Tiffany Salese - Breaking the Cycle for My Children

By Joseph L. Mitchell, DOC Communications Office

Tiffany Salese and her daughter Dakota

When Tiffany Salese was released from the Washington Corrections Center for Women in December 2004, she had taken advantage of all the programs offered by the facility to help her successfully transition back into the community.

“I tried to turn myself around and get all the training I could while I was there,” said Salese, a 39 year-old mother of three. “I completed my GED, took some college courses, learned basic computer skills and got some therapy.”

Tiffany had a desire to change, but the community resources she needed to sustain herself after being released from prison were not available.

“I wound up being homeless,” she said.

In November 2005 Salese sought help from the Tacoma Rescue Mission, a Christian faith-based organization that provides emergency food and shelter to the homeless as well as self-sufficiency and prevention programs designed to help lift people from poverty and break the chains of addiction. Tiffany entered their family shelter and soon after was accepted into one of the mission’s transitional housing programs.

“I took every course that was offered, I volunteered my time and I met people who supported me,” said Salese.

Marlene Hamilton, Tacoma Rescue Mission Director of Women’s Ministries became one of Tiffany’s mentors.

“Tiffany didn’t go for the mundane and ordinary,” said Hamilton. “She threw her whole spirit into it. She was like a sponge soaking up encouragement and direction for her life and accepting what she was taught about leadership skills, people skills, being a mom and being a friend.”

Tiffany was encouraged to apply for a shift supervisor position at the family shelter. She was hired and began to work her way up. Tiffany recently became Assistant Director of Tyler Square, a transitional housing and family life program operated by the mission. Tyler Square serves twenty-seven formerly homeless families who want to make the transition to permanent housing. Their services include case management, basic life skills and family literacy classes, GED testing and college preparation, healthcare and counseling, employment preparation, life management skills, and clean and sober living.

“I meet with clients on a one to one basis, manage the units, coordinate volunteers and work on the budget, administer breathalyzers and urine analyses, and mentor women in the New Life recovery program,” said Salese. “I can bring hope to the woman and families here by letting them know that if I can make it, you can make it. I feel like I am able to give back. I have a heart to help others. When I see others succeed it helps me to heal.”

Last spring, Tiffany shared her story at a fundraiser for the mission’s Adam Square Project, an emergency shelter, transitional housing and recovery program being developed for women. The event was attended by 1,000 people.

“I am very proud of Tiffany,” said DOC Offender Grievance Program Manager Devon Schrum. “She has come a long way.”

Prior to becoming a program manager, Schrum was a sergeant who supervised Tiffany’s living unit at WCCW. A few years after Tiffany’s release, their roles were reversed and Tiffany found herself supervising Schrum’s internship at the Tacoma Rescue Mission.

“I was pursuing a degree in human services and management and had to complete a one hundred hour internship,” said Schrum. “Tiffany was a shift supervisor at the family shelter. She was also responsible for interviewing and hiring people like me who were completing internships there.”

Schrum said she had telephone conversations about the internship with Salese but didn’t recognize who it was until she showed up for her interview.

“She accepted me as an intern, supervised my work and wrote my evaluation,” said Scrum. “Tiffany was great at holding people accountable for following the rules of the shelter. She reminds me of myself.”

“People do change,” said Salese. “It’s up to them to want to change. It’s a process. It doesn’t happen overnight. You have to work hard at it to achieve it. My greatest success has been to break the cycle of my former life for my children so that they don’t live the way I used to.”

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