Our service coordinators do excellent work. Below is a brief conversation with community member Quiana, who, with the help of Haven service coordinators Diane and now Brie, has been able to find permanent housing, a stable job, and a safe place for her children after moving to the Upper Valley in 2022 to get out of a bad situation.
Of Quiana and her journey, Brie said, “Quiana just renewed her lease, which is a huge win. A lot of clients don’t always get afforded that opportunity. She’s been an amazing tenant. She’s been offered the opportunity to stay at the same residence for another year. We’re also looking to renew her voucher through the CARES housing voucher program. She’s started her own business, she’s been tackling these jobs, taking care of her kids, and serving as a good role model for her children.”
What is your background and what is your situation?
“Me and the kids left Texas in 2022. I was living there with a friend of mine – well at the time, a friend of mine – needless to say, things didn’t work out, and we ended up getting evicted. The best solution was to come out here. I came out here, and we didn’t know where we were going to go or what we were going to do, and just give it a shot. I did. We ended up staying at the Super 8. We got there, and luckily, they were hiring. I ended up getting a job there.
“On the way up here, I was frantically calling about where we would be staying permanently. I called 2-1-1 and they lined me up with economic services. Economic services told me about theUpper Valley Haven. I met with Diane. Diane was my first case worker, and I was just bound and determined to make it somewhere I’d never been.
“I used to live in NH. I lived there when my son was a baby. We originally wanted to go back to that area but ended up here in Vermont. So kind of familiar territory.
“I came from sleeping in my truck with my oldest son. Going from place to place, basically with whoever would let us crash wherever. I had no idea what was going to happen. We went from that to coming out here, to living in a hotel, and lining up with the perfect people at the perfect time. To now, I’m in a place, I have steady work. I would attribute that to just being gung-ho, and not wanting to stay stagnant in the same place that I was in, wanting to constantly elevate, and move forward, and get everything I can out of life while I can.”
What was that process like for you as a single mom, raising kids, finding work in a new place where you didn’t really know anyone?
“It was hell. When you’re coming to an area you know nothing about, and you’re by yourself with your kids, and you’re like, ‘I don’t know what I’m stepping into, but I’m gonna step into it with faith.’ It was hell. You have to worry about how you’re going to feed your kids and where you’re going to stay. Everything was a leap of faith.”
How easy or not-easy was it to navigate the social service systems?
“Just the process of being on the phone. When I started working at Super 8, I worked night audit – I still work night audit. So I would get off work, and be literally on the phone every morning, calling, trying to get through, trying to get through. And there were some mornings that I would be on the phone for 5 hours. I was on the phone for five hours trying to get a hold of somebody, trying to make it so that me and the kids would be able to get the help. I would sometimes fall asleep while being on hold. It was terrible. And I don’t know if it is still that way, but it was a process just trying to get a hold of anybody.
You’ve been working with the Haven for a little over a year now, what has that experience been like?
“For me, it was a lot easier. It was a lot easier to go through that process with someone. I lucked up. The universe aligned me up with some really good people. I met Diane first. Diane was bound and determined. It was weird to me because everyone was like, ‘You’re so on-point. You’re so on-point.’ It mind boggled me because, apparently, case workers aren’t used to seeing people on-point in these type of situations. I was like, ‘Look, I don’t have time to waste, I have things to do. I have kids to take care of. What do I need to do?’ It was fairly easy and simple for me. I met with Diane and then she told me to fill out an application for the place that I’m in right now. She was pushing. And kept pushing and pushing and pushing. It was a real blessing that everything lined up the way it did.
“I want people to hear my story. I want them to know, I’m a domestic violence survivor. I’ve been through… I could write a book and it would be a best-seller. I want anybody to know – and not just women, but men – that are going through the wringer and feel like life is just going to continue to throw stuff at them, that yeah, life is going to keep throwing stuff at you, but it’s about your mind frame, it’s about what you do, and it’s about how you just keep moving forward and perpetually moving. I want people to know that you can start and have nothing and accomplish great things.”
