JOYFUL TRANSITIONS: “We grew up in environments where the odds were stacked against us.”
No, not refugees from the Middle East but a Santa Barbara couple who battled their way through life’s struggles, finally coming out ahead. Now they and their two sons are looking forward to a happy Christmas in affordable housing.
But it’s been a rough road. Susie and Kirk (who wished to be identified by only first names for this story) graduated from high school with high hopes. After meeting in 2007, their relationship “was as rocky as our housing and employment situations,” they told staffers at Transition House family shelter.