A Father's Fight: Jason's Path to a New Beginning

When Jason arrived at First Place, he had lost everything, including stable employment. This single father of two children had a need and a plan in mind. He was homeless and discouraged, but knew he needed to find a clean, safe home for himself and his two teen children. 

After moving in, Jason was willing to do anything to earn an income.  He was able to get a part-time job working at a dog grooming business. He supplemented that income by walking dogs and offered his services to clean, removing dog feces from the yards of homeowners. A job many would shy away from, but not Jason.

First Place was able to stabilize Jason with a transitional housing unit, which got him over his first hurdle. He then settled his kids into a great routine and after-school activities. Now it was time to help him find more reliable employment. Working closely with Brenda; a skilled and compassionate First Place Case Manager, she was able to find opportunities that closely aligned with Jason’s interests, skills, and experience. 

One of the jobs openings that surfaced was for the City of Seattle and turned out to be an ideal fit.  After helping him complete the application process, Brenda gave him follow-up and interviewing advice, provided encouragement, and with persistence, he landed the job.

Soon after getting his foot in the door with the City of Seattle, Jason exhibited strong commitment by willingly putting in extra hours during critical times. Meanwhile, he continued to work for the dog grooming company, taking on the responsibility of working with the agency’s more difficult-to-manage dogs. Which at times, put him in harm's way resulting in bodily injury.

Fast forward…..

After a year of demonstrating strong work ethics and love for the animals, he received a managerial promotion resulting in higher pay, which gave him the ability to afford and locate permanent housing.  Finding a suitable place proved to be frustrating but First Place worked closely with him in his search and was able to help him find a very nice large apartment near his job.  Jason has moved far beyond the sadness that enveloped his life, and that past is in the rearview mirror. He is now thriving in unimaginable ways.

First Place Housing Success Stories

Our Transitional Housing Families:

This story is about a Single mom and her three children who lived in Roswell, New Mexico, from 2013 to 2021. She struggled with alcohol and drug addiction for 14 years. As a functional addict, she was able to keep this from her family. During this time, she was sharing a home with one of her sisters and planning on buying a house together. However, that plan did not work for this mom. Her family discovered her addiction. She was asked to move out and lost custody of her children. She did so as of February 2021 and entered a Rehabilitation program. She completed the program in March of 2021 and relocated to Seattle, WA, to start a new life. This helped her turn her life around and reunite with her children.

She had an older sister who lived in Seattle who agreed to allow her to stay until she could get back on her feet. Unfortunately, this did not work out due to her sister dealing with her own mental health challenges. Again, she was subjected to having to move. Her sister did not want her and her children to continue to live with her.

This prompted her to call 211, placing her at YWCA Willow Shelter. However, she and her family relocated to another shelter due to a bad experience.

Once relocated to YWCA Phillis Shelter on Cherry Street in July of 2021, she gained employment with ABM Industries in the Janitorial department. After working there for one year, she regained custody of her children and registered them in the Seattle School System. She has two children in preschool and an older child who was unable to attend school due to her depression. The child also refused to go to school at that time. This forced her to quit her full-time employment because of transportation issues, such as having to take her kids to and from school.

She found a part-time job through the DSHS work connection internship program with the YWCA, which put her on the pathway to becoming a Full-Time employee as a Crisis Advocate.

She was able to stay at the YWCA Shelter for up to two years due to COVID. While exiting YWCA, her case manager referred her to our First Place Transitional Housing Program. The First-Place housing program has assisted this family to become stable with a home and school. Allowing this family to gain stability and the structure of a pathway to success.

She commends First Place Housing Staff for ensuring that she is connected with opportunities, provisions, and support that her family needs. The First Place Housing Staff provides advocacy and case management services on many levels.

This Family has secured a Three-bedroom unit in the Seattle area and will move into permanent housing in February 2024.

Who is Tina Mapelli?

When you meet her, the first thing that stands out is her smile, the caring smile of someone that loves what she does. In speaking with her about her accomplishments you will find Tina to be extremely humble. Tina is not a newcomer to the First Place organization. She has been the Housing Manager for 16 years, helping homeless families be placed in affordable housing.

Before taking on the challenges and responsibilities at First Place, Tina spent many years of service helping others in a variety of capacities. Looking back in her past, Tina shared “I took on the role as a case manager with “Youth Fair Chance/SW Community Career Center” for 25 youths and young adults at-risk of not graduating high school.”

Tina was responsible for ensuring the students obtained enough credits to graduate with the possibility of moving on towards college or vocational programs. “This was not an easy job due to uncertain stable family conditions and the daily life they faced at school. But once the students fulfilled their credit requirements for entering college or were on a path to entering a trade, I left them knowing they were more prepared to stand on their own two feet and make something of their lives.”

Later, being recognized for the invaluable work she did with these young adults, Tina was recruited to work for The Community Health Plan of Washington as a benefits specialist for clinics whose primary patients were migrant seasonal workers without health plans. She goes on to explain why this job was particularly personal for her. “Years ago, I had been a very young hardworking migrant worker in the Yakima Valley hops fields without any healthcare, so I knew firsthand what it meant to have no affordable options which sometimes meant going without medical and dental care altogether.” Helping them secure a plan was an important undertaking.

So, you now see why the shift from benefits specialist to her long career with First Place was a natural fit. It checked all the boxes for everything that lends itself to making Tina who she is… caring, determined to help those in need, always seeking to find a better more efficient way to get things accomplished.

When Tina was asked why she has been with First Place Housing for so many years her response was quick, “I stay because First Place truly cares about families, all the individuals in those families as well as the organization’s employees. Not all housing agencies are like us in this respect.” she proudly shares.

Many come to First Place in dire straits from situations forcing them into homelessness with children. This always tugs at Tina’s heartstrings, never prejudging who they are or what circumstances brought them to the First Place Organization doorsteps. Like a Ninja, she quickly jumps into action, calling on various King County Agencies and contacts within her network to assist many who are traumatized by their homelessness. “It is so important we try our best to help them make as smooth a transition as possible into a First Place property,” says Tina. First Place families now have a decent roof over their heads and Tina ensures they are no longer food insecure by connecting them with local food banks and other resources to fill in the gaps if their EBT benefits have been exhausted.

But it doesn’t stop there. Tina goes above and beyond as an advocate for these families connecting them with resources to meet short-term and long-term goals. She understands fully how critically important her involvement means as a case manager for each family. “I routinely check with the other agencies within the tenant’s support network such as mental health counseling and job training to ensure all members of the families are meeting their goals and commitments towards a successful outcome.”

What’s next for Tina?

She lights up when she speaks about being an integral part of the growth of First Place. “I look forward to helping the organization expand its tent to assist many more families in need of a clean, safe home and a brighter future.”