Former SNAP client overcomes homelessness to raise a thriving family
“We were rich in heart, but not in finances,” says Kassianne as she reflects on the hard times her family fell upon before she found her way to SNAP.
By the time Kassianne was a teenager, she and her mom had already been in two homeless shelters due to domestic violence. When she turned 16, she became pregnant with her son, which further complicated her ability to have stable housing. Once again, she needed to access a shelter. She was able to move home prior to her son’s birth, but the next couple years were tumultuous, and she found herself facing the need to utilize a shelter again. “I was sad that I was back at the shelter,” says Kassianne. “I remember being heartbroken. I thought my life would be different.”
During this time, survival was Kassianne’s full-time job. She had married her son’s father, and the two of them couldn’t focus on finding work when the need for food and shelter loomed overhead. Finally, they relented, and moved into Salvation Army’s shelter. Then, she was referred to SNAP, where they received job support. Their caseworker landed her husband a job as a server and a 2-bedroom apartment for them nearby.
The housing Kassianne and her family moved into was a transitional housing unit SNAP owns, and offered a spacious kitchen and a room for their now-three-year-old son. SNAP charged very little for rent, using this as an opportunity to teach budgeting skills while providing real-world practice in paying bills consistently.
“I felt really good,” says Kassianne. “I was so proud of our little family. I thought, ‘Wow, I think we’re going to make it!’”
Kassianne and her family thrived with this support. Soon they were invited to move into a new SNAP property. The cost was higher, but by this point they could afford the rent. Fast-forward a year, and Kassianne and her family moved into their own 3-bedroom place with their new baby girl. “It felt like leaving our safety net, but we outgrew our own place,” says Kassianne. “It was time for us to move on and let someone else use it.”
Kassianne is proud that she never experienced homelessness again, crediting in part the skills she gained with her SNAP caseworker, such as cooking, shopping, and budgeting. In the many years since she got support from SNAP, her life faced ups and downs – but she felt reassured that she would be okay.
“If I need SNAP again, I know they’re there,” says Kassianne.
Kassianne and her husband since divorced, and she has remarried. Her children are no longer kids – her son is 28, and her daughter is 23. As a family, they use their lived experience to give to others in need – just as SNAP did for them.
Each winter, Kassianne puts together boxes of hats and gloves and hot cocoa to give to unhoused neighbors on Christmas and supports others when she can.
“SNAP helped me get on-track and empowered me to be independent as a woman. You have to let yourself be vulnerable,” says Kassianne. Given the proper tools and community support, lives can be transformed, and Kassianne is a testament to that. Thanks, in part, to SNAP, she can be someone who helps others; SNAP’s investment in Kassianne was truly an investment in the whole community.