At 64 years old, DeAnn found herself homeless after the love of her life passed away. She was sleeping in her car at a truck stop in Eastern Washington. She started making her way towards the Federal Way area to be closer to family, and resources like motels and campgrounds. As money became tighter, motels and campgrounds were no longer an option.
DeAnn found a safe parking program where she was able to spend the night in a secured parking area meant to help people just like her. However, she knew this was not something that could last forever. Health issues made staying in her car difficult, and she needed more of a sense of permanency.
“I was looking outside of the box to be as resourceful as I could. I put in 48 different applications for housing throughout Washington State. Even outside the major metropolitan areas the wait lists were still one to three years,” shared DeAnn. “I was shocked at the number of elderly women and families that I ran into out on the streets.”
After three months in the safe parking program, DeAnn came to MSC through the Coordinated Entry for All Program. Coordinated Entry for All is the program utilized by most shelter and housing programs in King County. It allows for people needing housing to be put on the community queue for all available resources. The first step is an assessment, which DeAnn completed at MSC. Then, the waiting began.
DeAnn had some family that lived in Montana, who after hearing about her situation, urged to her to move to their state as housing is more affordable and available. They offered to let her stay in a pop-up trailer on their property while she waited for other housing. DeAnn wanted to go, but she had no way to get there. Luckily, through the Path to Home project, MSC has flexible funding that can help in situations just like this where someone who is homeless just needs a little help to be guaranteed a safe place to live.
MSC was able to help DeAnn get to Montana by providing gas cards and hotel stays. She worked with an MSC case manager to map out her trip, allowing for the appropriate rest time her health required to make a safe trip. DeAnn made it to Montana, and shortly after was in her very own apartment.
“I was so overwhelmed, I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. I’m so thankful for MSC, I couldn’t believe how invested and how much knowledge the staff had to help me,” shared DeAnn.
