Meet Nicole Jones.

Single mother of two, bartender, and garage-dweller in Silicon Valley, California.

Jones and her children live in one of the wealthiest zip codes in California, and she makes her money serving wealthy employees of companies such as Apple, Google, and other notable tech companies.

Unfortunately, its those same employees that caused Nicole to find alternative housing – in a garage that is!

As if being a single mother isn’t hard enough, Jones had to spread herself extra thin when her family of three moved into a garage space for an apartment.

The family moved into the cramped one-car garage for one thousand dollars a month. This was the only option Jones could come up with after spending nearly $750 in rental application fees.

The reason?

The family had to leave their previous residence in the Valley because the rent had skyrocketed so high they simply couldn’t afford it. Employees of the tech companies flooded the area, sending rental prices into the range of three thousand dollars a month!

So Jones did the next best thing she could find – she moved her family into a garage. And she doesn’t feel bad about it!

“I know it’s a garage, but this was nicer than everything that I had looked at that was almost twice this price.”

Even though Jones has a solid, steady job, she couldn’t afford the rent in the area any longer on her salary alone. Combined with her additional expenses it was simply too much of a financial burden.

After searching for months, she settled on the unconventional option.

The 250-square-foot garage was the only financially viable option for Jones and her two children. It has enough space to fit her Queen-sized bed, as well as contain an entertainment area with a flat-screen television. Additionally, there is a small bathroom and a small space for a makeshift kitchen area with a mini-fridge. The family also makes meals with the help of a toaster and microwave.

Jones has spoken candidly on her recent living situation:

“Honestly, I always thought homeless people were panhandlers or people on the street that were hungry and cold and drug addicts and alcoholics — who didn’t want to do anything for themselves. I work and make decent money when I’m working. I think part of the reason why I became homeless is because finding work and day care and transportation and everything just combined made it impossible for me to keep a roof over our head.”

The small space has been an oasis for Jones and her kids, but when she decided to share her story she received a lot of backlash. She thought she could shed some light on the homeless crisis, but was greeted with nothing but hate mail.

She found herself judged by strangers, questioning her parenting and decision-making skills.

The backlash was enough to alert Jones’ landlord, who has scared her into thinking she may lose her children over the living situation.

Jones felt saddened from the negative criticism:

“It breaks your heart because these people don’t know you.”

At the end of the day, she is a hardworking single mother doing her best to provide for her family. She has worked to give her family a roof, even if the roof is over a one-car garage.

What do you think? Could you call a garage ‘home’? Check out the details in the video below!

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Sources: YouTube/Inside Edition, TipHero, Spotlight