LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – Victoria Moshier and Kourtney Johnson have been down a roller coaster from struggle to hope.
The couple first spoke with 6 News last month as they faced losing their home during the historic UAW strike.
The property they were living in was red-tagged by the city of Lansing, but with the layoff as a result of the strike, the couple had trouble finding a new place to live with their two children.
“Every conversation was how are we going to get back to the green, you know what I mean?” Johnson tells 6 News.
“Or just live to the next day, like honestly it was a very stressful moment,” Moshier says.
Johnson was laid off from Avancez LCC, a supplier that makes dashboards for General Motors.
While struggling to find a new place to live, the couple also battled with the unemployment applications – and they still haven’t seen any money from the agency.
“Even though he was on lay off for so many weeks, and we really relied on that money, it never came,” she says.
Johnson is a member of the UAW, but because the company shuttered instead of being hit by a strike, he was not eligible for strike pay from the union.
The coupe ultimately created a GoFundMe campaign to help with their bills. But they did not know how it would go over.
“If I get 10 dollars, I get 200 dollars – it’s something,” Moshier says. “It’s something we could put towards a house.”
After their story appeared on 6 News, the campaign took in more than $3,000.
“It reminded me there are people out there that really want to go to the lengths they went to help a random family that just needed to have a house,” says Moshier.
With the strike over and UAW workers hitting the lines again, the parts centers are back to work – including Johnson.
“It was good,” he tells 6 News at the end of his first day back after the layoff. “I am happy to be back. I’m happy to be making money again. I’m happy to see everyone.”
The support, he says, was a shock.
“People did want to help out and it was mind-blowing,” he says. “I’m not going to lie — it was.”
