Rose Seeley never really gave homelessness or poverty a second thought during the first 17 years of her life.

But then she became pregnant and everything changed: Her parents decided it would be better if she no longer lived at home; she began staying with friends and at various shelters throughout King County; and she became part of a population that had rarely crossed her mind up to that point.

Now Seeley is 19, living at YWCA Family Village in downtown Redmond with her 18-month-old son D.J. and much more aware of those who are struggling to survive. She is also more compassionate and understanding of challenges facing homelessness.

“It was really easy to judge people,” Seeley said about her pre-pregnancy attitude.

She said she used to think people became homeless and lived in shelters as a result of their choices and that their situation is their fault. However, now that she has been on the receiving end of such judgements, she knows how wrong she was as there are many factors that are out of people’s control.

On March 15, Seeley will share her story at the YWCA Eastside Inspire Luncheon, a fundraiser for the nonprofit’s Women Empowered (WE) campaign. The funds raised will go toward community services such as affordable housing and child care for women and families facing crises such as poverty, violence or discrimination. The luncheon will be at the Meydenbauer Center at 11100 N.E. 6th St. in Bellevue from noon to 1:30 p.m.

The event will also feature Academy Award-winning actress Helen Hunt as the keynote speaker.

NO PERMANENT ADDRESS

Seeley said before she moved to YWCA in May 2011, finding work and going to school was difficult because she couldn’t provide a permanent address when she was moving around so often. In addition, Seeley said her first priority was meeting basic needs such as food and shelter.

“Everything else comes second,” she said.

Another obstacle she faced was going to the doctor during her pregnancy. She didn’t have a car and was living in south King County, around Federal Way, while her doctor was on the Eastside. Seeley said she didn’t change doctors and continued to look for local housing because it was the familiar and her family was nearby — even though they weren’t on good terms at the time.

“It was just where I grew up,” she said about the Eastside.

Seeley applied for transitional housing while she was pregnant but there was a long waiting list. It wasn’t until D.J. was born that they were able to get into a shelter. At the time, it was Seeley, D.J. and his father. The three of them stayed at a couple different shelters including one just off of Avondale Road Northeast in Redmond, which was run by Redmond-based human services organization Hopelink.

The staff at the Hopelink shelter connected Seeley with the Redmond YWCA and she filled out an application for the location’s transitional housing program. She was accepted shortly afterwards and at that point, Seeley and D.J.’s father went their separate ways.

She said being homeless is not conducive to a successful relationship because so much focus is on the lack of resources and figuring out how to survive.

“It’s a lot of stress to put that on a relationship,” she said. “That was a definite issue.”

Seeley said since the breakup, there have been occasional moments of loneliness when she has no one to talk to, but that’s okay.

“There was no arguing (after the break up), a lot less stressful,” she said.

FUTURE PLANS

Seeley has been at the Redmond Family Village for almost a year and now that her basic needs are being met, she has been able to get a job and go back to school.

She works at Victoria’s Secret and is currently attending Bellevue College (BC). Seeley said she plans to transfer to the University of Washington to study communications. She has two more quarters left to complete at BC.

Seeley said when she’s done with school she would like a career where she can help others, specifically in social work and human services. While she always had a vague idea of what she wanted to do for a living, Seeley admitted that she “was just so undecided in high school.” Her experiences with the YWCA have helped her define her goals more specifically.

“I would like to work at a place like this,” she said. “I just like what they do and would like to be part of that kind of team.”

Seeley said the Redmond YWCA team has provided her with support, mentoring and help with setting and meeting goals. In short, she said YWCA is helping her get where she wants to go.

One of the people helping Seeley is family support specialist Kathy Aptakin, who works with families to determine what barriers they need to overcome to being self sufficient. She helps families draft plans to work on throughout the YWCA’s 18-month self-sufficiency program.

This is what Aptakin has been doing with Seeley, who she said is taking charge of her life and developing skills to help her be independent.

“I am proud of the work Rose has done and the positive future she is building for herself and her son,” said Aptakin, who has known Seeley for almost a year. “… For one, Rose has implemented monthly budget tracking and now keeps a regular budget so that she will be better prepared to succeed financially in the future.”

BECOMING SELF SUFFICIENT

Aptakin said for more than 100 years, YWCA has been helping women and families in difficult situations become self sufficient.

Some of the services the organization provides include housing, emergency shelter, women’s day centers, financial assistance, employment assistance, mental health counseling and domestic violence services.

On the Eastside, Aptakin said YWCA has a number of locations including the Family Village at Redmond, which is a 20-unit transitional housing program for homeless families. The site’s services include child care, employment search, job training, financial education and housing-search assistance.

Other Eastside YWCA sites include Angeline’s Eastside Women’s Shelter in Bellevue as well as a new Family Village in Issaquah, which opened last year and has 146 units of affordable housing. YWCA also opened Passage Point in Maple Valley last year, a 46-unit residential community that provides housing and supportive services for families with parents who have been discharged from the corrections system.

In addition to the different services, Seeley said YWCA also offers social events for kids and families throughout the year and during the holidays. Seeley has met a few other residents in the building and while it has mostly been in passing, she said everyone has been really nice.

“They’re definitely good people to be around because they’re not judgmental and they know what you’re going through,” Seeley said.

As she has become more independent in creating a life for herself and her son, Seeley said her relationship with her family has improved. Her parents occasionally babysit D.J. when she has to work and they visit with each other frequently.

Seeley admits moving out was difficult initially, but she is grateful for her parents’ tough love as she has learned about accountability and responsibility of her actions.

“They definitely don’t enable me (to remain dependent on them),” she said.