Until April 2020, household finances were stable, if sometimes paycheck-to-paycheck, for Brandy Jackson.
But that month, the elementary school instructional assistant came down with COVID-19 in the early months of the pandemic before vaccines were available. Her case was moderately severe and kept her from her job at Seattle Public Schools for an extended stretch, but she had already depleted her paid sick time after a bout of illness that stretched from the previous November to January.
The double whammy meant that Jackson was forced to take unpaid time off and even sent a plea for colleagues to donate unused sick days. On top of that financial hit, her partner, a nurse, lost a second job at a coffee shop that closed during lockdown. The strain on the family’s finances put them behind on rent at their Renton town house, home to the couple and Jackson’s two stepsons.
“I was in a hole,” she said. “It just wasn’t enough to make it through the month. If I pay the rent, then we’re struggling for food, gas money, clothes and shoes for my stepsons.”
Facing mounting bills and dwindling income, Jackson fell behind on the $2,100 per month rent for her two-bedroom home. In May 2020, she called a YWCA resource helpline for families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The organization referred her to Wellspring Family Services, one of 13 nonprofits benefiting from readers’ donations to The Seattle Times Fund for Those in Need. Founded in 1892, the Rainier Valley-based nonprofit works to end family and employee homelessness by preventing it before it happens and intervening early when it does.
That was exactly the scenario that Jackson found herself in, so when Wellspring stepped in to provide $8,153.49 that covered her back rent plus three months rent going forward, paid directly to her landlord, Jackson went from precariously housed to firmer footing.
Jackson was one of thousands whose households benefited during the height of the pandemic, when Wellspring doled out a record $30 million in rental assistance during that unprecedented crisis.
For Jackson, like countless other families, the temporary help was just what she needed to keep a stable roof over her stepsons’ heads while they attended Garfield High School.
“You never want your family on the streets,” she said. “And it would be a thousand times more difficult to find a place with an eviction on my record.”
Keeping families from entering homelessness in the first place is a priority for Wellspring that has proven long-term benefits. “We try to do prevention as much as possible,” said Cobie Sparks-Howard, Wellspring’s director of housing service. “Preventing somebody from ever experiencing homelessness is far less traumatic.”
Each year, The Seattle Times Fund for Those in Need raises money for charities that help children, families and older adults. Throughout the season, we tell the stories of people and organizations who make a difference in the lives of thousands, and the impact donors can have.
To achieve those goals, Wellspring provides housing services that help families navigate the web of community resources to become or remain housed, like temporary rental assistance. In 2023, the nonprofit redirected 403 families from shelters to housing.
Wellspring also runs a free pre-K program for children who’ve experienced homelessness, serving roughly 50 students annually. Clients can also avail themselves of a free family store that provides everything a parent might need to raise their child from birth through age 17 via donated goods. The store saw 8,804 shopping trips in 2023.
A steady rise
From dire circumstances that could have resulted in temporary homelessness, Jackson has been on a steady rise toward professional success and financial security. She switched jobs from sales to education in 2017 but lacked any postsecondary schooling that would enable her to climb the career ladder in the school system. In 2022, she enrolled in coursework toward her associate degree at Seattle Central College as a participant in Seattle Public Schools’ Academy for Rising Educators, which covers tuition costs for staff to earn their teaching certificate.
By February 2023, Wellspring considered Jackson to have successfully exited their program, but the nonprofit led her out the door with a parting gift. Wellspring referred Jackson to the Women’s University Club for its Women in Transition Scholarship, which provides financial support to women pursuing postsecondary education in the wake of adverse life circumstances.
In April, three years after her illness-induced low point, the century-old social club for university-educated women awarded Jackson $10,000 for college supplies, which she spent on necessities like a laptop, printer and Wi-Fi hot spot. In return, Jackson was asked to give a speech in front of members at the organization’s downtown Seattle clubhouse during a dinner, which her mother and partner attended.
Last year, Jackson donned a cap and gown as she earned her associate degree, but her educational journey is still underway. She turned right around to begin coursework for her bachelor’s at North Seattle College and aspires to complete a master of arts in teaching down the road.
Already after earning her AA and accruing more years of experience, the resulting bump in wages provided an additional cushion for the lifelong Renton resident to stay in her hometown, underscoring how sudden financial hardship can be managed more as a bump in the road than a life-derailing crash with the kind of temporary rental assistance in which Wellspring specializes.
“A higher demand overall”
But from the tens of millions available during the pandemic crisis, financial support has ebbed dramatically. For instance, Wellspring requested $2.5 million in rental assistance funding from the King County Regional Homelessness Authority and United Way of King County for the current fiscal year, which began in July, but only received $1.6 million. The nonprofit’s overall 2024 budget was $13 million, a decline from recent years.
The rental assistance program is designed to cover up to six months of unpaid rent or a maximum of $10,000 in arrears, which translates to sufficient funds to fulfill 15 applications, out of about 40 received, per month. Halfway through the fiscal year, the agency has spent nearly $948,000.
As the calendar year came to a close, Sparks-Howard highlighted energy prices as a major precipitating factor in families falling behind, with winter heating costs sometimes tripling utility bills compared to summertime. In the run-up to the holidays, heads of household were also choosing between paying the bills and buying presents for children.
“It’s hard to budget and manage,” Sparks-Howard said. “Our clients’ households are already low-income. They end up robbing Peter to pay Paul.”
Those economic pressures come in the context of rising rents. The median King County rent in December was $2,095, according to Zillow, and over half of Seattle-area renters reported an annual rent increase of more than $100 in an April survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Despite diminished rental assistance funding compared to the height of the pandemic, Sparks-Howard says Wellspring’s program is still staying balanced on the tightrope.
“The dollars are stretching to where we expect them to, but there’s still just a higher demand overall within our county,” he said. “I don’t think there’s a program that can withstand the demand that’s currently out there within our county in terms of the need that we have for rental assistance.”
Jackson was a fortunate beneficiary during a flush time for temporary rental assistance. She can now continue her chosen career path.
“I love my job, and getting up every day and staying healthy is just routine now,” she said.
In December, Jackson moved from Rising Star Elementary School in Beacon Hill to a disciplinary role at Rainier Beach High School overseeing students serving in-school suspensions and after-school detentions. As a student herself, she tells her charges that she’s in the equivalent of the 16th grade. But the joke provides a more serious lesson as a role model for wayward students to follow.
“They’re showing me their D’s and E’s and I’m showing them my A’s and B’s,” she said. “Here are my grades — you could do it too.”