EP001: No Worries, You Know Courtney Now
Transcript available here.
Courtney, Wayne, Athena, Aiden, and Addy in 2014 - Credit: Rex Hohlbein
“When we first came to Seattle it was so freeing, so comfortable. It all felt right. I remember closing my eyes and breathing in the beauty of the Pacific Northwest, feeling happy. A sense of belonging filled me. Best of all we didn’t feel judged. People were saying, “No worries”. It was the first time I heard that expression. Seven years later it is such bullshit. This city is full of worries. There is hatred, bigotry, and greed. So much greed.”
I first met Courtney and her family back in 2014. Courtney, her husband Wayne, their three children, Courtney’s mom and Wayne’s brother, all were living in a tent in Woodland Park. A woman by the name of Emily Thousand saw them and recommended they get in touch with Facing Homelessness to see if the community could be of some help.
With a photo and story on the Facing Homelessness Facebook page, instantly a month’s worth of hotel stay was donated along with a parade of individuals bringing hot-meals. It was the beginning of their long climb out of homelessness.
They are still climbing. I’m not sure homelessness is something people ever completely climb out of. Yesterday’s trauma of the experience informs tomorrow’s decisions. For those that find housing, often the issues that brought them to homelessness are still there, still needing to be worked on and resolved. It is a journey.
Courtney, Athena, Aiden, and Addy in 2016 - Credit: Rex Hohlbein
Courtney’s journey began back in Florida where Wayne and her exchanged vows of unconditional love, promising to stay with each other forever, through whatever. Their children Adam, Aidan and Athena were soon born.
From very early on Courtney’s son Adam felt different than other boys. His interests were feminine. By the time he was 4 he was already expressing a desire to be a girl. While the family, including grandparents, were accepting and loving, others outside of the family were not. Adam, whose name is now Addy, was being bullied by other kids and adults. Courtney was being shamed as a bad mom. When a neighbor released their dog to attack Addy, her brother Aidan jumped in front of her and was badly bitten. Courtney broke. She had enough. They couldn’t stay in Tampa any longer.
“We moved to Seattle so Addy could be out and proud. We wanted her to have the chance to be all she could be. That was never going to happen in Tampa.”
Wayne left for Seattle to find work and a place for them to start over. Unfortunately things didn't go as planned. To help explain, you first need to know that Wayne had a very difficult childhood. His parents gave him up as a baby to his grandparents to raise. He suffered from issues of abandonment and was in and out of drugs throughout his teens. When he got to Seattle, even though he had been clean for years, he fell back into drugs.
Courtney could feel it. She packed up the family and came to Seattle despite having no place to live and no source of income. She needed to rescue Wayne.
Courtney, Athena, and Addy in 2014 - Credit: Rex Hohlbein
They were instantly homeless. For a while the kids thought they were on a camping adventure. Addy was 8, Aidan 6, and Athena 2. The problem was that Wayne was in deep with his drugs. Courtney was overwhelmed. She was faced with an impossible situation of keeping the family together in a new city with no idea of what/where/when in regards to available services and resources. Living in a tent took all her planning skills and turned them into survival decision making. Her task was to just get through the day.
The month of hotel stay donated by the community of Facing Homelessness was an important new beginning. It gave Courtney time to think, to plan. She went into high-gear to get her family back into housing.
From the motel stays on Aurora Avenue they moved into Nickelsville Tent City on Dearborn. Winter was coming and it was hard on everyone. From there they moved into the YWCA Sutton Suite in Tukwila, then to the YWCA Willows in the New Holly neighborhood, and then to the YWCA Windermere House on Capitol Hill, across from Garfield High School. Each time Courtney was working to better their living conditions. During that time Courtney received her Section 8 Family Unification Voucher and was able to find a three bedroom at Denny Park Apartments run by LIHI. They had a view of the Space Needle! While the apartment was nice, the drug-dealing below on the street was not working for her. In 2018 they moved again into another LIHI building in the Greenwood neighborhood, where they live today.
Addy, Athena, and Aiden in 2014 - Credit: Rex Hohlbein
Courtney and Addy in 2021 - Credit: Rex Hohlbein
Wayne and Addy in 2018 - Credit: Rex Hohlbein
Courtney in 2021 - Credit: Rex Hohlbein