Jovanda Taylor had filled out more than 20 job applications by the time she walked into Maison de Lafayette. She and her boyfriend, Kevin Washington, had been living in their truck with their two dogs for over a month. Taylor, who is from New Orleans, had moved to Houston after her mother died. “I just wanted to start something new,” she told KATC. The plan fell apart on a technicality: her certification as a certified nursing assistant didn’t transfer across state lines, which meant the credential she had built a career on was worthless the moment she crossed into Texas. She and Washington found Houston too fast-paced and came back to Louisiana, where the work still didn’t materialize. A move and a miracle “We couldn’t find any work. We would go to food pantries. That was our excitement,” she said. They slept in the truck, rearranging it each night. “We would move all the front seats and position them so we would be able to sleep in. So we would put everything to the back, pad this out, and this will be our bedroom for the night.” They moved to Lafayette and she kept applying. Maison de Lafayette, a nursing and rehabilitation center, was the one that called back. “I was about to give up, but I continued to apply, and I got a call back from Maison de Lafayette,” she said. She cleaned herself up at a rest stop and went in. Wendy King, the hiring manager, noticed that Taylor had left the permanent address field blank. That omission is the kind of thing that ends a lot of applications quietly, without the applicant ever knowing why. Taylor decided to answer it directly instead. “I pulled her to the side and said, ‘I’m homeless, living in my truck, and I need help,'” Taylor said. A woman fills out a job application. Photo credit: lulian Catalin’s Images via Canva. King sat down with her. She had contact information for Terrance St. Julian, who runs a local nonprofit called Pay It Forward, Lending A Helping Hand, which works with unhoused residents in the area. Taylor called him. Between the nonprofit and the facility, the couple were put up in a hotel for a month. Taylor also got the job. She started the following Monday. Helping someone in need Terry Gros, an administrator at Maison de Lafayette, said the response was deliberate. “She was in dire straits. Obviously, she and her partner needed more than just a job; they needed a way to be safe. We asked what she needed, and we mobilized resources to support her.” “I’ve been trying so hard to land something,” Taylor said. “To walk in here and fill the void that we needed, just a big blessing.” King’s summary was shorter: “I’m so glad we gave Jovanda a chance.” Taylor and Washington are now looking for an apartment. The post She applied for a job while living in her truck. She left with the job and a place to sleep. appeared first on Upworthy.