“If I didn’t work here, I wouldn’t really know what is going on with people. I would know about the pandemic, but not what it looks like for people in these challenges.”

A few months into the pandemic, Brandon, one of our Healthy Connections Specialists, began encountering a lot of challenging situations; families feeling like everything was closing in on them. One such case involved a West Seattle family, who were experiencing some violence in the home. The mom, Amy, decided to quickly remove her daughter from the situation – they left with nothing and moved into a shelter.

This was the first time that Amy was on any social services, so it was all a new experience. It was important to her that she do everything right on her applications. Brandon connected her to an Early Head Start program (a home-visiting program) and also to WIC services (the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children).

Brandon is a great example of the empathetic staff at WithinReach. As he says, “I think it was just good for her to have someone to talk to. I tried my best and it was very challenging for her; I can’t even imagine what that was like.”

* Client name has been changed to protect identity