Window of Kindness efforts in the midst of a flooding

Dear Community; As the imminent effects of climate change impact all of us across the globe in multiple ways, we know that the extreme floodings that we are experiencing here on the West Coast of this country are not an exception. That is why we would like you to hear the own reflections of our wonderful team members Karina Wallace (Community Programs Manager), Maja Evans (Community Programs Coordinator), and Elena Lecoq (our MSW Practicum Student | Resource Navigator here at Facing Homelessness) as they narrate how they turned the issue having our Window of Kindness closed due to the weather, into an outreaching opportunity in the encampments based on the surroundings of our building, where they were able to connect with new neighbors, share resources and spread the word about our services here at Facing Homelessness. Thank you very much, Karina, Maja, and Elena!!!

Elena Lecoq;

“Closing the window during the first week of the new year due to sewage issues was disappointing, but when Karina thought of doing an outreach event where many of our visitors are located, I was fully on board. It was special to meet folks right where they were instead of normally having folks coming to us. Many folks seemed surprised and excited when we arrived with pizza, sandwiches, water, soda, chips, and coats. Folks were smiling as they hurriedly called over their friends to come to grab some food from us. We were also able to connect with folks who have never heard of Facing Homelessness before and provide them with information about our Window of Kindness Program. I hope to see them visit our window in the future and get to do more outreach events.”

Maja Evans;

I was so grateful we were able to bring the Window of Kindness to our clients when we were unable to use our office last week due to plumbing issues. One of our regular clients was kind enough to escort us to their encampment and spread the word amongst their neighbors and friends that we had food and supplies to give away. I'm always so blown away by how kind and understanding our clients are; this past week was no exception. Doing this outreach event made me think about how much effort our clients put into coming to our Window of Kindness, and I hope we're able to do more events like this so our clients can have more opportunities to rest in their encampments while also still receiving the food and supplies they need!

Karina Wallace;

I am so grateful for my colleagues Maja and Elena who jumped on their feet when they heard that I was hoping to do an outreach day around the University District, where a lot of our clients live. We have all been so devastated by the flood in our building that has prevented us from seeing our clients all week, so the fact that we were able to achieve this and share with our clients the much-needed supplies we had was unforgettable and is something that we wish and hope to do more of in the near future!

University District | Karina, Maja, Elena and Clàudia

A QUIET THOUGHT - If you're moved by the goodness of this community, please visit https://facinghomelessness.org/donate/

and click on the 'donate' button and consider a "monthly recurring" donation of just $5 in support of the work. THANK YOU!

#JustSayHello #FacingHomelessness #Kindness #theblockproject

happyFEET

When visitors show up at our Window of Kindness program, feet sore and tired after several miles of walking, one of the first things they tend to ask for is a pair of socks. For folks living outside, clean socks are an absolute necessity AND a very difficult thing to come by. Dirty, wet socks often cause painful and debilitating infections that make walking – and by extension, surviving outside – harder and harder.

We offer all types of socks including black, white, patterned and sport socks but black and white are most important. We have been fortunate that Bombas has partnered with Facing Homelessness to keep up our supply of black socks. Our white sock supply can be a bit more unpredictable and our current supply is nearly depleted.

Our visitors often request white socks because they more readily show foot infections, which are crucial to catch early on so that they don’t progress. For folks without a home, a new pair of white socks might be the difference between maintaining their health and developing a life-threatening and entirely preventable foot condition.

From our earliest days, we’ve been fortunate enough to honor our visitors’ requests for this basic need all thanks to YOUR generous support. Now, we’re asking you to help our visitors out once again!

We are grateful for any and all support, whether that’s one pair of socks or one hundred! We would love to see you in person if you would like to drop off socks or they can be delivered to Facing Homelessness | 4001 9th Ave Ne | Seattle, WA 98105. We welcome any brand, though here is one high quality and easy option on our Amazon Wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/.../ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws...

A warm and gracious thank you to all of you who are able to contribute to happyFEET and communityCARE!

One thing to please note: we are asking for new socks only! We want to make sure our visitors receive socks that are clean and will last. If you do have gently used, high quality socks that you’d like to donate, we’d recommend the sock closet at University Heights Community Center (it’s right next to the community fridge!).

ThankYOU!

University District Neighborhood | Kristina & Karina

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!
#facinghomelessness #theblockproject #windowofkindness #justsayhello

overflowingLOVE

We are constantly filled with gratitude for the incredibly generous community members who regularly bring food for our Window of Kindness! Our hearts swell every time one of you knocks on our Windows with food in arms, because we know how important it has been for our unhoused neighbors who visit us each day.

