thankYOU

THANK YOU!
Just over a week ago we wrapped up GiveBIG 2021 and with BIG BIG BIG thanks to 112 extremely generous Facing Homelessness donors we raised over $13,589!

We've said it before and we'll say it again, this community makes all we do at Facing Homelessness possible. When we set a goal, you say YES and push us over the finish line and beyond. Together we are building the world we want to live in. One BLOCK Home, one Window of Kindness shift, one conversation or smile at a time. Thank you.

The Facing Homelessness team| University District Neighborhood
Jennifer, Berns, Phoebe, Karina, Tomasz, Lisa, Ariel and Caroline

A QUIET THOUGHT - If you’re moved by the goodness of this community, please visit http://www.facinghomelessness.org/ and click on the ‘donate’ button and consider a gift that is meaningful to you--even a “monthly recurring” donation of just $5 in support of the work. THANK YOU!
#justsayhello #facinghomelessness #kindness #TheBLOCKProject

IMAGINEif We Showed Up Together

No one needs to be told that 2020 was hard. We all know. Today, we turn the page towards 2021, and anchor our hopes, wishes, prayers, and intentions. Perhaps you are calling in peace, or joy, laughter, wellness, comfort, healing, or strength. Maybe you are calling in social justice, liberation, and hope. Maybe you're inviting rest, relief, and calmness. Whatever your needs are, together, let's breath in the new, and exhale the old. If you're reading this, we're so grateful you've made it through. We hold in our hearts that the same is not true for everyone.

It's not lost on us that YOU - this unwavering community - is with us, and committed to the task of ending homelessness together. Your actions speak loudly, and lay the groundwork to actualize a better future for everyone, housing and unhoused alike. You exceeded our expectations when we met our $200,000 end-of-year goal, and then you brought in an additional $47,000+ to meet our stretch goal, which supports even more services and sustainable care for our community. We see you and we are deeply humbled.

See for yourselves: give.classy.org/fh2020/

THANK YOU for showing up, time and time again. THANK YOU for wavering the storm. THANK YOU for leading with love. THANK YOU for believing there is a better way. THANK YOU for your gifts. THANK YOU for your hearts.

Facing Homelessness has a lot in store for this new year, and we're more committed than ever to the movement we are but one thread of; combatting complacency, calling in bystanders, seeing ourselves in the issues, uplifting beauty and hope, practicing vulnerability, sharing power, telling truths, receiving feedback, acknowledging our own mistakes, and showing up time and time again. Showing up for ourselves and others is what we're here to do. It is not easy, but it is worthy. We don't have to do it alone. Join us in this year as we come closer to one another where we feel more. We all know that when we feel more, we do more.

With deep gratitude,
The Facing Homelessness staff, board, and volunteers

IMAGINEif Someone Listened And Did Not Judge

IMAGINEif Someone Listened And Did Not Judge:

As we turn the calendar page to a new year, we can feel a palpable, collective sense of relief. But many of the challenges of 2020 will come with us into the new year, and not all of us will look at 2021 and see it as a fresh start. In fact, the number of people living outside in Seattle is growing.

If we all play our part, this community can and will rise to meet those challenges. We’ve done it before, so many times. Ten years ago, we were a Facebook page. Today, we’re a connected community that is actively building the world we want to live in.

This incredible community is stepping up more than ever. Over the holidays, we took the Window of Kindness to the streets and met unhoused people where they were to distribute sleeping bags, tents, and survival kits.

But it’s not just our staff that are stepping up. You, our incredible community, are stepping up too. You’re finding ways to use your resources and your compassion to shape the future of people living outside. We’ve seen a huge increase in donations of food and survival items to the Window of Kindness - items that can literally save lives during a cold, uncaring winter.

One of our volunteers knows how to sew. She used that skill to design sleeping bag liners with built-in pockets for hiding necessary items overnight. She refined the design based on feedback from people who needed to use them. Now, we’re distributing those liners at the Window of Kindness as quickly as she can make them.

Even if you can’t sew, or don’t have spare time to volunteer, there is still something you can do right now to be part of the solution. You can donate. Funding is the fuel for our engine of compassion and kindness. The more we have, the farther we can go.

https://give.classy.org/FH2020

Small acts of kindness matter on a bigger scale than we realize, and huge changes start with small steps forward. One donation, one smile, one hot meal, and one home at a time, we are creating a better world together. We are just about $5,000 shy of our stretch goal - help us meet it by midnight tonight and we’ll be another step closer.

With gratitude,
The Facing Homelessness staff, board and volunteers

IMAGINEif you were the solution

IMAGINEif You Were The Solution:

Behind every statistic is a real person. This community didn’t just house three people in BLOCK homes in 2020. We housed Abdul, Peter, and, as of today (!!) ReNee. Each of them has a story. Each has a different reason why they ended up living on the streets. Each now has a place to lay their head and a support system, and can live with dignity.

In 2021, the Facing Homelessness community will be able to help six more people transition off the streets and into a BLOCK home. Each of them will have a name. Each will have a beautiful story. Each will know comfort and safety because of the compassion and generosity of this extraordinary community.

https://give.classy.org/FH2020

Please donate by midnight to help us reach our stretch goal of $250,000. We're less than $11,000 away. The number of people living outside is growing right now, and we must be there to share love, compassion and resources with new people living on the streets. Are you with us?

With gratitude,
Facing Homelessness staff, board, and volunteers

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