<
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/washington-state-homeless-assistance-students/>
"When her bill for overdue rent topped five digits, Resly Suka decided it was
time to tell her kids they might lose their home.
A bout with Covid in late 2020 had forced Suka, a single mother of seven, to
take time off from her job as a home hospice caregiver. That triggered a series
of financial setbacks and, by October 2021, she owed more than $10,000 in back
rent. Washington state’s eviction moratorium was set to expire the next month.
Suka feared what a notice-to-vacate would mean for her children. Her two
youngest, both attending Vancouver’s Washington Elementary School, had
struggled with remote learning and still lagged their peers in basic math and
reading. Her older kids loved their high school sports teams and she couldn’t
imagine uprooting them.
“‘Oh no, Mom. Please don’t make us go to another school. We like our teacher.
We love our school,’” said Suka, recalling the conversation. “All I was
thinking: ‘That’s true.’”
After her primary employer cut her hours — and her health insurance — Suka
ended up in the emergency room for a heart attack. As she began to recover,
Suka started making calls from her hospital bed to a local housing hotline
seeking assistance. She never got a reply.
Then a cousin suggested she call her kids’ school. A woman she’d never met
asked a few questions about Suka’s living situation and suggested she could get
help with her utility bill. Within an hour, the woman called back and shared
news of a second check — to cover up to $11,000 in overdue rent.
The assistance came thanks to a Washington state program — one of the first of
its kind in the country — that aims to help children who aren’t considered
homeless, and unqualified for help, under a strict federal definition."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
