In the News

At 50 years old, Chris Doty of Bothell faced homelessness.

Once a successful plumber of 30 years, Doty, like many others during the recession, found himself laid off with the fear of losing his house, car and “everything that normal people have.”

“I found myself not being able to support myself and for the first time in my life and I was scared,” Doty said. “I ended up losing my family. I lost my house. I lost my car and I was homeless for a while.”

But he didn’t know what else he could do, the construction industry had taken a hit.

That is, until he walked through Lake Washington Institute of Technology’s doors.

“I thought there might be an outside chance I could get a loan or something but I had no idea all this stuff was offered to me,” Doty said, who is now enrolled as a multimedia design and production student. “It was just incredible.”

That “stuff” is encompassed in the Basic Food, Employment and Training program, or BFET.

BFET is a federally funded program designed to support students who are receiving food stamps. The partnership with YWCA and DSHS allows students, who are not participating in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, an avenue to get the education needed for a career.

Students who enroll in BFET can receive benefits that may include money for books, childcare assistance, eligibility for food stamps, personal support, career planning and more.

The program is currently offered at many Washington colleges and vocational schools.

It’s this model that Congresswoman Suzan DelBene is working hard to implement nationwide through the Farm Bill this month, despite the many controversial funding cuts currently on the table.

“I have in the Farm bill right now, in the version that passed the House, an expansion of this program in other states across the country because Washington’s program has been so successful,” DelBene said at a roundtable meeting with LWIT students and officials on Nov. 26.

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