My name is Stacey Bentley. I am the ISBH Housing Program Specialist for Athens County, and have been blessed with this job for about 7 months now. I was born and raised here in Athens County. I have lived here my entire life and from a very young age I have always wanted to make a difference here at home. I have always set out to leave the world better than I found it. I met the love of my life in the 6th grade, and when I was 19 years old we got married and started our family here. Our children, Hunter (age 15) and Lily (age 8) are growing up right here where we did. We spent a lot of years taking for granted the time we had with our family, until two years ago this past Fathers Day when my father-in-law had a massive stroke and almost died. He was in the hospital for two months before being released to home. This was a huge adjustment for my mother-in-law, as my father-in-law was the primary financial provider and took care of making sure all of their bills were paid. Once he was unable to do so, I helped my mother-in-law navigate those tasks that he could no longer take care of. We spent that entire summer making modifications to the family home to make sure it was accessible for him when he came home as he was unable to walk long distances or use stairs. Two weeks after he came home from the hospital they tragically lost their home to an electrical fire. This fire left my mother and father-in-law, brother-in-law, and niece and nephew homeless. The Red Cross of course put them up in a hotel for a little while, but that money eventually ran out and they were referred to the housing program here at ISBH. I helped my family navigate the HCRP program, helping them search for a home and a landlord that would accept payment from the program, and helped them move in once they found that home. I was truly touched by everything that the housing program had done for my family. Fast forward almost two years and I saw a job posting on Indeed for a Housing Program Specialist at Integrated Services. I felt compelled to apply, with hopes that maybe if offered the position, I could help other folks who are battling homelessness find a safe and stable home just like my family did. Not every day is easy in this position. Sometimes you hear of situations that make your heart hurt so much that you could cry, but every single day is worth it. There is no bigger reward than handing someone the keys to a home, so they have a safe place to sleep at night.

Thank you,
Stacey Bentley

Housing Program Specialist
Integrated Services for Behavioral Health
sbentley@isbh.org
Cell: 740.856.0452