Sadie was about to be evicted. Her beacon prevented that.

Sadie was about to be evicted from her home. She had just days to pay her rent, or she would lose her housing. She needed nearly $150.

“I was homeless for 10 years and I recently got housing and it’s really hard the first few months when you’re struggling to make ends meet,” she said. “It’s a constant struggle.”

Because of Samaritans in Seattle who directly invested in Sadie’s life, she was able to make rent. She avoided eviction. Even more, she just secured full-time employment — news she announced with a shy smile on her face. Sadie said she’s hoping her new job will help her pay for a Christmas tree for the holidays. She hasn’t had one in 25 years.

Sadie became homeless after she lost her job about a decade ago. During that time, she struggled to find permanent housing and to make enough money to afford basic necessities. But even after finding housing, it’s still hard, she said.

She credits the beacon with helping her to stay housed, keep on top of her bills and get food and cleaning supplies. The beacon also gives her peace of mind.

“It’s keeping me so that I don’t have to worry so much about what am I going to eat today, what am I going to do today,” she said. “It’s just the normal nuts and bolts of making your life.”

Now, her more immediate needs are transportation, food and cleaning supplies.

And even though she continues to face barriers of her own, she said she still works to help her community — to give blankets to people who are unsheltered and food to people more in need than herself.

“People come [to Seattle] just to get help and try to get on their feet because we have some really good programs for people that are trying to get off drugs, people who are trying to get their families into shelter,” she said. “So a lot of these people are trying to get their lives back together, some really are struggling to get back up.

She added: “We know how it is to be freezing out there.”

To learn more and start investing in a beacon holder, equip the free Samaritan app. Send me your feedback at becca@samaritan.city.