Pete and Maria were about to be evicted. Then came United Way.

Pete and Maria were about to be evicted after they both lost their jobs in the early months of the pandemic. They couldn’t go back to work full-time to make ends meet while their two young children were in online schooling.  

Just as they were getting back on track, the whole family contracted COVID and had to quarantine, putting them even further behind on rent. United Way’s STEP (Strategic Targeted Eviction Prevention) program was able to wipe their rent debt clean so they could focus on getting ahead in their lives.  

STEP identifies communities most in need and it steers resources to historically marginalized groups. We’ve helped thousands of hard-working families just like this one, who fell behind on rent and became at risk of homelessness through no fault of their own.

“This made everything—EVERYTHING—better. I don’t have to break my back and arms and lets working 80 hours a week to pay the back rent.” 

–STEP recipient 

Here’s an update on the powerful results of the STEP program through June 2022: 

Help keep a family in their home today with your donation to our housing fund.

To learn more about the STEP program and see the latest results, visit uwcm.org/STEP.