Monica

Monica and her 16-year-old daughter are relatively new to Tacoma. They moved to the Pacific Northwest after incurring loss, violence, and financial uncertainty while living in the South. Upon moving to Tacoma, Monica and her daughter found themselves homeless without any local connections to support them. Throughout their time in and out of shelters, motels and in the back of their car; Monica supported them by working full time as a medical assistant and spending her weekends applying for housing and other assistance programs.

Monica and her daughter are now safely housed, meeting regularly with a therapist and able to consistently pay their car payments and other bills. Monica has said that this “blessing” keeps her from needing a second job, has allowed her to leave an unsafe workspace, keeps her car bills paid, and might even allow for a day at a theme park for her and her daughter. “I have the chance to make my own decisions, and while we are still definitely poor it is so much different than how it used to feel.”