Sam Sauer has been a committed, compassionate member of Plymouth’s staff since she joined us in 2003. She started in the Rental Office, back when Plymouth maintained our own waiting list for housing. While Sam enjoyed her work in the Rental Office, she moved on to the often behind-the-scenes work of Compliance a few years later.

The Compliance department is responsible for helping to analyze the many funding sources that are blended within Plymouth’s buildings so that we lease apartments and report on operations accurately for our investors and community partners.

“[Compliance’s role is] ensuring that we meet our regulatory agreements,” Sam said. It’s a complex process which is essential to fulfilling our mission.

“As long as we have clean reports, we are able to continue to provide safe and affordable housing,” Sam explained.

Sam works with residents as part of reporting, but she has also led projects at Plymouth that let her work more closely with residents.

She fondly remembers managing the move of residents out of a Plymouth building when it needed renovations. She had to build trust with an entire apartment building of people, most of whom she and her colleague Jennifer hadn’t yet met.

“We didn’t know who anybody was, so we’d show up to the building and just have to introduce ourselves to people,” Sam said.

But they got to know the 50 residents well in the year it took to help residents transition into new apartments. “There was all a bunch of characters that were at the building… We had a lot of laughs,” Sam remembered.

And Sam got to know one character especially well, who needed lots of support in her move.

“She was somebody that was well known around Plymouth, she would make her rounds,” Sam said. “And she was a doctor, she wrote books, she was a professor in her previous years.”

The resident was resistant to leaving. She had lived in the building for many years, had mobility issues and a hoarding disorder, meaning she would need a lot of help cleaning her apartment before she moved. But the resident was hesitant to let them in at first.

“We spent months and months and months talking to her through the door, and finally getting her to agree to let us come in,” Sam shared.

After almost a year of relationship building, the resident agreed to relocate to another Plymouth apartment, where she still lives today. And the connection that Sam and the resident made has persisted.

“We spent so much time with her, and then we’d go visit her [after she moved.] She’s one of our favorite people,” Sam smiled. “She sends Jennifer and I Christmas cards, and we’ll check in with her.”

That level of care and empathy makes Plymouth’s mission so special to Sam.

“What’s compelling to me is that we come from a compassionate place,” Sam said.

And while compassion has always been at the core of our work, it has taken clearer form over the years.

“Trauma-informed care is huge. And that kind of evolved over time, because when I first worked here that language wasn’t ever used… That has definitely brought a different element to Plymouth, for both staff and tenants,” Sam said.

“Instead of looking at someone as broken, it’s like: What did they go through? And even if you don’t know, you’re looking at it through this different lens, [rather] than having this expectation that something’s wrong with them. I think that’s huge, especially working with tenants who probably have so much trauma from being homeless.”

Sam also reflected on the rise in homelessness Seattle has seen in the last few years, spurred by a rising cost of living and lack of affordable housing. She acknowledged that a path forward requires creativity and a range of solutions, but said she was glad Plymouth is doing our part so successfully.

“Our mission is to provide safe, affordable housing to the most vulnerable folks in our community. I’m glad that Plymouth has a niche, and as long as we continue to focus on that… we will continue to be successful at getting more people off the street.”