To Nexus and its Supporters,

In July of 2011 I was kicked out of my mom’s house and had nowhere to else to go. I stayed with my dad for a little bit, friends, and then back to my dad’s. It wasn’t working out for me so I had to resort to looking into homeless shelters. Bellevue had a co-ed youth nightly shelter that I stayed at for a few weeks. Some nights I stayed up all night at 24 hour stores. During the day, I was either with my boyfriend at the time (who is now my husband), or staying warm and safe in a library.

Later, I found out about case managers and I chose Auburn because it was closer to “home”. I met with my case manager every week at parks or the library. My case manager, Eleta Wright and I, talked about life goals, family, job opportunities, faith, and much more to help me think, organize, and strategize how to come out of the homeless situation I was in. She told me that I qualified for a transitional housing program called “CUP”. She scheduled a meeting for us to fill out the application, and days later I was selected for an interview to make sure I was fit for the program. To the glory of God, I was accepted into CUP in June 2012. I moved into housing and they paid the rent and electricity bill for us every month. This allowed me to find a paid internship, and learn how to be a responsible young adult and take care of business all by myself. Soon after, I was transferred to a new Nexus Case Manager that came to my home to meet with me weekly. From being in this program, I was taught life lessons, responsibility, financial management, making time for personal activities, and identifying priorities vs. wants or desires.

In January 2013, I got married and my husband was approved to move into the housing program with me so we would have more time to grow and be successful. After my internship was over, my husband and I volunteered at a transitional program for people with disabilities. After volunteering for 3 months, we were asked by the workers to apply for a position there. We studied long and hard for about 1.5 months for the test. We took it and passed! By September 2013, we were hired as Educators in the Auburn School District. In February 2014, my husband and I graduated from the housing program and we moved into an apartment of our own. We budgeted for rent, electricity, water sewer garbage, car payment, car insurance, and much more, all on our own.

Now, February 2017, we are still working in the school district. We also are planning to start our own business, are happily married, and growing a lot in our faith. Thank you to everyone at Nexus and those who support their programs. Because of the help and guidance, we have made it out of homelessness and are happy, healthy, and well.

Sincerely,

A former client