Our community has stepped up even more now after we’ve recently opened on Saturdays, bringing food weekly or even several times each week so that we will always have something to offer our visitors.

With this amazing and vital growth in food donations, we need to make sure our food is safely stored. We rely on three mini fridges and a mini freezer, collected over the past two years, to ensure donations are safely stored. It is becoming more challenging fitting this delicious food into our four small fridges and we need to maximize the space in our office!

For that reason, we are making a big ask to our community: for a clean, full sized fridge that will allow us to continue to properly store the food that you all so graciously donate and accommodate more donations to meet the growing needs of our clients!

If you or someone you know happens to have a fridge they no longer want and/or are looking to donate we would love to hear from you! We would so appreciate it if it could be delivered to our office (we currently lack the equipment to pick it up and transport it here). Please contact karina@facinghomelessness.org and we can see what might be possible.

If we receive a larger fridge, we would love to donate our mini fridges to any community members or organizations who need one, so please also let us know if you or someone you know is interested.

thankYOU! Because you have shown up so graciously, we will continue to meet the growing need of our visitors!

University District Neighborhood| Kristina & Karina

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!
#facinghomelessness #windowofkindness #TheBLOCKProject #kindness

alwaysLOVE

PLEASE MEET ALEXIEL:

Sometimes we don’t have the answers, sometimes we don’t have any idea how to move forward, and sometimes all we have is our passion and hearts to lead us in the right direction. Today we would like to share the amazing talent of Miranda Sheh and how she built a beautiful connection with a BLOCK Resident, by sharing her unique skills and offering to create “Memory Art”.

After attending an FH orientation Miranda shared, “As you mentioned in the orientation, a big component is people feeling invisible, and I know through my portraits, people feel deeply seen...”

Miranda generously offered her skills and Facing Homelessness staff connected her to Alexiel, a BLOCK Home Resident.

Alexiel shared with us “My partner and I have been through quite a lot since moving to Seattle... This portrait represents us remembering who we are and what drove us to become the people we are today!”

It’s these types of interactions that lead us in that right direction. We may not know where we’re heading, but at least we know it is done with the right intention, and as long as LOVE is at the center of our hearts, we will always be headed where we’re intended to go.

“My work aims to bring people from all walks of life and backgrounds to the same table, a table where we each have the opportunity to offer our invaluable voice from our unique lens and leadership. Doing so allows us to experience the gifts and healing light within each of us. Come be seen, come be.”

BIG thanks to Miranda for reminding us of the importance of connection, of being seen, and what it means to contribute in a way that feels meaningful and meets us all where we are. And to Alexiel and their partner for sharing your beauty with this community.

Karina | University District

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 #TheBLOCKProject #kindness #windowofkindness

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

goodbyeFRIEND

PLEASE MEET RONNIE:

I'm beyond sad and very sorry to share that our goodGOOD friend Ronnie LaBranche has died.

I met Ronnie about 11 years ago, back when my architecture practice was along the canal in Fremont. Ronnie lived most of his life homeless. During the time I knew him he mostly camped out of a tent or every so often in a broken down RV.

Ronnie was a survivor. Even though he scared me a bit at first, we connected immediately. We were the same age and grew up probably a mile from each other, him in Ballard and myself on the north side of Queen Anne Hill. I wondered how many times we passed as young kids roaming neighborhoods on our bikes.

Ronnie shared openly about the struggles of growing up homeless. Most of his experiences would have dropped me to my knees. For him they were normal, including the craziness of being in gangs and all that came with that life.

I remember when he told me he had been shot early in his teens. He must have seen my eyes widen and said, "Do you wanna see the bullet hole?" He then lifted up his shirt and pointed to his belly button showing me where the bullet entered him, and then immediately turned around, dropped his pants and underwear, and pointed to his anus, saying, "This is where it came out!"

It took me a second to process, but then we both started to laugh, and kept laughing. That was Ronnie. He always had me guessing what was coming next. He was tough as nails, fearless, funny, loyal and, here's the part that you'd miss unless you got to know him, he had a beautiful sensitive caring heart. Despite his extremely difficult life, he was a really good man.

Early on in our friendship I remember a time he sat down in my office looking depressed. I asked what was going on. After a long silence he said, "I've not told you about my daughter. I still can't say her name without crying uncontrollably." He then shared that it was the year anniversary of her auto accident death. She was just 20 years old. I held Ronnie for a long time as his whole body shook from sobbing. It makes me tear up still just typing it now.

