Banika Jones' 2-year-old daughter disappeared in December. Four months later, she was going to be evicted from the Detroit home where she had lived all her life.
Jones, who was looking for a job when Bianca went missing, had fallen behind on bills. She was set to be evicted April 5 after her grandmother, who owned the home, took out a reverse mortgage, officials said.
"I was devastated," Jones, 32, said Thursday. "I really didn't know what I was going to do."But a day before she was to be put out, she got help from Working Homes/Working Families, the organization founded by Free Press columnist Mitch Albom and operated with the Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries.
"How much tragedy is one family supposed to deal with at any one time?" Albom said outside the Jones' home on Custer in Detroit on Thursday.
Albom paid the money that was owed, and on Thursday a handful of people showed up at her home to paint the living room and bring in a new couch, chair and ottoman. Jones picked out a shade of blue for the living room ceiling because blue is the favorite color of her oldest daughter, Bella, 7.
Not only will she get to keep her home, Jones, who was an Army specialist from 1999 to 2001, also received a job as a resident specialist at the Detroit Rescue Mission's Veterans Independence Program.
"I'm working with homeless veterans and I'm making sure no one ends up where I was about to end up," she said.
Jones said she plans to pay back the $2,100 she received and give it to Working Homes/Working Families so others can be helped.
"It's the least I can do when so many have stepped up to help me," Jones said.
Jones will get help on other needed home repairs in coming weeks, Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries President and CEO Chad Audi said.
Bianca vanished in December after her father said he was carjacked at gunpoint. D'Andre Lane said the carjackers took his Grand Marquis and drove away with Bianca inside. The car was found a few blocks away but Bianca was not in it.
Lane has been charged with first-degree felony murder and first-degree child abuse in connection with Bianca's disappearance. His preliminary examination is scheduled to continue today in Detroit.
Jones said Wednesday she believes her daughter is still alive and she continues to search for her.
"I will never stop looking for my baby," she said.
