Being homeless is hard. Being homeless with two young boys is close to impossible. Yet that’s where Laila was after an injury caused her to lose her job in Bellevue. With no family or community to help, she and her boys soon found themselves in a shelter.
“It was so sad. That shelter was no place to raise kids,” Laila said. “My kids were acting up, and it was hard to raise them there. My family is everything to me.”
Determined to improve the situation of her family, Laila worked hard to get her boys out of the shelter and found her way to Compass. “I applied right away to Compass on Dexter. Luckily, we got in.”
At Compass, Laila found the necessary support to rebuild her family’s life. “My kids were young when we first moved here,” she said. “Compass was so good to us, good for my sons. Robert [Bowery, a Compass program director seen in the picture above with Laila] was always there for us. He would care for my kids, reaching out when we had problems. Compass gives a lot of support for moms.”
With the stability Laila and her boys found at Compass, they have all flourished. For Laila, that means she has had time to explore art through sewing.
“When I sew, it’s how I take back my space,” she said. “I work through my stress and everything through sewing. When I’m sewing, I’m out of everything and just feel calm. Having a place to just shut everything out and do this is so important. Stability is important.”
Earlier this year, Laila showcased her talent with Compass by exhibiting a hand-sewn traditional Moroccan dress and a gorgeous tablecloth at our Homeward Gala. They were showstoppers.
“I’m glad people liked them,” she said. “I learned how to sew when I was in Morocco [where she is originally from]. Grandma taught me. She made handmade carpets, and I was very close to her. She brought me up. She taught me even though I was young. She did everything for her family. That’s what I am trying to do.”
For the boys, stable housing has paved the way to a bright future.
“Living here has given my family a real chance at a good life,” Laila said. “I’ve raised my two sons here. They are both now going to college. My older one wants to work for the Seattle Police Department and eventually the FBI. My younger son wants to be a doctor. They are almost grown now, but they will always be my babies.”
Here at Compass, we build community to ensure that families have a place to survive, grow, and thrive – families just like Laila’s.
We need your help to continue creating hope and a future for the hundreds of children who call Compass home. This gets harder every year as our costs for everything from insurance to building supplies to staff salaries continue to rise. Your support makes it possible for us to overcome these challenges and do this important work.
Can we count on your year-end gift to make sure that families like Laila and her boys have the stability they need to thrive?
Please consider giving today.
Michael Bailey
President
Did you know that if you are over 70 ½, you can help change the life of a neighbor experiencing homelessness today by donating from your IRA to Compass. Giving this way also benefits you by reducing your taxable income and it helps you meet your Required Minimum Distribution. A true win-win!
Just click here: https://www.compasshousingalliance.org/how-you-can-help/give-stocks-securities/