On Her Way Home

Katherine and her children
Katherine and her children

Every action that Katherine takes is based on making sure that her children are taken care of and happy. When Katherine’s employer, a person for whom she was working as a personal caretaker, passed away, Katherine (Kat) found herself without a job, without a source of steady income and without a home for her children.

Kat packed herself up along with her two children, ages 2 and 4, and the family moved into her father’s home where they shared one room until she found Evergreen Vista II (EVII), a 50-unit family property in Olympia, Wash.

“Kat is very committed to her children,” said the Mercy Housing Case Manager at EVII. “She wants to be a good role model for them and said that living here has helped her be able to focus on getting her life together and her children’s lives together.”

The Resident Services available at EVII have been an immense help to Kat and other people facing similar challenges. Kat and her children take advantage of the many recreational activities provided by the property, including family night and bingo night. She has taken control of her future by enrolling in job training classes and financial education courses available at EV II. Kat has started rebuilding her credit with the hope of one day buying her own home.

She has already signed up with the Family Self- Sufficiency program through the Housing Authority of Thurston County (HATC). This program will help Kat achieve her goal of homeownership by setting up an account to which both she and the HATC will contribute. After her savings have accumulated, the money in the account will be applied to the purchase of her new home.

Through her ambition and perseverance, Kat is certainly on track to making her dreams come true. Her story is a testament to what is possible with just a little bit of support and a whole lot of heart.