As we look towards a new year, we simultaneously reflect back on our community relationships and the lived experiences of youth, children, and families across King County — honest and real stories we are fortune to share.
In 2019, Best Starts invested $6.9 million into the Youth and Family Homelessness Prevention Initiative to help prevent — and eventually end — homelessness in King County.
All kids deserve stable homes and safe spaces to live, so they can grow, play, and excel. Best Starts provides critical resources to help youth and their families who are at risk of homelessness stay housed, with long-term benefits for the strength and stability of our community.
View our 2019 Digital Report here.
In our third story, we travel to West Seattle to meet the Naisher family.
While they’re now enjoying their new home in West Seattle, Jim and the Naisher family navigated what can often feel like insurmountable barriers to finding a stable living situation.
The Youth and Family Homelessness Prevention Initiative (YFHPI) partners with organizations like Open Doors to make sure families like the Naisher family receive the help they need to find housing and are connected to services and resources so they can maintain it.
According to Tamara, a lot of families aren’t aware of all the resources that are available to them. Tamara helps make those connections. Intensive case management combined with flexible funding from Best Starts gives case managers like Tamara the ability to support families in many different ways.
After 16 months, despite tireless efforts, Tamara was growing more concerned about the Naisher family’s ability to pay their rent. That’s when the news came — they would be receiving a voucher for Section 8 housing. Jim found the perfect house, working with Tamara to put everything into place for move-in day.
“I want families to find housing that is a good fit — and that means working side-by-side to help families make decisions that are right for them.”
In March, Jim and his family moved into their new home.
It takes a community to create safety nets for so many families. For the Naisher family, their community became stronger with help from Open Doors for Multicultural Families.
Read more stories here.
Learn more about how we’re working to prevent FAMILY HOMELESSNESS.
Open Doors and Tamara are great! Love their work.
Agreed! Thanks for reading!