Chelsea
Desiree
Meet the Family Supportive Housing team!
“Hi – My name is Chelsea, and together with Desiree, we make up the Family Supportive Housing team here at Pathways. I’ve been with Pathways for almost a year and a half, and Desiree recently hit her one-year mark. Outside of work, Desiree loves spending time with her family, and I enjoy spending time with my children, reading, and attending hockey games.
Our work is focused in Franklin County, where we support families with finding and maintaining housing. As Service Coordinators, our goal is to work collaboratively with agencies and community partners. We provide resources and support to participants to help them gain various life skills and access resources that lead to permanent housing and a positive quality of life. We work collaboratively with the participant and their family, community partners, and complete applications to help the participant find a voucher or subsidized housing and establish connections to resources.
A typical day for us can vary. We start every day with a one-hour planning meeting, and then we are out in the community, identifying and building relationships with landlords, completing and submitting voucher applications, and communicating with community partners to support our clients.
When I think about why we do this work, one family’s journey really stays with me. We had one client who had actually worked with Pathways through different programs. This client had many criminal charges and Department of Children and Families involvement, but they met with me every week and never gave up trying. This person had been experiencing homelessness for several years, and they are now able to give their child a stable home and life. Watching this person get reunited with their son is why I do what I do.
This work can be difficult, but the one thing that keeps both of us coming back is the support system we have within our team in Franklin. Also, having even a small moment with a family that brings them hope makes us want to show up every day for those heartfelt successes with our families. We believe in this program wholeheartedly, and the way it supports our families. Without the team behind us every step of the way, we would not be able to do what we do: bring hope to families’ lives during a difficult time.”