Paulett came to Nantucket from Jamaica in 2006 on a seasonal employment visa. She worked in the back-of-the-house at island restaurants and performed cleaning services at various hotels. She returned to Jamaica for the winters until 2013, when a month before she was going to leave to work on Nantucket for the summer, her house in Jamaica burned down. To recover from this devastating loss, Paulett decided she needed a fresh start. She would try living on Nantucket year-round.

Like many people in Nantucket’s seasonal workforce, Paulett relied on her employer to provide her with housing. While there is no comprehensive inventory of employer-owned housing on Nantucket, several private employers are known to provide short-term or seasonal housing for their workers. Most of the beds are reserved for experienced hospitality workers returning to Nantucket for the summer season.

Shared employer housing was not ideal for Paulett, but she could not find a private year-round rental she could afford. She gratefully took the employer housing, then worked extra hours washing dishes at various restaurants, cleaning the dance floor at a local nightclub, and housekeeping at a hotel. She worked long hours during the peak season, knowing that during the winter money would be tight. When the season ended, her employer housing ended too. She couldn’t find another rental, so she left the island to stay with family until work picked up on Nantucket again.

In 2015, Paulett applied for a year-round rental at Housing Nantucket. She remained on the Ready-to-Rent list, hoping that her turn would come soon.

In the meantime, Paulett expanded her skill set to include health care. She became a home health aide and eventually a Certified Nursing Assistant. She got a per diem job at Our Island Home. She liked where her career was going, but in addition to her health care job, she always had to keep a service job that came with housing. Holding several jobs at once took a delicate balance to manage her time and energy. Eventually, Paulett’s job that provided housing came to an end. The employers needed her to vacate, but there was no place for her to go.

“I was devastated and felt very awkward,” said Paulett. “There was a lot of pressure on me to leave, and I felt so out of place. At one point, I had nowhere to sleep, so I sat up all night with friends at their job. I kept checking with Housing Nantucket to see if there were any vacancies. Finally, after 5 years on the Ready-to-Rent list, I was told I was being considered for a vacancy.”

Paulett refreshed her application materials, verified her employment history and provided her most recent tax returns. Paulett’s references checked out, and Andrew Mulcahy, Housing Nantucket’s Program Manager, offered her a home. Paulett has become one of our success stories.

“Each time I talk to Andrew,” said Paulett, “I tell him how grateful I am. A lot of my struggles are over now. I don’t have to think about finding somewhere to live, and that’s such a relief. I appreciate this opportunity so much.”

Read more success stories here.