Children in Poverty: A Home of Their Own

 I loved spending time with Lorie, her kids and her friends at the Missouri Hotel for the Children in Poverty series.  Here's my edit of their story.  See the photo gallery here.

Loriebell Cork, 26, helps her three kids with snacks retrieved from her trunk in the parking lot outside the Missouri Hotel on June 18, 2012.  Cork has struggled to provide a home for Xnyra, 4, Sam, 2, and Nickolai, 1, since her marriage to the boys' father dissolved.  The family slept in their Ford Taurus for about a week before moving into the Missouri Hotel, a homeless shelter that requires rehabilitative programs and life skill training.

Xnyra Leon-Guerrero, 4, pauses while playing in the car that she, her mother, and two younger brothers slept in before moving into the Missouri Hotel. 

Loriebell Cork, right, eats lunch at the Missouri Hotel with her three children, Bernadine Luckett, left, and Michael and Krystal Luckett on June 20, 2012.   Loriebell and the Lucketts formed a close bond in the shelter and help each other out with childcare and moral support.

Loriebell Cork, mother of three young children, covers her face outside the Missouri hotel after an upsetting conversation with her ex-husband on July 19, 2012.  Krystal Luckett holds another friend's baby in the background. 

Loribell Cork waits to make sure her kids and Jazmine and Anthony Luckett are asleep at the Missouri Hotel before leaving them with Krystal Luckett so she can run errands on June 18, 2012.  Loriebell said her kids kept her motivated to improve her situation.

Loriebell Cork walks downstairs at the Missouri Hotel on June 21, 2012.  "She came in exceptionally motivated to get herself out of the situation she was in. She had clear goals," said Jarrod Field, case manager at the homeless shelter. "She was always on top of everything from day one. She was driven to get out for herself and her children."

Loriebell Cork high fives Teresa Ogelsby, coordinator of residents services at the Missouri Hotel, after signing the lease on a house as Krystal Luckett looks on.  She was able to lease the house through a new community housing program, a partnership between The Kitchen Inc. and the City of Springfield. 

Krystal Luckett helps Loriebell Cork pack up her room at the Missouri Hotel while the kids are with their dad on June 25, 2012.  Loriebell's siblings, who live in Springfield, sometimes take the kids for a few days at a time so she can take care of things and job hunt more easily.

Loriebell Cork walks across the Jefferson Avenue Footbridge from the Missouri Hotel to her new house on moving day, June 27, 2012.

Loribell Cork smiles up at her youngest son, Nickolai, as Sam explores the new house on moving day, June 27, 2012. On their first night in the house Nickolai "literally crawled in circles, he was so happy," she said. "...It was awesome to have space. I just let them loose and let them have their freedom."

Xnyra Leon-Guerrero plays in the water in her new backyard with friends Jazmine and Anthony Luckett on June 27, 2012.

Xnyra Leon-Guerrero hugs a pillow in her new bedroom on moving day, June 27, 2012.  Housewares, furniture, bedding and small appliances were provided through the Kitchen, Inc.'s Fresh Start program.

Loriebell Cork plays with her kids, Xnyra, 4, Sam, 2, and Nickolai, 1, in their living room on September 11, 2012.  Loriebell continues to look for work that will allow her to stay home with the kids in the evenings.