With her family of 11 wondering where they will call home, Krista Low is fighting to bring attention to the shortage of housing for people in situations like her family.
“He’s got that felony on his record,” Low told Fox6News.com of her husband Josh, who was convicted of child abuse last year and a felony drug charge in 2017.
Low says her husband’s checkered past has previously led to an eviction and hints she believes it at least partly explains why the family is having such difficulty finding a new home after the owner of the duplex they’ve rented for the last six years sold the building and gave them until the end of the month to move out.
The Housing Action Coalition in Waukesha told Fox the problem the housing insecurity problem the family now faces is far too common.
"Due to the lack of affordable and available housing units, even our federally funded housing programs are not moving households into stable housing fast enough,” executive director Jackie Smith added. “But furthermore, there are going to be additional barriers for a family of 11 to find a good match with a landlord who has a rental that is affordable and offers the space that is needed for this family."
As for the Low family, Krista Low added "I keep getting rejected or keep getting – there’s too many of you for the three or four bedroom we have. We’ll have to try to stay in hotel rooms. Or when it gets a little nicer – rent a campground.”
Fox6Now reports the family has now set up a Go Fund Me to help them cover rising costs.
"You’re helping me and my 8 children,” said Low, adding she doesn’t want sympathy, just a home for her and her family.
“At the end of the day, we have to have somewhere to stay,” she said. "It’s my mom, me, my husband… then the 8 kids… so, Julian, Jayden, Jaylyn, Jaxson, Nevaeh, Destiny, Jace and Justice."
In the end, Low said there’s no justification for why the family is facing what they’re up against.
"I don’t think so,” she said. “People make mistakes."
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