ABOUT
For most of Vashti's life, all she wanted was a place to call home. At a significant time of crisis, she realized that if you can't find home inside yourself, it really doesn't matter where you live. Vashti and her husband were able to find "home" before they purchased their first house at 43 years old.
MISSION
Helping you make a home inside yourself, so you can create "home" wherever you go
VISION
To create accessible products, services and connections to empower and support everyone seeking to create home inside themselves, in their family, and in their community
VALUES
Home is a place of peace, expectancy, belonging and a sanctuary for growth
Home is the universal foundation for individual and community health and wholeness
Home is a state of being born out of personal responsibility and is an inherent possibility for every person regardless of background, circumstances, limitations or experiences
ABOUT VASHTI
Vashti has worked over 30 years in human and social service capacities. Vashti dreamed of being a police officer, but a simple internship working with adjudicated youth changed the course of her career.
Vashti met her husband, Chris, while working at a transitional home for adjudicated boys in Southern California. At the time, she was living with a friend in Watts, California and hosting after school programs for the local children.
After getting married, Vashti and Chris facilitated a treatment home and then later a transitional home for adjudicated youth in Salem, Oregon. In 1996, and after becoming pregnant with her fourth child, Chris and Vashti moved to Vashti's home state of Alaska to be near family.
While raising her four kids, Vashti was inspired to create a character education curriculum to meet a need she felt was lacking. In 2002, Character Qualities, the Tools for Life was created, piloted and sold nationally and internationally. Because of personal obstacles, Vashti and Chris could not maintain the demands of the business and closed it down until a later day.
Amongst other places, Vashti piloted Character Qualities, The Tools for Life in both a men's prison, Palmer Correctional Institution and a the Alaska prison for Women, Hiland Mountain Correctional Institution. This experience created a newly revived passion for working with incarcerated individuals. Vashti then began working as the trainer for volunteers and program developer for the Alaska Department of Corrections Chaplaincy. Vashti also served as the volunteer mentoring coordinator for Hiland Mountain Institution.
Vashti Worked as a juvenile justice officer at McLaughlin Youth Correctional Facility until she and her husband moved back to Salem, OR in 2009. While living in Salem, Vashti continued her service in corrections as a Group Life Coordinator II for the Oregon Youth Authority and a CBT treatment facilitator and parenting coach with The Pathfinder Network at Santiam Correctional Institution, Mill Creek Correctional Institution, Oregon State Correctional Institution and the Oregon State Prison. Vashti also facilitated for gender responsive trauma intervention and CBT pilot programs at the Marion County Jail Transition Center with the Pathfinder Network for women. Vashti later facilitated the implemented program.
in 2013, Vashti created and managed a successful non-profit called ManUp, which raised community funds to help men transitioning to the community from incarceration to complete educational studies they began inside.
Vashti has served as a part time instructor at the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST) and a criminal justice adjunct professor at Corban University in the fields of victimology and crisis intervention strategies.
Vashti's education includes:
Master of science degree in Criminal Justice/Corrections and Reentry from the University of Cincinnati; Cincinnati OH
Bachelor of science degree in psychology/family studies from Corban University; Salem, OR
Associate
Vashti is a member of the PSI CHI International Honor Society in Psychology.
According to Vashti, her biggest accomplishments to date are overcoming her own mental health obstacles and growing from the trauma of her biological mother leaving her when she was eight years old, and then loosing a step mother to cancer a few years later.
Vashti's need to address her own mental and emotional needs was necessary to continue to grow in a healthy relationship with her husband of 30+ years and to be the best mother to her children.
Vashti's gifting lies in her ability to take abstract concepts and create simple and accessible teaching methods that are immensely engaging and highly impactful. Vashti's passion is coming alongside people and partnering with them towards their personal goals and dreams.
Vashti loves utilizing both her gifting and her passion from her home. That is how Vashti's House was born.
