When Nikki’s teenage son was killed by gun violence, grief pushed her to seek a new beginning. She and her daughter, Sara, left Louisiana and moved to Washington, where Nikki found steady work and began building a life. For three years, things felt stable, until an illness unraveled everything.

For Jada, life used to mean just getting through the day—barely surviving, not truly living. That all changed when she reached out to Mary’s Place…

“I never thought I would end up homeless. What happened to me was the furthest thing from my mind. I had a successful military career, I’m an Iraq veteran. The staff at Mary’s Place were so caring, I always tell them they gave me my life back.” - Paula

When the apartment she was renting became unsafe due to black mold, Kawana and her sons were left with no place to go. After two years of living out of her car, apart from her sons, Kawana became stably housed with support from Mary’s Place and is now an advocate for affordable housing.

Jessica Safley leads Mary's Place’s team of mobile outreach specialists. For this team, meeting families where they are both physically and emotionally and helping to remove barriers to housing is paramount.