Housing for Success Opens the Door to Stability

Family experiencing homelessness

Jesse faced a number of challenges at once. She was experiencing homelessness, doubled up in her grandmother’s home with her three children. She had an eviction and nearly $3,500 in rental debt from a previous home, making it difficult for her to find stable housing of her own.

ISD 199 referred Jesse to Housing for Success Navigator Natalie for support. From the beginning, Natalie worked closely with Jesse to understand her immediate needs and goals. Weekly meetings around her kitchen table became a place to plan, problem-solve, complete housing applications, make phone calls, and talk through the most urgent challenges of the week. Between visits, Natalie stayed in touch by phone to help with food, clothing, school needs, transportation concerns, and emotional support.

Challenges at school

Jesse’s children also needed help. Her younger child was being evaluated for developmental delays, and her oldest was experiencing bullying in school. They needed school support and transportation assistance. Natalie collaborated with the school social worker to coordinate care, connect the family with resources, and maintain an open line of communication as needs arose.

Jesse set goals with Natalie’s encouragement and support. The first was to resolve the rental debt and remove the eviction from her record. This took patience, persistence, and repeated follow-up with a debt collector, but the effort paid off. With support from Housing for Success, Jesse paid off the debt and had the eviction expunged, lifting a major weight from her shoulders.

Housing goal reached

Her next goal was finding an affordable apartment that fit her family. Jesse needed at least a two-bedroom home for herself and her three children, and she was thoughtful about her budget. She knew what she could afford and was determined to find a place where she could maintain the rent long term. Her first few housing applications were rejected, but then she found an apartment within her budget that included utilities.

360 Communities also helped provide food boxes, gas cards, school supplies, clothing, and a connection to Neighbors, her local food shelf. Once Jesse found housing, Bridging helped furnish the family’s new home.

Today, Jesse and her children are safely housed in an apartment of their own. Her children can now play outside and enjoy the comfort, safety, and stability of a home that is truly theirs. This positively impacts their success in school and creates hope for the entire family’s future.