In today's House Community Development, Housing & Tribal Affairs Committee Work Session, single mother and veteran Mindy Woods gave an eye-opening testimony of her experience with homelessness in Lynnwood, Washington. The full transcript of her testimony and more information after the jump.

"Homelessness can happen to anybody. It takes one health crisis. One job loss. One divorce. And that’s all that it takes."

Good morning. Representative McCoy and members of the committee--Thank you for giving me an opportunity to tell my story this morning.

My name is Melinda Woods, and I'm a single mother of Darrien, my 16 year old son. I am also a Veteran. I served for 3 yrs in the Navy and was deployed to the Persian Gulf. Today, my son and I have a home.

But it’s a constant struggle to avoid homelessness.

Our challenges began in 2010. We were living in an apartment in Lynwood, Washington.

I work out of my home, because I have health challenges that prevent me from working a traditional job. I have a small business doing house and pet sitting. That year was tough. My regular clients were feeling the downfall of the economy. They traveled less. And that meant my income suffered.

I was spending more time at home, and so was my son. He kept getting sick.

The more we were at home, the sicker we got.

It wasn’t long before we realized that our apartment was the problem. We were seeing little black spots everywhere. Our apartment had become infested with black mold.

We evacuated and move in with a friend. We lost all our belongings, including our furniture, to the mold. We had our clothes and a few small appliances left.

After eight months of being doubled-up we had to leave. We had no place to go. I don't have any family in the area. Living out of our car was also not an option.

You see, my son Darrien has Type 1 diabetes, which means he's insulin dependent, and insulin needs to be refrigerated. It also means that he has to eat nutritious food at regular intervals to feel his best.

Each day after dropping Darrien off at school, I spent hours in the far corner of the parking lot where no one could see me. It was there that over and over again I made more than 25 calls a day looking for a shelter or some sort of emergency housing in Snohomish or King county.

I could not believe that living in the United States of America, there wasn't a place to accommodate the two of us. I was hard working, I had served my country and always tried to help out those less fortunate than myself – but there I was, homeless!

We spent four more months bouncing from couch to couch between a few of my friends. I finally got an appointment with a YWCA, and started my intake process for their program called Pathways for Women.

One month later we were finally able to get a spot in their program. At the beginning we were put up in a local motel and then later in shelter. That was the one and only place that could accommodate us – a family.

I tried to hold my head up high and be strong in front of my son, but it wasn't easy. Being homeless left me feeling humiliated and ashamed. I didn't want anyone to know, except for the few people that were allowing us to sleep on their couches.

It is very humbling to admit that you need help. I learned to accept of the kindness of strangers and saw the other homeless families that we met as my support system. And I am truly grateful for the YWCA program, which is funded by the Washington Families Fund.

I am stable now. In a few months, I will receive a housing voucher and will move into permanent housing. I have rebuilt my home businesses and have added a third so that I can make ends meet and provide a home for my son. I’m active advocating on behalf of health care issues. I volunteer to help people who are newly homeless.

But deep down I still feel frustrated. How could so many intelligent, hard-working people be out on the streets in this country? I’ve spent time in third world counties where this is happening. But how is it that homelessness exists in one of the most well off countries in the world. How can we spend so much money on political agendas, but leave our own citizens out in the dark? It just doesn’t make sense to me.

The reason I agreed to be here today and am no longer ashamed to tell my story over and over again is because of that frustration. I am committed to playing a role in ending homelessness, and I believe that everyone in this room has a role, too.

What I know is that homelessness can happen to anyone, and no one is immune. One health crisis, one job loss, one divorce – that’s all it takes.

Thank you.

Mindy's experience is typical of the many stories we hear from residents across Washington. Many people with a decent job and stable income find themselves homeless because of that one crisis or series of crises that push them into housing instability. Mindy's story also touches on so many of our state legislative lead priorities. When Mindy discovered mold in her apartment was negatively impacting her son's health, she chose to vacate her home. For many tenants, the choice to leave their home makes more sense than availing themselves of existing tenant protection laws, which can lead to a permanent eviction mark on their records. Learn more about our efforts to fix this here. Instead, she began couch-surfing with friends while looking for an apartment. Mindy's four-month search for affordable housing yielded no results. In Washington State there's simply not enough affordable housing for everyone who needs it. Learn more about funding for building affordable housing here.

Thanks to the YWCA Pathways for Women program supported by the Washington Families Fund, Mindy's story does have a happy ending. She was eventually able to move into stable housing for her and her teenage son.

Help us ensure more happy endings for families in Mindy's situation. Learn more about the Washington Families Fund and the rest of our State Legislative Agenda here.

You can also hear more about Mindy's story and others who have been helped by the Washington Families Fund in this Building Changes video: