For Mary’s Place donor Kristi Hanna-Cruz, giving back has always been second nature. “I was taught at a young age that all people are deserving of opportunity and to always help when I can.” As the creator and designer of Posh Beauty Bar and an online coaching platform, Kristi is passionate about helping people’s inner beauty, love, and potential shine through and a master at connecting people around a cause!

On Friday, September 19, 2025, Mary’s Place and Mercy Housing Northwest broke ground on a bold new project in Burien: a campus that combines emergency family shelter and permanently affordable housing on one campus

For months, Melody and her baby, Jordan, bounced between couches, staying temporarily with friends and family, never knowing where they would sleep next. Just when things felt most hopeless, Melody’s phone rang. It was Mary’s Place…

Pregnancy and childbirth can be both beautiful and challenging—especially for women experiencing homelessness, language barriers, or cultural isolation. That’s why our partnership with Ayan Maternity Healthcare Support, founded by longtime doula and advocate Ayan Abdulahi, is so vital for the families we serve.

At Mary's Place, we're always excited to explore new ways to share the powerful stories of the families we're honored to serve. Recently, we had an exciting opportunity to team up with Alson.AI to bring Sara’s story to life in the form of a warm, engaging cartoon.

With the help of our mobile outreach team, Jaclyn and Tyler found an affordable, pet-friendly apartment just in time for back-to-school!

For Keisha, a single mom of three, stability meant everything—especially for her oldest child, who has autism and thrives on routine. When a job loss threatened their stability Keisha turned to Mary’s Place for support.

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.

We recently launched a Financial Literacy class series pilot with one goal in mind: to break down accessibility barriers so that everyone—regardless of background or language—can gain the tools they need to feel confident and build a stable financial future. We partnered with Bank of America, Umpqua Bank, and Sound Credit Union in a collaborative effort to meet the diverse needs of families at Mary’s Place.

For families who are outside in cars, tents, and encampments, hope isn’t lost thanks to our mobile outreach team. “Our goal, at its root, is simple: meet families wherever they are—geographically and emotionally—and walk alongside them on their journey back to stability” says Jessica Safley, Outreach Director at Mary’s Place