plans to help her with her new start.
Humble Design is based in Pontiac and works with 14 different shelters in the Detroit area, to help families get settled into their new homes. Their goal is to help families transition out of shelters and hopefully help keep them from returning. The agency learned of Philips and her children through the Denby Center.
"Many of the women and children that move into homes, they usually end up back in the shelter because, they don't, they can't make their house a home. Furniture (is) expensive, all they can really do is pay their bills. So what we do is we make their house a home and we bring back hope, we bring back dignity and excitement to the kids," said Julie Nagle, director of Humble Design.
Designers from Humble Design begin by meeting with parents like Philips in their new living quarters and ak them what they need in their new house. Nagle said these families usually have no beds, no furniture, nothing to get started.
Philips had a few dining room chairs, three mattresses and a few personal belongings.
After determining the needs of the family and a few things they would like to have in the home, the designers return to their 12,000-square-foot warehouse to pick out furniture, decorations, kitchen supplies and toys to help make the family's new accommodations a home.
"What we do at Humble (Design) is put together pieces that don't go together. We have a warehouse full of things that don't match, there's things that don't match," said Carrie Parmenter, designer and client relations manager at Humble Design.
For Philips, they returned two days later with a moving truck and the design team ready to take over her home. In her case, Nagle, Parmenter, fellow designer Victoria Vanderport and some volunteers transformed her home in just an afternoon's time.
"Christian wanted a basketball room, he loves the Pistons. So everything in his room is sports related," said Nagle.
As a surprise for Christian, Humble Design also reached out to the Pistons and received a jersey signed by player Greg Monroe.
"For Zion, she loves bright pink. When we came to the house we saw fuschia pink on the walls. And she loves graffiti and loves to just paint and create. So Victoria, just created her room to be so creative, and so bright and so cheery, so that she can come in and really just create. So those are the touches, everything is pink and purple, and bright. And it's just really really cute for them," said Nagle.
Philips, her son Christian, and daughter Zion were overwhelmed with the changes and touches Humble Design made to their home.
"This is nowhere near what I thought. Nowhere near what I thought. This is way beyond what I could have imagined. I'm just so grateful," said Philips in tears.
Humble Design provided furniture and decorated all of their bedrooms, the family room, dining room and kitchen.
Humble Design helps three families a week. It costs about $2,500 for the agency to set up a family in their home.
"Most of our furniture is donated by people that are having either garage sales or estate sales, or they're down-sizing, but we also have partnered with Art Van, Gardner White, Crate and Barrel, West Elm, and they will give us their floor samples. And so we never know when it's going to come, but when it does it's like Christmas in our warehouse," Nagle said.
Gormans also donates bedding and mattresses. Humble Design is always looking for beds, providing as many as 15 a week to the families they help.
Nagle told Local 4 it is quite special for children who get their own bed for the first time.
"Most of the families and the children sleep on the floor in little nests, and so to get their own bed, it's ownership. It's like a clean slate, it's a new start, and they're safe. Beds become a safety for children. So they go straight to their bed and they know that things are is going to be okay," said Nagle.
Nagle said they follow up with their families two weeks after the home maker and again in six weeks to see how their doing. They also work closely with the social workers because that person works to help these families stay successful in new jobs, and with their children.
For more information on Humble Design, click here.