Fresh Start Housing, LLC

06/09/2026

🎉 We are so proud of you, Sergine!
Please join us in celebrating Sergine, a Fresh Start Housing graduate who has packed up and headed to Indianapolis to begin his apprenticeship with the Steelworkers Union!

When Sergine arrived, he had almost nothing, and English was a real challenge. He didn't let that stop him. He went to the Werner Learning Center, watched TV in English to practice, and chose to surround himself with English speakers so he could grow faster. He worked hard every single day to learn the language, understand the culture, and build a life he could be proud of.

And proud he should be. Sergine saved over $9,000 before leaving the program. That's not luck; that's discipline.

We are so excited for this next chapter, Sergine. You've shown what's possible when someone puts their whole heart into building something new. Keep going. We'll be cheering for you every step of the way, right up to the day you take that citizenship oath.

05/28/2026

We are here! Vancouver for CASAE-AERC 2026 "Crossing Borders, Building Bridges: Adult Education in Times of Transformation." Follow along this week as I share from the roundtable and from the conversations happening at the conference. So grateful for the community that made this possible.

05/15/2026

Big news! My presentation proposal was accepted for the 5th World Conference on Transformative Education in Coquimbo, Chile this October! This is one of THREE conference acceptances I have received recently, and I am still letting that sink in.

The work is close to my heart: it asks how we reach adult learners who are living through crisis, when the very planning-oriented mindset that education assumes is exactly what crisis takes away.
So grateful for everyone who has encouraged and supported this journey. Chile, here I come!

05/05/2026

Insight #2 from my CASAE-AERC 2026 roundtable:

Standard financial literacy curricula fail crisis-affected populations not because those learners lack capacity — but because the approach embeds assumptions that break down under crisis conditions.

Three assumptions embedded in most programs:

1. That learners can project meaningfully into the future
2. That linear progression indicates effectiveness
3. That knowledge deficits — not structural barriers — cause instability

All three fail in crisis contexts.

At Fresh Start Housing, we designed around a multimodal curriculum — behaviorist, cognitivist, constructivist, sociocultural, and embodied approaches — not as competing theories, but as complementary entry points. Because a learner in crisis-time consciousness may have cognitive and emotional access to only one pedagogical pathway on any given day.

A multimodal design ensures that regardless of where a participant is on any given day, at least one pathway remains open to them.

The goal is not standardization. It is meeting the learner at their point in the continuum, every day.

More insights coming. , May 28–30, UBC Vancouver.

04/25/2026

Insight #1 from my CASAE-AERC 2026 roundtable:

For someone in stable housing, budgeting is a planning tool.
For someone facing eviction, budgeting is calculating the incalculable.

These are differences of kind, not degree.

Heidegger's concept of temporality helps explain why: in planning-time consciousness, we project into a future that feels open and imaginable. In crisis-time, that future collapses. The present demands immediate response. The past provides trauma rather than stability.

This is the foundation of the Crisis-Time Consciousness Framework (Roussel, 2026): a phenomenologically grounded distinction that explains why a learner who seems resistant or unmotivated may actually be operating from a radically different relationship with time, possibility, and financial decision-making.

The implication for educators: the problem is not the learner. It is the mismatch between the approach and the learner's actual reality.

More insights coming. Roundtable at , May 28–30, UBC Vancouver.

04/20/2026

I am honored to announce that my paper proposal has been accepted for presentation at the International Transformative Learning Conference (ITLC 2026).

📝 Paper Title: "A Phenomenological Framework for Transformative Learning in Financial Literacy: Distinguishing Crisis-Informed and Generic Approaches"

This work proposes Roussel’s Conceptual Framework — a phenomenologically grounded model that reconceptualizes financial literacy education for adults in crisis contexts. Drawing on 17 years of practice-based evidence from Fresh Start Housing, the framework integrates Husserlian intentionality, Heideggerian temporality, and Merleau-Pontian embodiment to address a critical gap in adult education theory: how do we facilitate transformative learning when learners are navigating housing instability, trauma, and structural barriers?

The reviewers noted the framework’s value in advancing transformative learning scholarship and its practical relevance for educators, practitioners, and policymakers — especially given the growing number of people living in conditions of crisis globally.

Final submissions are due July 7, 2026. I look forward to connecting with scholars and practitioners at the conference.
https://www.intertla.org/

The International Transformative Learning Association is a network of people, organizations and communities from over 60 countries.

04/15/2026

Big news to share! My doctoral research has been accepted as a roundtable presentation at CASAE-AERC 2026 in Vancouver, May 28–30!

Most financial literacy programs were designed for people who already have stable housing. After 17 years at Fresh Start Housing working alongside 400+ individuals navigating homelessness, I can tell you — that design does not work for everyone.

I have built a framework that recognizes this difference, and over the next six weeks I will be sharing key insights right here.

Early bird registration closes April 20. If you are in adult education or housing services, this conference is for you!
https://www.casae-aceea.ca/conferences/

04/06/2026

📣 This Wednesday, April 8th at 1:15 PM — I'll be at the Richmond Senior Recreation Center!

I've been invited to speak as part of the Blueprint for Health series on a topic close to my heart: Building Your Support System.

For over 17 years, Fresh Start Housing has walked alongside adults experiencing housing instability — and that journey began with my own story. This Wednesday, I'll be sharing that story, along with practical ideas for building and strengthening your personal support network at any stage of life.

Come ready to share your own experiences too — this is a conversation, not just a presentation. Your story matters!

📍 Richmond Senior Recreation Center | 765.983.7300
📅 Wednesday, April 8th | Doors open at 1:00 PM | Program begins at 1:15 PM

💡 We'll also be exploring how our senior community can get involved with Fresh Start Housing — including a simple, meaningful way to welcome someone into their very first apartment. Details inside!

Brochures will be available. Bring a friend. See you Wednesday! 💙