Julie Gardner didn’t have to read the newspaper to learn about the repercussions of the Great Recession. She was living it first-hand.
The company Gardner was working for downsized steadily before finally going out of business in 2008. She was one of the last employees to receive a layoff notice before the doors finally closed.
A single mom of two sons, Gardner moved out of her home and in with her grandmother while considering a return to school. She eventually enrolled in a worker retraining program at Spokane Community College and, by 2009, had begun back on a path toward a social services degree. Meanwhile, the job market wasn’t getting much better.
“You learn that looking for a job is a job,” she said.
While living at her grandmother’s home, Gardner called SNAP for help with the energy bill. It was then that she found out about the Minor Home Repair (MHR) program and got on a waiting list.
Eventually, Gardner was hired by a local nonprofit agency. Looking to get back into a home of her own, she also took SNAP’s First-Time Homebuyer class and began scouring local real estate for a place that would fit into her budget.
“I found the class to be very helpful and useful,” Gardner said. “They had contractors, Realtors, bankers, all kinds of people telling you about homeownership.”
In March of 2013, Gardner discovered the perfect fit, a craftsman home in the Hillyard area at just the right price.
“I got in just before the prime lending rate went up,” she said.
The turn in good fortune continued when Gardner received a call from the SNAP MHR office. Her name had finally risen to the top of the waiting list. Even though Gardner was now in a different home, there would be an opportunity for improvements at her most recent address because she met income guidelines.
After SNAP workers completed an assessment to determine where and how much energy was escaping, a new door was added along with insulation, new electrical outlets and windows. After the upgrades, Gardner’s energy bill was cut in half.
“You could really feel the difference,” she said. “It was phenomenal. Before, I basically had cardboard for walls. Now it’s cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.”
SNAP also replaced an ancient and inefficient furnace in Julie’s basement that was installed in 1960.
“I am so happy to be rid of my old furnace,” she said. “It was a big, blue monster. I love my new furnace.”
While her journey to stability has not been easy, Gardner says she is thankful to SNAP for being there when she needed help staying on a positive path.
“SNAP has been phenomenal,” she said. “I’ve been helped by so many of their programs. I wouldn’t have been able to do any of it without SNAP.”
