Survivor Finds New Ways to Support Others Through Housing Advocacy
“Helping someone in need is my passion; that’s the heart of it,” says Priscilla, a Housing Resource Navigator in Champlin, Minnesota.
That passion has taken many forms during her career, including serving the past two years with Heading Home Corps. She will begin her third in September, this time at a new location! Before the new service term begins, she took a moment to reflect on her service and the path that led her here.
A History of Supporting Others
Whether supporting youth or adults, Pricilla has dedicated her career to serving others. In addition to years working at youth-focused nonprofits, her experience as a survivor of domestic violence inspired her to help others do the same.
“I know how to get from that stage in life to the next stage in life,” she says. “I was motivated to help other people get out of that situation because it’s a tough situation to overcome.”
After helping to ensure her abuser was convicted and sentenced for his crimes, Priscilla began working at a shelter to advocate for other survivors of domestic violence. One of the most crucial ways to help survivors is housing support. When she left her abusive partner, Priscilla didn't know where she was going to go. Shelters provide a vital, but temporary solution. For survivors to achieve long-term stability, they need safe, affordable housing.
In addition to working in the shelter, she also joined a local nonprofit doing housing mediation. It was there that Pricilla had the opportunity to see AmeriCorps members in action, and she decided to join Heading Home Corps.
“Housing and advocacy go hand in hand. These women come in and they have no housing because they just left their home,” She continues. “In order for them to stay out of that abusive relationship, they have to be secure in something else because they have nowhere to go.”
Making a Difference Through Housing Advocacy
For her first two years as a Housing Resource Navigator, Priscilla served at Community Mediation & Restorative Services (CMRS.) She worked directly with residents who lacked housing, faced eviction, or were staying in temporary shelters. On any given week, she accompanied clients to eviction court, provided advice and guidance on escaping debt, connected residents to resources to keep them housed, and even helped find emergency funding to prevent eviction.
“I've reached, I want to say, between 400 and 500 families,” says Priscilla, stressing how important teamwork is at CMRS. “I’m so thankful for the other navigators: working together and being that rock for each other.”
This upcoming fall, Priscilla will serve at a new organization, but with some familiar faces. While at CMRS, she got to know site supervisor Claudia Diggs, who has since founded her own nonprofit, Community Junction! The organization focuses on the intersection between housing, health, and well-being, and Priscilla will be in their first cohort of Housing Resource Navigators!
Looking forward, Priscilla is excited to dive deeper into supporting residents and helping more people get stable housing. Serving as a Housing Resource Navigator has taught her so much more than just the practical knowledge and skills covered in member training. Priscilla feels that service has taught her to better engage with the community and build networks between those in need and those who can help.
Finding Even More Ways to Give Back
Her next career goal is to become a licensed Housing Stabilization Support provider. That credential would allow her to expand her employment options while helping seniors and people with disabilities to find and keep housing.
“Maybe through that license, I can be a resource for Community Junction, another resource to get these people housed.”
Any new tool in the toolbox to support residents is worth it for Priscilla. Reflecting on what stands out after two years at Heading Home Corps, her feelings always return to the impact she makes when working with people one-on-one.
“I’m going back for another year for more outreach,” she says. “The rewarding part for me is people saying ‘Thank you. You saved me.’”
If you want to help people in your community get safe and stable housing, visit ampact.us/heading-home!