Correspondent Jessica Gomez Gives Update on Working Mother Facing Homelessness
She talks about what’s happened to the family in the months since and reflects on the power of journalism to find solutions.
Correspondent Jessica Gomez Gives Update on Working Mother Facing Homelessness
She talks about what’s happened to the family in the months since and reflects on the power of journalism to find solutions.
CORRESPONDENT JESSICA GOMEZ’S 2024 PIECE ABOUT A MOTHER OF THREE WORKING FULL TIME AND STILL UNABLE TO AFFORD HOUSING. JESSICA, GREAT TO SEE YOU. CAN YOU UPDATE US ON KANISHA? TWEEDIE HAVE THEY FOUND HOUSING? HOW’S THE FAMILY DOING? YEAH. WELL, YOU KNOW, INITIALLY WE WERE ABLE TO DO A PART TWO TO THIS STORY, WHICH WE DIDN’T HAVE TIME TO SHOW YOU TODAY. BUT IN THAT STORY WE SHOWED THE TWEEDIE FAMILY GET INTO A ROOM AT AN EXTENDED STAY HOTEL THAT WAS RENOVATED INTO SUITES. SHE WAS ABLE TO PAY MONTH TO MONTH. THERE SHE GOT A NEW JOB AS A MEDICAL COURIER, SO SHE WAS ABLE TO MAKE THOSE PAYMENTS AND SHE WAS SLATED TO GET INTO AN APARTMENT THERE NEXT MONTH. BUT THEY HAD SOME CONSTRUCTION ISSUES, SO IT’S LOOKING LIKE SEPTEMBER. AND THAT IS IS PUTTING US AT ABOUT TEN MONTHS SINCE WE WERE ON THE GROUND IN KNOXVILLE SHOOTING THAT STORY. WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT THIS ISSUE AS YOU WERE DOING RESEARCH AND REPORTING? WE TALKED TO SO MANY PEOPLE. THAT WAS THE SURPRISING THING TO ME THAT ARE WORKING FULL TIME JOBS AND ARE HOMELESS. I MEAN, WE SPOKE WITH ONE WOMAN IN NASHVILLE IN HER 20S. SHE’S LIVING AT A SHELTER, AND SHE HAD TO TAKE THE BUS TO HER JOB AT A HOSPITAL AND TAKE THE BUS HOME TO MAKE CURFEW AT THE SHELTER. AND HER EMPLOYERS HAVE NO IDEA THAT SHE’S HOMELESS. I FEEL LIKE ALL OF YOUR STORIES ARE ALWAYS SO GOOD IN CONNECTING WITH PEOPLE LIKE YOU. JUST FIND GREAT PEOPLE WHO THEN WANT TO OPEN UP THEIR ENTIRE LIVES TO YOU. AND I THINK THAT’S BOTH UNUSUAL AND HARD TO DO. SO I GUESS I’M I WONDER IF YOU GO INTO THESE THINGS SAYING, I’M GOING TO I’M GOING TO DO SOLUTIONS JOURNALISM, OR YOU JUST SAY, I’M GOING TO JUST TALK TO PEOPLE AND SEE WHERE IT GOES. HOW DO YOU THINK ABOUT YOUR WORK? I THINK THAT’S SOMETHING THAT I APPRECIATE SO MUCH ABOUT. MATTER OF FACT, WE STARTED FROM THE BEGINNING SAYING, HEY, WE’RE GOING TO GO IN AND CONNECT WITH PEOPLE. OBVIOUSLY, PEOPLE ARE THE STORY. WE’RE GOING TO GO IN AND FIND THE WHY, BUT WE’RE ALSO GOING TO FIND THE WHAT’S NEXT. I MEAN, I THINK OF ALL THE STORIES I’VE DONE AND ALMOST ALWAYS THERE ARE AMAZING PEOPLE DOING AMAZING THINGS TO HELP SOLVE THESE ISSUES. I THINK ABOUT IN SHEBOYGAN WISCONSIN, THE COMPANIES KOHLER AND SARGENTO THAT ARE BUILDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING TO ATTRACT PEOPLE. I THINK ABOUT THE ARCHITECTURAL FIRM IN PHOENIX THAT ARE RENOVATING THESE SHIPPING CONTAINERS FOR UNHOUSED SENIORS. I OFTEN THINK ABOUT THE MR. ROGERS QUOTE, LOOK FOR THE HELPERS WHEN THERE’S TRAUMA, WHEN THERE’S TRAGEDY. AND I THINK WE CAN DO THAT IN OUR STORIES BECAUSE THERE ARE ALWAYS HELPERS, AND ESPECIALLY WHEN NEWS RIGHT NOW, THE NEWS CYCLE CAN BE SO HEAVY. I THINK WE OWE IT TO OUR VIEWERS TO PROFILE THE HELPERS IN EVERY STORY AS MUCH AS WE CAN. SO I APPRECIATE YOU, I APPRECIATE. MATTER OF FACT, AND IT’S BEEN SUCH AN HONOR. WELL, THANK YOU, BUT I HAVE TO SAY, I’M GOING TO PUT YOU IN THAT CATEGORY OF THE HELPERS BECAUSE YOU ALWAYS DO AN AMAZING JOB OF TEASING OUT THE FOLKS WHO ARE DOING ALL THE WORK AND TELLING THEIR STORY IN SUCH A REALLY THOUGHTFUL AND BEAUTIFUL AND COMPELLING WAY. SO THANK YOU F
Updated: 6:08 AM CDT Aug 28, 2025
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Correspondent Jessica Gomez Gives Update on Working Mother Facing Homelessness
She talks about what’s happened to the family in the months since and reflects on the power of journalism to find solutions.
Updated: 6:08 AM CDT Aug 28, 2025
Editorial Standards
In 2024, Jessica Gomez traveled to Knoxville, Tennessee to meet Qneshia Tweedy and her three children. She spoke with the family about their struggles facing homelessness while Qneshia worked full-time. Jessica joins Soledad O’Brien to talk about what’s happened to the family in the months since and reflects on the power of journalism to find solutions.
In 2024, Jessica Gomez traveled to Knoxville, Tennessee to meet Qneshia Tweedy and her three children. She spoke with the family about their struggles facing homelessness while Qneshia worked full-time. Jessica joins Soledad O’Brien to talk about what’s happened to the family in the months since and reflects on the power of journalism to find solutions.
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