HomeMy WebLinkAboutClient Success StoryWe completed our intake process with T.K.in 2021 when she was,at the time,living in housing insecurity
with two small children and fleeing a violent relationship.She did not trust local systems to keep her safe
or care for her children due to 12 years of living in housing insecurity starting at the age of 11 when her
foster parents no longer wanted to house her.With no access to social support that understood her
culture and lived experience,she became a victim of child and sex trafficking,and many violent
relationships including one that almost claimed her life via strangulation in front of her children.Our
organization believed,supported,and advocated for T.K.to find safe and stable housing and begin the
healing process from many traumatic events and years of oppressive systems.We worked together to
overcome housing discrimination and unfair policies that were barriers to her (e.g.T.K.has a criminal
charge from theft of infant formula which kept her from various housing and employment)In early 2022
T.K.found stable housing in Oshkosh.Our organization provided co-advocacy services with a local
domestic violence shelter to provide first-month rent and security deposit for her unit in Oshkosh.
Although T.K.had been hesitant in the past,she now was ready to take next steps and file a restraining
order with the help of our organization,knowing that we believed in her,and always shared
understanding.She now has a 4-year restraining order against the person who almost ended her life.
In 2022 after using our referral to mental healthcare and attending our social support groups,T.K.sought
opportunities to use her story to empower others.We supported her to get involved with a local chapter
of an international food security organization to inform new practices to serve individuals in need.She
created a model to create a healthy hot lunch program which got her selected to present her project in
Washington D.C.