Take the Next Step helps people who need a leg up

For those who face poverty and homelessness, assistance without support is no solution. At Take the Next Step in Monroe, people can find services they need as well as figure out their next move.

“Our clients often don’t know where to turn, or what their next step in life is,” said Janos Kendall, program director.

Run out of a small house owned by Monroe Covenant Church, Take the Next Step offers frontline, immediate assistance to people, while also helping them connect with services offered through other organizations.

Getting help at Take the Next Step is easy.

“We are not an agency. We do not have criteria that have to be met to receive services,” Kendall said. “We get to know the people that come here, we build trust with them, and we try to help their specific needs.”

This helps people feel more comfortable to come and seek assistance in a home environment.

“When you come here, you are never judged,” said Matt Wright, a homeless veteran. “People have their demons, their vices. That is all overlooked.”

Drug use, abuse, violence, and alcohol are not allowed on the premises, but at Take the Next Step, only people’s needs are seen, Wright said.

In 2004 Everett Community College GED instructor Donna Olsen asked her students to compile a resource notebook for impoverished families. What they found were a lot of dead ends. A lot of resources didn’t exist any more or had no money to provide services.

From her class’s work, she took the idea to her church, Monroe Covenant, which supported her and donated the house used for most of the program’s operations.

That first year, Take the Next Step helped 438 people. Today, it provides services to more than 8,000 men, women and children. The non-profit has a budget of about $120,000 through grants and donations.

This year, Take the Next Step received a $20,000 grant from the Greater Everett Community Foundation specifically earmarked to fund services for homeless teens.

That funds Kidz Club, an after-school program for at-risk youth. Kidz Club helps kids stay in school, assists in getting identification cards for dropouts who want to return to school, and helps older teens find after-school jobs.

“Many might say they are just runaways, out looking for a good time. The truth is they come from troubled homes. They are runaways, but they are trying to get away from trouble,” said Laron Olson, a board member.

For adults, the focus is on mentorship to get people to lift themselves out of poverty, Wright said. His story is an example.

Wright had the chance to be a role model for someone else, which in turn helped him in his life.

“After years of receiving services, Janos approached me with the opportunity to watch out for this kid,” Wright said.

Last year, Wright was paired with an autistic homeless youth, Jake, 19, and they moved into housing together. With help from Take the Next Step, Jake was able to go back to school, and Wright became responsible for getting him there. Jake graduated high school and reconnected with his family.

Before then, Wright had turned down other housing options because of the restrictions that come with low-income housing. As a veteran, Wright qualified for disability housing, which he declined because accepting disability housing meant he would not be allowed to work. This was an opportunity to get him into housing and give his own life purpose.

“I consider it an honor to be able to give back to a community that has given so much to me,” Wright said.

Kendall has a similar story. She knows the value of having people believe in you.

“Sometimes support is better than a handout,” she said.

Growing up, she became a survivor of violent crime and family trauma. She dropped out of school after ninth grade, and cared for a nephew after her brother was killed in a car crash. She came to Take the Next Step and was able to complete her GED, and went on to earn her A.A. from Everett Community College and her B.A. in human services from Western Washington University.

During her time at Western, she interned with Take the Next Step. After she graduated, she was granted a continuing internship, and was later hired on as the director after her predecessor retired.

“I have been able to succeed with support, because there was suddenly someone there, where there was never anyone before,” Kendall said. “People can come here to the drop-in center and talk with volunteers to work through some of their barriers, and figure out what’s next and how to meet that goal.”

Andrew Gobin: 425-339-3000 ext. 5461; agobin@heraldnet.com

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Lynnwood
Crash in Lynnwood fully blocks Highway 99

The crash, on Highway 99 at 176th Street SW, fully blocked southbound lanes. Traffic was diverted to 168th Street SW.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett will welcome new CEO in June

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Search underway to find missing Everett child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday morning at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive.

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.