by Cory Johnson, Communications Intern ’25-26 (he/him) Boise, ID ’23-24 & Anchorage, AK ’24-25
Asking around, most of the staff at Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) can’t recall a time before they hosted a Jesuit Volunteer (JV).
There’s just always been someone to help build tiny homes, plan family events, and bring along a community mate to march with LIHI in Seattle’s Pride parade, so it seems. And while the JV changes each year, the staff can rattle off names of a decade’s worth of JVs they’ve hosted, all that’ve left a real impact at the organization.
Granted, it’s not all that hard to remember the JVs when many of them tend to stick around. There’s two former Jesuit Volunteers now on full-time staff. Tan Macaraeg (Seattle Cherry Abbey ‘23-24) knew three months into their service year they wanted to stay in Seattle. When a staff position opened, it was a perfect mutual fit.
That let them work alongside the next JV, Mairin Couch (Seattle Mercy ‘24-25). As her term wound down, she thought she’d find a different service role in another new city. Then it hit her.
“I looked around and thought ‘wait’. Everyone here at LIHI is someone that I care about, and we’re working towards something that I also care about. I just realized how awesome it was, and that if someone’s ready to invest their time and money back into you, then you should take that,” Mairin said.
Tan said it was at the regional JV retreat that a facilitator introduced the idea that they didn’t have to have everything figured out, they just had to do the ‘next best thing’. Staying at LIHI was a natural next step, allowing them to stay in a community and role they’ve found purpose in.
It also allowed them to continue to support the JVs, serving as an In-Locale Coordinator, to help welcome and support JVs in the Seattle Mercy house as they navigate their new community. Then, it allowed them to expand JVC Northwest’s partnership with LIHI once again.
“Advocacy is the unsung hero of what we do. In the housing and homelessness ecosystem, we can’t do what we do without advocacy. We wouldn’t have funding without it,” Tan said. “I could see that they really needed support. There’s so much to do. So I worked hard to help write a position because I knew from my own experience we could get another JV and it could be super beneficial to them and to us as an org.”
"... I knew from my own experience we could get another JV and it could be super beneficial to them and to us as an org..."
The new housing advocacy and community engagement coordinator position was approved by JVC Northwest and posted as an Independent position. Using funding from outside the Americorps grant allows this JV to do direct advocacy like testifying in support of rental assistance funding in front of Seattle City Council and organizing community advisory committees in LIHI’s tiny house villages.
At first, Cara Williams (Seattle Mercy ‘25-26), a 2025 Boston College graduate, had reservations about this position during the matching process. But, she took the leap to interview and accepted the position. Both she and LIHI have found the new role to be a rewarding fit with her public health degree.
“It has been the perfect combination of what I was looking for, because it’s very much all the things that have meant so much to me about service combined with professional development” she said. “It all comes back to policy that promotes health. When I left school, it was that policy that I was really interested in now I’m here seeing it in action.”
She serves with a fellow BC grad, Molly Hardiman (Seattle Cabrini ‘25-26), who took over the longstanding JV role of Tiny House Villages Essential Needs Coordinator. The two regularly share notes, learning from each other’s service and the many places they find community in Seattle.
“It’s so cool to see an empty lot become home to a tiny house village and how all the intricacies of all the different people from every department play such an important role,” Molly said. “Some days I’m running around and never step in the office and I love that. I love getting to meet people all over the city, including Tan, my supervisor Amanda, everyone at LIHI who’s just so supportive.”
LIHI is one of 62 non-profit partner agencies currently hosting a JV through Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest. JVs help respond to local needs and build capacity of organizations throughout Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington to further their missions. Partner agency applications are open now through November 18, 2025 at https://jvcnorthwest.org/request-a-jesuit-volunteer/.
