While their stories are different, Judi, Johanna, and Carolyn all have one thing in common. An unplanned life event led them to seek help at MSC.

Judi was barely making ends meet when her child fell ill and needed hospitalization. This unexpected medical expense overwhelmed Judi. She reached out to MSC for assistance. Judi worked with a MSC staff member who was able to understand the barriers she faced and recognize her strengths as a single parent doing her best. 

In addition to supporting Judi with rent assistance, MSC was also able to provide Judi with a referral to a workforce training program to help Judi with individual support and coaching towards obtaining employment.  

Johanna, a single mother of two, was employed full-time, when her employer starting reducing her hours. This significantly impacted Johanna’s salary and she got behind paying her rent. She continued to pay as much rent as she could, but her rent balance was increasing. 

Realizing she needed assistance getting caught up, Johanna reached out to MSC. MSC was able to assist with some of her back rent so she was able to keep her housing. Johnna is applying for other jobs so she can get back to full-time work to support her family.  

Carolyn was fleeing domestic violence with her child when she reached out to MSC. She shared with staff that the trauma she had experienced was so severe that she felt unable to take care of her basic needs. She had already been approved for an apartment, but needed some assistance with move-in costs. 

MSC staff were able to support Carolyn with getting help with move-in costs and also referred her to other resources to help Carolyn navigate her trauma and meet her family’s needs.  

MSC’s rent assistance program provides one-time assistance for households that have had a crisis making it difficult to pay their rent. While some rent assistance funds come from private donations, the majority of the funds come from specific cities in South King County so we are limited to serving those areas only. 

Because MSC’s rent assistance funding  is limited, we also offer resource navigation services for households that may not qualify under our program. We offer resource navigation throughout South King County, with additional navigation programs specifically for immigrants and refugees, as well as residents of HNN properties and residents of the City of Kent