Margie gets up early. Before flocks of commuters bustle into downtown Seattle, she moves with purpose through the streets of Belltown on her way to meetings, educational programs, or to volunteer.  

For Margie, starting the day early is an old habit, which provided consistency while she was going through homelessness. 

 

“Within that three-year period, we had to keep flipping around to find different shelters. So, myself and others, we’ve been in quite a few,” Margie explained. “There are situations that cause you to get up and move, get up and move.” 

But then there was a glimmer of hope. It turned out the rumors Margie had been hearing were true: Plymouth Housing was constructing a sober living apartment building for people who had experienced homelessness. In fact, she’d been watching it progress—the building was underway just a short walk from the shelter she was staying at. 

“We’d heard about the Pat Williams coming about,” Margie recalled. “But I stood right in front of the hole, had no clue that it was going to be sitting right there. We would walk around it daily, seeing them build onto it a little at a time. I had no idea myself and seven others would be the first picked to move in.” 

For Margie, moving into permanent housing after so many years was both exciting and overwhelming. 

“The first thing that comes to mind is: a lot of work. It was like ‘Oh jeez! I gotta put stuff in the refrigerator. Oh man, what else should I do? Oh shoot, get a pet—oh, nevermind that,’” she chuckled, her laughter filling the room. “I mean, you’re all over the place. And people go, ‘Oh my god, there’s something different about you.’” 

Seven years later, Margie’s still in awe at the building’s early days.

“I never in my life waited for a building to be finished to move into. It was amazing, when they first got done with it, it was like a new car smell… They worked hard for us when we moved in, it was like something I had never seen before.”

In 2016, Margie had reached a level of stability in her recovery and with her housing, so she moved into a different specialized Plymouth building, which is tailored to seniors.

“With the… different needs that most of the people have that are 65 and older, it’s important to have supportive staff,” she explained. The building has an on-site nurse and programming for seniors.

And residents at the building form a community around their common experiences, which shows in big and small ways.

“The circumstances that a lot of [my neighbors] have gone through, I say ‘Wow, that sounds familiar.’ I looked at one of my neighbors and I said ‘Well, we can be family.’ Sometimes if one needs medication or something and I’m not doing anything, I’ll go get it. People have done the same for me.”

“One of my neighbors might cook something and say, ‘Oh, I want you to taste this.’ …It just blows your mind. I mean, the smallest thing, of having a conversation with somebody in the elevator.”

In addition to feeling joy and fulfillment from her community, Margie also finds it in her art. She works with Plymouth partner Path with Art, and even had one of her pieces on display in the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art. 

“The [art] is very therapeutic, especially with clay. I told a friend of mine, ‘If you can, get a hold of clay,’ because there’s a few people in her family that deal with depression and I have it too. And when you’re using your hands to mold something, it just knocks some of that out.… Many years ago, I was going ‘I don’t do stuff like this.’ Surprise!” 

And that’s not the only change that amazes her when she reflects on her life. 

“It still blows my mind that I’m this far with housing,” she shared. “But I’ve been consistent from 2013 to now because of Plymouth.” 

We’re so thankful Margie found a home with us. Learn more about her in our 2019 Seattle Dances video.