Jano’s Story

Jano was self-employed as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) and living in an apartment on Capitol Hill. She had lost a couple of clients and was late paying her rent, but her property management company would not accept her rent late. “I was having a difficult time financially,” said Jano. “I had been late with rent a couple of times before, but I always paid the late fees.”

“They evicted me anyway and I felt helpless to do anything about it,” said Jano. “My life was immediately thrown into chaos. I slept in my car for a while, and occasionally stayed with friends and relatives where I slept on the floor or a fold-out couch. I even moved to Oregon to take a job, but that didn’t work out.”

“I managed to get back to Seattle to get on the right path and that’s when I heard about Elizabeth Gregory Home (EGH),” said Jano. “I really liked that I could come in and wash my clothes, take a shower and eat a good breakfast and lunch. There’s a great support team at EGH and the Program Manager helped me a lot.” Jano also relied on bus tickets for transportation to job interviews and housing appointments.

When a space opened at Elizabeth Gregory Home’s Transitional Housing Program, the staff agreed that she would be a good fit. “I found out about the opportunity to move into the EGH Transitional House because someone had just moved out. I applied and got in,” said Jano. “The house was homey and comfortable; I felt welcomed by the other seven women who lived there.”

Jano had completed applications and was on the waiting lists for housing authorities in Pierce and King Counties when she first became homeless. After living at the EGH house for several months, she learned that her number had come up in Pierce County, meaning that she would receive a voucher to subsidize her rent.

“I was on the list for a year and my lottery number was low. I’m happy to say I now have stable housing,” said Jano.  “I have a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment in a large complex with an exercise room and a swimming pool. I also have stable work with a home health care service. To add to these blessings, I just got engaged to be married! We have been friends for over 10 years, and our friendship has recently blossomed into a romance,” Jano said. “We will be getting married next summer.”

“I am an entrepreneur at heart and I plan to go back to school to get a degree in business management so I can start my own business. I have always dreamed of opening a massage studio. Thanks to EGH I’m back on track to realize my dream.”