“I was in addiction and kind of moving from place to place,” she said. “I wasn’t a healthy person.”
Monique knew she needed to get help, especially when she thought of her young daughter’s future.
“I knew what it was like to not have my parents and to grow up with someone else,” she said. “I decided that I wasn't going to put her through what I went through. I decided I was going to get help, and I was going to be a better mom for her.”
Her life began to change after she entered residential treatment through the Native American Rehabilitation Association of the Northwest (NARA NW).
The services provided by NARA NW turned out to be a great fit for Monique. She was able to bring her daughter with her to the facility. And as a Native person, she felt at home working with a culturally specific organization focused on serving Native American and Indigenous communities. “I was comfortable and felt like I belonged instantly.”
After completing treatment with NARA NW, she moved into a sober living facility, where she was able to continue outpatient treatment and apply for housing with the help of the organization.
“It’s like NARA’s holding my hand through all this,” she said. “They have been there every step of the way.”
She was approved for permanent supportive housing, meaning she receives both deeply affordable housing and on-site, wraparound services.
Monique and her daughter moved into their two-bedroom apartment in December 2022, a sort of Christmas present for them both.
“My daughter was excited because she could finally have a room,” she said. There’s nothing compared to having your own space.”
Her apartment is in Hayu Tilixam, an affordable housing complex owned by the Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) and Community Development Partners; NARA NW provides on-site services.
NARA NW’s supportive services, which are funded through the Joint Office of Homeless Services with Supportive Housing Services Measure dollars, helps Monique know that she can get help if she ever needs it. “If I have problems or anything, I talk to them and they help me through it.”
Since moving in, Monique and her daughter have put down roots at Hayu Tilixam. Her work is right across the street, her boyfriend lives close by, and her daughter’s school is very close.
“There's no feeling to explain what I feel. I just feel at home,” she said. “This is my and my daughter's home.”
For Monique, the centerpiece of her home is the couch, a brown sectional. It’s a place where she and her daughter hang out, watching TV and movies together. And it’s also a point of pride — it was the first piece of furniture in her apartment that she was able to buy herself.
Having a home of her own also helps Monique engage in her spiritual practices, particularly through burning sage, or smudging, which she says connects her to her higher power.
It’s the little things, like being able to buy her daughter a new backpack and clothes for the school year, or being able to volunteer for events at her daughter’s school, that Monique says make her proud of how far she’s come.
“I'm there 24/7, and I get to show up for her,” she said. “I have a job. My daughter's happy. Life is good today.”
