Donation provides new life

A stroke ravaged Myrna Swaney’s health and stole her independence.

In spite of a traumatic journey that led to a permanent disability and two agonizing years in an assisted living facility, the 60-year-old has a place of her own and a chance at a new life.

She credits her newfound independence to an unusual donation that provided access to an affordable apartment in a desirable Spokane Valley complex.

Her apartment is one of eight on loan to the Spokane Valley Community Center by a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based landlord, who asked to remain anonymous.

The units generate a rental income for the center, which charges tenants $250 to $500 a month, based on household income and apartment size.

People who qualify receive safe, affordable housing for half to two-thirds the usual cost of rent.

“I couldn’t be more thankful. This gives me the chance to look ahead and see a future,” said Swaney, who plans to plant a container garden and start physical therapy.

Center Director Mollie Dalpae met the property owner over a year ago. At the time he was donating to multiple charities, but proposed the unusual noncash donation: the use of vacant apartment units.

The donation helps fill a growing gap in affordable housing, Dalpae said, because cheap rentals often are unsafe or have hidden costs, such as high heat bills.

Additionally, federal dollars that help poor people in Washington pay for housing were cut by $9 million this year.

With more than 4,000 area households waiting for rental assistance, the donated apartments provide a private response to a public housing crisis.

Renters participate in budgeting and life skills classes, and work with Dalpae to ensure the apartments are well tended.

Swaney, who uses a wheelchair, calls her new home life-saving.

Thirteen years ago she quit a management position at Safeway Food and Drug to care for her stroke-disabled mother. Swaney lost her mom several years ago, then her husband divorced her, forcing the sale of their five-bedroom home.

She reinvented her life and, at age 57, enrolled in accounting classes at Spokane Community College. Four months later, the stroke hit.

Unable to walk or use her left arm, she landed in an assisted-living facility. One by one, her newfound friends at the facility passed away. Because living quarters lacked space, familiar possessions, including her extensive Elvis collection, were boxed up.

With no kitchen, she was unable cook, a former passion.

The turning point came when Swaney was hospitalized for severe depression. She was evaluated by a caseworker from the Spokane County Supportive Living Program, which helps people with mental illness transition from hospitals to independence.

The caseworker and Dalpae secured a ground-floor unit for Swaney, who lives on $573 a month in disability.

Today, the tidy apartment is furnished with dried flower arrangements, Elvis-theme artwork and photos of Swaney’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Her 11-year-old granddaughter, Katie, visited this weekend, she said, smiling broadly.

“Now we can bake cookies like we always did before I had the stroke.”

Dalpae hopes to bring other landlords on board, saying the affordable housing has been life-changing – and not just for Swaney.

Tethra Wales, who graduated from Whitworth College in 1999 and took a job at Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery, loved working with the children. But her salary wasn’t enough to pay living expenses and still make payments on $40,000 in student loans.

Necessities, such as a winter coat, were suddenly unaffordable.

Instead of declaring bankruptcy, she moved into a dingy basement apartment with barred windows and toughed it out.

“It was a total fire hazard,” she recalled.

Between juggling bills, doing without regular meals and working, Wales was emotionally exhausted when Dalpae secured her an apartment.

“It just helps to have someone come and say, ‘It’s going to be okay,’ ” Wales said. “I worked in social work on the other side and never expected to be a recipient of it.”

Since moving into the apartment a year ago, Wales has found a good-paying job and caught up on her bills. She credits the landlord’s donation with changing her life.

“He has just been so generous,” she said. “He was thinking outside the box and created an amazing opportunity.”