Transformative Connections: Allie's Story
“My first shift at the Window of Kindness was also the first conversation I ever had with a person experiencing homelessness – it completely reshaped my understanding of homelessness. By swapping stories and learning more about our clients’ individual journeys, I was prompted to face a fear of the unknown, challenge stereotypes, and dismantle my assumptions. My experiences at the Window have helped me grow as a person, but at the end of the day, it’s all about building community and treating people with the dignity everyone deserves.” - Allie, Window of Kindness volunteer
Allie’s journey gets to the heart of what makes Facing Homelessness unique. We believe genuine human connections transform lives, not just for those we serve but also for volunteers like Allie. This is how we start a movement where each of us plays a role in ending homelessness.
https://givebutter.com/FacingHomelessness2023
Imagine a world where giving kindness is the norm. With just one day left, our community has raised $241,058. That means we have just $8,942 left to hit our $250,000 stretch goal – by midnight tomorrow.
Your donation isn’t just money; it's an investment in creating a compassionate community where stereotypes are shattered, assumptions are dismantled, and love guides us. Your generosity allows us to continue building bridges and making a tangible difference in the lives of those experiencing homelessness.
With your help, we can provide essential resources, supportive permanent housing, and, above all, a sense of belonging to our unhoused neighbors.
With your support, we will hit our goal and start 2024 ready to continue serving our unhoused neighbors. Now is the moment to take action - donate to Facing Homelessness before time runs out!
With gratitude,
The Facing Homelessness Team
IMAGINEif: we all turned belief into action
IMAGINEif we all turned belief into action:
Friends, belief is powerful. From the very beginning, everything Facing Homelessness does has been driven by our belief that we all have a part to play in ending the homeless crisis.
Our beliefs drive us to welcome people who’ve been isolated. Our beliefs guide us to look people in the eyes, listen to their stories, treat them with compassion, and provide the immediate resources of food, clothing, and kindness that they need. Our beliefs turn extra space in people's backyards into safe, warm homes for the unsheltered community members who surround our neighborhoods.
Belief can only take us so far. It has to be fueled by shared efforts and commitments that lie within each of us. Ultimately, it takes shared resources. This community and donors like you are the reason this work is possible - and the reason we’ve raised $129,000+ towards our $200,000 year-end fundraising goal.
https://give.classy.org/FH2020
We need to hit that goal! If you haven’t donated yet to IMAGINEif, our 2020 Year-End Campaign, please donate today. Share the campaign with those who trust and support you. We need you to believe in Facing Homelessness, and to turn that belief into action.
If you believe that where you live does not define who you are - donate now. If you believe we all live better when we feel loved - donate now. If you believe in second chances - donate now.
Together, we can end homelessness.
https://give.classy.org/FH2020
What you give now will be doubled by a generous matching donor. You will help shape the future of someone living outside, the future of our city, and the future of Facing Homelessness. Please, give what you can today.
With gratitude,
The Facing Homelessness staff, board and volunteers
IMAGINEif: everyone had what they needed to be OK
IMAGINEif everyone had what they needed to be OK:
Since the pandemic began, the Window of Kindness (WOK) has
remained open every single week. In that time, the number of visitors we support has nearly doubled, averaging thirty visitors per day. With cold weather and rain approaching, we’re anticipating increases. Our visitors have expressed enormous gratitude, sharing that organizations like ours across the city have shrunk or disappeared as non-profts work hard to adapt.
Because of YOUR support, we have adapted protocols, maintained dedicated volunteer support and kept the WOK open. The WOK is a survival service for our unsheltered community, providing tents, tarps, toiletries, food, eye contact, and more.
It is also a welcoming space of compassion without judgement. Here, anyone can sit by the window, tell their story, share their sorrows and celebrations, and receive the warmth of a caring, mindful individual who listens with love about the daily cycles of strengths, hopes, and sorrows. Karina Wallace, our Community Programs Manager, is shown in this photo, masked and always ready to support our clients every day the window is open.
https://give.classy.org/FH2020
This week we've raised $129,135 through our #IMAGINEif end of year campaign, and are well on our way to our $200,000 goal! In order to continue meeting the needs of this community, we're asking for your support. Can you pitch in? Donate whatever feels meaningful, whether it's $5 or $5000, and you are investing in relationship-based solutions. Remember, every dollar you give is matched!
