Emotional stability begins at home
Upper Valley MEND Housing Manager Kathia Wan Mendizabal in front of one of the rental units she manages in Leavenworth.
MEND Housing Manager Kathia Wan Mendizabal first learned the importance of stable housing in Peru, where she’s from. For three years, she worked for the Ministry of Education, traveling around the country and collecting data to help the government better understand why Peru has one of the lowest education rates in the world.
“I realized that there are many factors within a family that could affect their wellbeing—that could reduce their ability to care for their children.”
She discovered that housing was one of those factors.
“I just feel like housing is a big risk factor in the family. If you don’t have stable housing, that can affect a lot,” says Kathia, who has an undergraduate degree in psychology and a master’s in child psychology. “It’s a big risk for the emotional development of the kids if they don’t have it.”
When Kathia started working at Upper Valley MEND in July 2023, MEND already had a homeownership program using the Community Land Trust model. The model allows families that may not otherwise be able to afford to buy to become homeowners.
New rental units and a new job
In addition to the homeownership program, MEND was about to acquire 31 rental units within the Leavenworth area—Kathia took the job knowing that all those homeowners and tenants would become her responsibility. Together with MEND’s Executive Director, Kaylin Bettinger, she created new leases and policies from scratch for the rental units. She took advantage of as much training as she could to learn the ins and outs of providing much-needed housing in the Upper Valley.
“I feel like the rental housing project is mine,” she said. “I grew into my job with it.”
One of the trainings Kathia recently completed was a conflict mediation training.
“That training helps me deal with disputes among the homeowners and renters. I’m now participating more in meetings by actively listening to what’s being said instead of immediately jumping in to trying to fix the problem. Even if you think it’s a crazy idea, you need to let them reach an agreement themselves.”
One of the challenges Kathia has faced is educating both the tenants and the public on the kind of rentals MEND provides. Many people aren’t aware that MEND’s housing is not subsidized housing—rentals whose rates are lower because the Housing Authority covers some of the costs. Instead, MEND’s rentals are considered affordable housing—the rent is lower than many other options on the market. MEND tries to keep rates as low as possible while still bringing in enough to be able to pay for the cost of upkeep and maintenance. This includes updating some of the units, which are 40 years old.
Recently, Kathia had to get a quote to replace a cracked bathtub in one of the units. The work will cost $5000 total. “That’s the monthly rent for six tenants.”
Kathia is confident the tenants know how much work MEND does to make sure their homes are safe and comfortable.
“I think the tenants are satisfied—they see all the work we’re doing, and they really appreciate it,” she said. “That fills my heart with joy.”
Since MEND has several programs under a single umbrella, Kathia is able to refer tenants and potential tenants to other resources within the organization as needed.
“If someone has a poor credit score, I connect them with {Liz Hurtado, MEND’s social worker} or another organization to help them improve their credit. I put them on the waitlist for housing and tell them that, if they start to work on it now, their credit could be improved enough to qualify by the time a rental becomes available. With MEND, there’s more hope.”
Yet even with all the units available, there still aren’t enough houses or rentals for all the people in the area who qualify for and need them.
“I wish we could have more housing, even if it’s more work for me,” said Kathia. “More rental units, and more houses for people who want to own homes in the Upper Valley.”