"Everything was going fine until the checks stopped coming, and then a friend told me about MSC's Energy Assistance Program," shares Helen. Helen, a 72-year-old retiree living on Vashon Island with her dogs and birds, called MSC for the first time last year. Living off her social security and supplementing her income with a small [...]
Kaleigh’s first visit to the food bank at MSC was when she was 16 years old. At that time, she was living with her aunt who became injured and unable to work. “It’s hard to come to the food bank, but you have to do what you have to do to survive,” says Kaleigh. Kaleigh [...]
“I’m a budgeter, my husband is not,”says Shamika with a playful smile.Shamika and her husband, Aaron, live in an apartment with their five children, Samuel (17),Darius (16), Zephenia (14) Olyvya (9), and Sebastian(6). They were making ends meet until her husband lost his job. While receiving temporary assistance through Multi-Service Center’s rental assistance program, Shamika [...]
Carmela and Chris remember being homeless like it was yesterday. One morning in 2007, Chris went to the restaurant where he worked to find it all boarded up. Shortly after, Carmela found out she was pregnant with their first child. After her maternity leave, she was unable to find employment. “We were good citizens — [...]
