The Torres family was on the brink of homelessness. A disagreement with the landlord forced them to spend three sweltering summer months without electricity; they faced eviction from their home; and medical conditions rendered both parents unable to work. Just before Thanksgiving, word of the family’s plight spread through the Avalon Park community.
One by one, neighbors knocked on their door, offering generous amounts of money, food and their time. One neighbor did their laundry, another fixed Julio’s bicycle, and one couple takes the family to church each Sunday. “You think you are alone in this world but you are not,” said Marla Torres. “There are so many people we would like to thank.
I do not know how we will ever repay them because there are so many people who helped us.” Julio Torres met Avalon Church Elder Paul Foster months ago while panhandling in front of the Winn-Dixie along East Colonial Drive. Torres told Foster it was his only way to feed his four kids. Avalon Church has cared for the family ever since.
A story about the Torres family, published in the East Orlando Sun in November, prompted about 30 people to contact Avalon Church offering their help. When the family was evicted, Avalon Church members Chuck and Donna Ticehurst funded a weeklong stay at a local hotel until they found another Waterford Trails landlord willing to accept Orange County Section 8 vouchers.
Chuck said he was impressed by the family’s resilience and attitude through such hard times. “Everybody has times in their life when they have problems, whether they are medical, financial or emotional,” he said. Karla Roarty of Avalon Park offered to do their laundry, which was drying on lines set up in the Torres’ living room.
“They only gave me two laundry baskets at first because they did not want to impose, but I knew they had more. I ended up doing about 25 loads of laundry for them and it felt wonderful,” she said. “Clean clothes should not be a luxury.” Roarty said she offered her help after reading the newspaper article, but Gerry Fair knew nothing of Torres’ situation when he agreed to Foster’s request to fix Julio’s bicycle.
It was not until he arrived at Julio’s home that he realized the bike was his sole means of transportation. “To [Fair] it was no big deal — just spending a couple hours of his afternoon helping a neighbor. But to Julio, that meant the world,” Foster said. Marla has not been able to work since 2004 when she started suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS) and Torres became still another victim of the housing slump.
He was repeatedly laid off from construction jobs until there were none left. Torres recently got a maintenance job with Good Shepherd Catholic Church off Semoran Boulevard. “All the help we got really makes me feel like we are going to be okay,” Marla said. “I can see a big difference in Julio. He is the kind of guy who prides himself in providing for his family, so not being able to do that really brought him down.
He’s my superman.” The Torres family raised awareness for Avalon Church’s Benevolence Fund, which is used year-round to help local families in need. The church used about $2,500 from the fund last year to help the Torres family over three months. During their Christmas Eve service, the church raised $1,500 for the fund. “Their story really got people to donate because they finally saw the good it can do,” Foster said.
“There are so many families who are one disaster away from losing their home.” Ticehurst said the Torres story will hopefully change the way people see those in need, including the panhandlers who sprinkle Orlando’s street corners. “Julio was outside of a grocery store when Paul Foster stopped to talk to him.
How many of us would do that? We have predetermined opinions about people asking for help and maybe we shouldn’t. If we can give them a kind word or a few dollars, we might be able to make a big difference.” The Torres family was able to enjoy a hearty Thanksgiving dinner thanks to several teachers from Castle Creek Elementary and Avalon Church made sure the kids had plenty of presents under their Christmas tree.
Marla said moving to the new home helped clear up a drug-resistant bacterial infection that sickened their son Terell, 17. Doctors said hot, damp conditions at the old house may have caused the infection. Family photos and homemade Christmas decorations from the kids line the walls of the new house.
Now that Julio has an income, they are able buy food and cook meals together — something they had not done in almost a year. “The sun always hits this house so it’s always filled with light,” Marla said. “We just feel good here. It feels like home.”
