Meet Travis.
Originally from Grand Rapids, and a veteran of the U.S. Navy, Travis is very familiar to working hard and doing what needs to be done. His 14 year old daughter lives in Nebraska. His family grew when he met his current girlfriend 5 years ago and her 3 year old son, who has autism. A few years after dating, they gave birth to a baby boy, however, due to complications at birth he passed away 13 days later. Travis said, “That is still a tough thing to swallow.” A few years later, still healing from this loss, COVID hit sending Travis and his family into further struggle. Living in Cedar Springs at the time, he said, “My girlfriend and I worked at the same place when COVID hit, and they closed without warning. They came around and told us we had to leave. We had no warning, no backup plan, no way to pay our rent, and we ended up homeless for a little bit with our son.” They moved into a hotel, taking one day at a time, and waiting for unemployment to kick in for 6 months. When he received his first unemployment check, they were able to get back on their feet.
Shortly after getting back on their feet, his girlfriend got a job in Grand Rapids that began to set them up even more financially, however requiring Travis to stay home and care for their autistic son while schools were closed. Travis had a desire to provide for his family, and staying home was taking an effect on him. He said, “It was a rough time. I like to work. I want to be the man of my house and take care of my family. But at that given point, she was making a good amount of money and adamant that she didn’t leave her job. So she went to work, and my son and I went pretty crazy at home.” He then went on to say, “It was rough, but we got through it. As soon as the school opened up for my son, I went back to work.”
Travis connected with a local staffing company and was working the next day, full time, driving a forklift. He said, “I feel great now. That experience made my family closer. We appreciate things much more. Little things like having two bathrooms. We stayed in that hotel for quite a while, that was all we had. We are happy with how things turned out.” Travis will do anything to support his family. They are both working full time, homeowners, and cherishing every moment with their family.