Discover the dedication and integrity of the Beyond Housing staff, who provide a safe and supportive environment for those in need.
Z’a’Chere Stringfellow Story
They wanted a place to live—but they found a source of lifelong enrichment
Although she moved from her Beyond Housing residence three years ago, Z’a’Chere Stringfellow still keeps a close eye on the nonprofit’s social media feeds. She’s inspired by what she sees: the entrepreneurship sessions, eateries in Carter Commons, activity around the 24:1 Cinema, and more.
“I am so in awe of what they stand for,” she said. “St. Louis and North County are so lucky to have this foundation of support.”
Ms. Stringfellow learned about Beyond Housing in 2009 when she visited a friend who lived in one of its rental homes. “I saw how lovely the home was, how well kept up it was, that it was less than five years old and in a good area,” she recalled. “I was looking for a home too. I wanted a place where my children could go in their yard and play. I came from a place where I was renting from people who just collected your rent money and came to fix things and that was it. There was no relationship.”
So she applied for housing, and in 2010 she was approved to move into a rental home in Pagedale. “I wasn’t a tenant—I was family,” she said. “I felt cared for. I felt valued. I felt loved no matter what we were going through.”
A memory that stands out from that time was the bedroom set her two young daughters received from Beyond Housing’s longtime partner, Build-A-Bear. “It was so beautiful,” she said. “A bedroom set that any girl would love.”
Eventually, she felt it was time to invest more fully in her family’s economic security and create generational wealth for her daughters by purchasing a home. “Beyond Housing staff couldn’t have been more excited for me,” she said, “because that’s their mission, to get people from renting to homeownership.”
She got up to speed on financial knowledge through Beyond Housing’s credit repair and homeownership programs. “I had to take seriously things like getting my credit together,” she said. “There are so many intricate pieces that you need to understand, like your conventional and FHA loans, your mortgage contract, the whole nine.”
Despite all her preparation and determination, she found the homebuying journey to be extremely hard. “I understand why people have anxiety and have to fight to keep going,” she said. It was at the height of the pandemic buying boom, and home seekers were routinely offering thousands of dollars above the asking price. She wondered if sellers were wary of her FHA loan.
When she finally found a seller who accepted her offer on a brick home in South city, near where she grew up, she said her stress actually compounded. “People need to understand that when you go under contract, that’s when the underwriter starts to dig into your financial history,” she explained. “We were two days from closing and still completing the underwriting. I was about to quit.”
“I cried so hard at the signing because I was about to give up,” she said. “I felt defeated.”
But she didn’t, and in the end, with $3,500 down payment assistance and help with closing costs from Beyond Housing, “I was blessed with a three-bedroom, two-bath home for me and my daughters,” she said. “I cried so hard at the signing because I was about to give up,” she said. “I felt defeated.” She encouraged others in that situation to “come with your boxing gloves on” and remember that the hard work will be worth it.
Today Ms. Stringfellow is proud that she’s established generational wealth for her daughters and that they’ll always have a home to come back to if they ever were to fall on hard times. She’s also proud of her two daughters. Her older daughter attends Washington University on a full ride, studying fashion design in the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts. Her younger daughter will soon begin a nursing program on a full ride at UMSL in the Pierre Laclede Honors College.
Ms. Stringfellow always felt there was a strong sense of integrity underlying the Beyond Housing staff’s actions. “I tell everyone about them if they need a place to stay because of the quality of support you get,” she said. “They are so invested in anyone that comes through the door. They provide a safety net for you.”
Source: Beyond Housing ‘Keep Good Going’
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