Living in a truck for a month, then a job and a home

Jovanda Taylor had filled out more than 20 job applications by the time she walked into Maison de Lafayette, a nursing and rehabilitation center in Louisiana. She and her boyfriend, Kevin Washington, had been living in their truck with their two dogs for over a month, rearranging the front seats each night to make room to sleep. Taylor, a certified nursing assistant from New Orleans, had lost her career on a technicality when her credential failed to transfer to Texas. During the interview, hiring manager Wendy King noticed the permanent address field was blank. Taylor answered it directly. "I pulled her to the side and said, 'I'm homeless, living in my truck, and I need help,'" she said. King sat down with her and called Terrance St. Julian, who runs a local nonprofit for unhoused residents. Between the two, the couple got a hotel for a month. Taylor got the job. She started that Monday.