Joye Bell and Curtis Collins – like many of Aeon’s residents – are stretching their budgets thin to make ends meet in this challenging economy.

Joye says she can’t imagine what would happen to her husband and her 13-year-old daughter if they didn’t have an affordable place to live.

“It makes it a little easier to be able to do things that we wouldn’t be able to do if we had to pay $1,200 in rent,” she said. “I could even buy my daughter’s volleyball photos this year.”

The family has lived in an Aeon property for nearly four years. Two years ago, when they learned that Curtis’ kidneys were failing, they needed to move into a larger, three-bedroom apartment to accommodate the 50 – 60 boxes of medical supplies needed each month for dialysis.

They chose to move into another Aeon property.

“Aeon is like a family,” said Joye. “There are events and lots of opportunities to meet our neighbors in the community.”

The Resident Connections program has been especially helpful in supporting Joye & Curtis’ stability. When Joye was laid off from her job last year, staff set up a rental payment plan to help the family maintain their residency. “That was so helpful to get us by until I found a new job,” Joye said.

“It’s still hard because we have only one working income,” Joye admitted. “But, Resident Connections helps in a lot of ways. They provided winter coats – you don’t find too many apartment owners that do that. It really helps stretch the budget.”