Life in a homeless shelter: one family's last resort

AC360°

Tonight, we'll take you inside the life of Stephanie Buckhannon. She is a mother who once owned a house, but now lives in a homeless shelter with her three young children. The decision to move her family into a shelter was difficult and painful. She talked to CNN about the challenges she faces everyday. Tune in tonight at 10pm ET for the full story.

Q: How long have you been living in this homeless shelter?
SB: We have been here for almost 2 months

Q: What is life like there on a day to day basis?
SB: Some days its pretty calm and some days it's kind of stressful

Q: I know you said before you were nervous about taking your kids to the shelter. What are the conditions like there? Is it better than you thought it would be?
SB: Definitely better. I had been in the shelter when I was 15 and it was one big huge rooms with tons and tons of bed and I actually had the shoes stolen off my feet when I was sleeping. And so when I came here I was scared, I thought it was going to be like that. And then we met Tom and Linda and Doug and everybody and we got showed to our room. It's a really home-like atmosphere. We have our own quarters. I have a roommate who is really sweet. And it helps ease a lot of the fear.

Q: How are the kids holding up?
SB: They're doing ok, they have some behavior problems but we're working through it.

Q: Do you have any idea when you might be able to get out and find your own home again?
SB: Not really. I'm working with a lady from the salvation army to help us find our own place, but it's really going to depend on whether I can find a job or not.

Q: What kind of jobs are you looking for?
SB: Right now anything I can find.

Q: Are you hopeful?
SB: Yeah, I think things are really starting to look up. I'm going to be volunteering at the Appalachian children's center starting next week, which gets me in with some pretty important people. So I'm pretty hopeful that things are going to start getting better.