There are many reasons a family may find themselves in need of temporary housing. We would like to introduce three Retreat Home guest families.
The Villena Family
The Villena’s are from the Philippines. They came to the United States to receive medical services from Seattle Children’s hospital. Their son, who was 5 at the time, has Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome, a rare disease that affects children’s bone marrow.
They arrived on a medical visa, and though they needed to be here for several years, they did not have a work visa, and you cannot have two visas at the same time. Shelters were not an option with the sanitation risks that could impact their young son’s health.
Dindin and Joubert showed up as loving parents who were distraught in the inability to care adequately for their son’s needs.
A teacher and engineer, they gave up their homes and careers in the Philippines to find the right medical care for their son. When they arrived in July of 2020, Dindin was pregnant with their second son, who would also have the disease.
Sarah and Brad said they had a wonderful three months together, playing in the sprinkler, planting vegetables and sharing meals. It gave Seattle Children’s time to raise the support and find the housing that the family needed. After three months, they were able to be placed in an apartment close to the hospital where they could go for daily visits to the clinic.
The two families remain close friends to this day.
OlaMae
OlaMae was in need of housing for her and her twin teenage boys. She had been trying to find housing for the three of them but was in a shelter without the boys as family members stepped in to house them. OlaMae had been a homeowner, but when the house was condemned because of the previous owner’s neglect and falsifying reports, she was left without a home. She could not afford another home and paid for months at a hotel until her savings were gone. The shelter proved to be unsafe for OlaMae and she asked her case manager if there was an alternative.
She was referred to Retreat Home and through her stay was able to obtain a positive rental referral and save money from her job to get an apartment. She is now stably housed in a small apartment and she and her host family remain friends.
Elizabeth
A quick placement was needed for Elizabeth, a young mother, who had just given birth and could not return to her family home. A host family stepped in and quickly readied a downstairs space to receive her and her newborn son. Elizabeth was devoted to her baby and had a three-month hiatus from her housing insecurity. She was able to focus on finding housing and caring for her child.
With the support of her Retreat Home volunteer and social worker, permanent housing was found.