When 2023 UMass Amherst graduate Jessica Perella received the Perseverance Award from the university’s Sustainable Community Development program, she felt seen. And with encouragement from her mentor at Way Finders’ Self Sufficiency Program, she wants to be heard, too. 

“That’s right, they saw me! I may procrastinate. But I will never stop. My time at UMass restored things that I lost maybe, from choices I made prior. My confidence and belief in myself grew. Sometimes people feel embarrassed or shame about things they go through. But we’re all here on this earth, we all face something. If no one talks about it, you feel like you’re the only one. But when you voice it, other people can find a strength in your story, that’s what I hope for by sharing mine.”

Introducing Board member Marta Alvarez, a resident of Way Finders’ Olympia Oaks community in Amherst since it opened in 2014.

In 2018, when Way Finders sought new members for its Board of Directors, Alvarez was nominated by a staff member. She was excited by the opportunity to engage with, and represent, her community in this new way. In her words:

“I’m honored to be a member of the Board. Because the other members listen when I give my opinion and comments. It’s not, ‘Well, we do these types of projects all the time and we’re not interested in how tenants feel about it.’ No, they’re concerned about our communities from a resident’s side. It’s a good space for the members to hear a resident’s side of a project or proposal.”

When Director of Homelessness Prevention Services Ruth Vasquez started at Way Finders in 2013, she answered a lot of phone calls. One still haunts her.

“A girl received a notice to quit [a letter from a landlord asking a tenant to correct a lease violation or move out]. When she didn’t move out, the landlord locked her out. She was afraid, so she took her things, turned in her keys. Then she was homeless, bouncing with nowhere to stay. She didn’t know that she wasn’t supposed to move out—that the only person who can evict you is a judge from housing court. Not a landlord.”

What does it feel like to turn the corner on housing instability? After years of constant moving—among family, friends, shelter—and trying to do the right things, always, to keep from being asked to leave. What does it feel like to be free of that weight?

We asked Amanda, who recently moved out of a Way Finders’ shelter and is part of our Employment Support Services program: “I’m doing well, feeling good! Just feeling more at peace with everything, like I can finally put down my coat, take off my shoes. We finally have somewhere to rely on, not someone. I mean, I still have worries, that’s just natural for me. But they’re lighter.”