Meet Mandy

Mandy was preparing to move into a new apartment with her kids when the landlord backed out of the deal at the last minute. Having already given her current landlord notice, she was stuck without a place to go.

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Knowing her situation was unsustainable, Mandy called 2-1-1, the coordinated entry system for Tacoma, where she was teamed with a case manager who told her about some affordable townhouses near campus where she was taking classes. Mandy was soon moving her young family into a Mercy Housing community.

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“It felt so good that I had a safe place – it felt incredible,” Mandy reflected.

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Once Mandy and her children had settled into their new townhome, she enrolled in cosmetology school, which had always been one of her dreams. “I was made aware of a scholarship through Mercy Housing and applied,” she shared. She won the scholarship. “If it wasn’t for this place, I wouldn’t have been able to finish school. I got to focus on school and being a mom instead of having to worry about juggling two dead-end jobs, and now I have a career,” she stated.