THANK YOU,
Facing Homelessness staff, board, and volunteers
IMAGINEif: every one did what they could
IMAGINEif Everyone did what they could:
We want to live in a world where each of us can make a BIG impact on the injustices that surround us. This dream began with Just Say Hello and is now actualized for those who say "YES, in my backyard." Our wonderful host, Doh, recounts, “I have realized through hosting that it does not take anything from me to give more, and to expand my area of impact.” Like many others, Doh has stepped up in the simple yet profound act of sharing her underutilized backyard to host a BLOCK Home, built by volunteers and funded by community, where Abdul now lives as a neighbor and friend.
Right now, our neighbors like Abdul needs you. Our hosts like Doh need you. You’ve joined this community to come closer, to feel more, and to do more. When it comes to homelessness, it’s time to act. Your donation funds relationships, direct services, and a healthy HOME for someone in need. Where is your “YES” today?
https://give.classy.org/FH2020
Yesterday we launched a campaign to raise $200,000 by December 8th. We’re a quarter of the way there. Will you help us reach $65,000 today? Every single donation matters, whether it’s $5 or $5000. Doh inspires us by showing up as part of the solution. She told us part of her motivation was seated in the integrity of knowing deep down she could do more. “I wanted to be able to say I did what I could,” she told us, peering through her glasses with intent eyes as we sat in her backyard. Can you do just a little more today?
We know that each of you have chosen to be part of the solution. Join our hosts in saying “YES,” and support our IMAGINEif campaign right now.
https://give.classy.org/FH2020
THANK YOU,
Facing Homelessness Board, Staff, and Volunteers
IMAGINEif
IMAGINEif:
TOMORROW kicks off our END OF YEAR 8-DAY FUNDRAISER, beginning this #GivingTuesday! Together, we will IMAGINE a world without homelessness, and how essential YOU are to the vision. Together, we have the will to change, and the creativity to respond to the needs at hand. Right now, we need your support.
Shown in this photo is Abderrahim Aboulhouda (Abdul), who was previously homeless before moving into a beautiful home in the backyard of one of our hosts through #TheBLOCKProject.
At Facing Homelessness, we know it is possible to IMAGINE a future where things get better for people, because we see with our own eyes in the work we do, and how it transforms our participants, our staff, and our volunteers. Your support makes this possible.
Over these years, thousands of you have said YES to coming closer and feeling more - and through that proximity - DOING more. If you have been moved by the stories we have shared, seen our impact at the Window of Kindness, or participated in building a home for someone living homeless through The BLOCK Project, then please take this opportunity to support our work, which becomes more important every day this pandemic persists. Over the next eight days, we will be unveiling video and photo stories to help stretch our imaginations for a better future. Join us as we #IMAGINEif.
If you're feeling inspired to host your own fundraiser to support the campaign, let us know in the comments! If you SHARE this post, please write a statement about why this work matters to you (without it, algorithms render the shared post virtually invisible to your friends.) Stay tuned for more, and join our mailing list for sneak peeks into our new video stories. https://tinyurl.com/joinFH
THANK YOU,
Facing Homelessness staff, board, and volunteers
IMAGINEif
IMAGINEif:
One week from today, Facing Homelessness kicks off our End of Year Campaign, with a goal of raising $200,000. We need your help.
From #GivingTuesday (December 1st) to December 8th, we're going to ask you to come on a journey with us - a journey where we imagine how each one of us, in partnership, can work to end homelessness. We believe that we can build the world we want to live in - but we have to do it together, step by step.
Now more than ever, we must see ourselves in the suffering of others, and come together with a vision for workable solutions that make our community stronger, more equitable, and more loving. Stay tuned to learn how your donations and your efforts will bring us closer to facing homelessness together as a connected and compassionate community.
See you on December 1st!
With gratitude,
The Facing Homelessness staff, board and volunteers