More often Ronnie was the one cheering others up. His kind heart and endless life energy looked out for those struggling. He brought countless young people to my office that had just fallen into homelessness, wanting to help them get connected and prepared for the struggle ahead.

Ronnie was perpetual motion. His survival on the street was a combination of smarts, ingenuity and simple hard work. For money he would scrap metal. Nothing was wasted or thrown away. Everything had multiple functions.

Ronnie also had a twinkle in his eye. He liked people. One of my favorite memories was when Diane Bell brought her daughter Karina, who was in the Girl Scouts, to my office with 53 boxes of girl-scout-cookies to handout to the homeless. Ronnie was there and immediately yelled out loud, "THOSE ARE MY FAVORITE COOKIES IN THE WHOLE WORLD!!" Karina, rather than shying away, leaned forward and handed him a box of thin mints! They became instant friends! Before Ronnie left he emptied out his bag and at the bottom pulled out a women's watch he had found on the street. He gave it to Karina. It was her first watch. The moment was priceless.

There are too many Ronnie memories to share. I'll post a few more with the pictures in the comments below.

I also want to let you know that Ronnie made it into housing a few months before he passed. I think the journey had just been too hard on him and once inside he could finally let go.

Rest In Peace Ronnie. THANK YOU for your dear friendship and all that you taught me. Your spirit is all BEAUTIFUL!

Ballard Neighborhood | Rex

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

windowFACES

PLEASE HEAR KARINA:

Karina answers the phone. “I’m obviously concerned,” she breathes into the phone. “This whole week we’ve heard that it’s supposed to snow. It has me worried.” Karina runs the Window of Kindness and sees firsthand how the needs among our unsheltered friends and neighbors become more acute as the temperatures drop. New faces, longer lines, and hectic service hours are all symptoms of the pandemic, and they are increasing. She knows our supplies are in demand and decreasing. At the window, life-saving supplies are given to neighbors living outside. People also come for conversation, a kind face, deep compassion, and someone who knows their name. Karina is all of these things, and she’s under pressure with winter’s harsh arrival.

“Somebody was recently hospitalized because of frostbite. Their toes were amputated.” There’s a pause again. “It’s going to happen even more in the weeks to come. It’s making me sad. We need more supplies. I feel helpless.” Now, it’s my turn to inhale.

“Seeing people freezing, barely able to move their hands, shivering out in the cold . . . it’s really impacting me. I see people suffering. It’s not that I hear people complaining. It’s just seeing it with my own eyes. No one has to say anything, I can tell from their faces.” Karina holds so many stories. “People are getting sick from the cold. Emotions have been intense this week. We lift spirits, but we haven’t had blankets. People are getting discouraged when we don’t have sleeping bags. It’s harder to say no and see their reactions.”

This, friends, is why we ask you to come closer. COVID limits proximity, but that hasn’t applied to the window, or to Karina. She’s been here, every week, throughout the entirety of the pandemic. Karina knows the look of suffering in someone's eyes when they smile, thank her, and turn to brave another cold night in frost-bitten Seattle. Now, we need you.

Our friends need sleeping bags, tents, tarps, blankets, and hand-warmers. Can you commit to sending something for next week? And maybe the week after? A steady stream of supplies will save lives. Drop off or mail to: 4001 9th Ave NE Seattle, WA 98105. Thank you.

University District Neighborhood | Barron

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 “monthly recurring” donation of just $5 in support of the work. THANK YOU! #facinghomelessness #justsayhello #kindness #TheBLOCKProject #yesinmybackyard

overflowingEMPATHY

PLEASE MEET KARINA:

Facing Homelessness believes we all need to come closer. Close enough to be able to see each other for who we beautifullyARE and close enough to see who we can beautifullyBE.

The entire staff at Facing Homelessness is beyond THRILLED to tell you that Karina Wallace will be helping us all navigate the journey of coming closer as our new and amazing Community Programs Coordinator!

Karina is a PEOPLE PERSON if I've ever seen one! She brings a tireless commitment to help every individual she meets, no matter their situation or condition. Our office has already been beautifully influenced by her energy of kindness and we can't wait for all of you to meet her!

Karina shared the following when she was asked, "What is your connection to Homelessness?"

"Experiences from my past led me to a humbling journey. When I was 8 years old, not long after being adopted and moving to Seattle from Russia, my mom and I were shopping for groceries at a supermarket. A beautiful woman sitting outside on the ground smiled at me as we were walking out, a smile that made me feel empathy even though I didn’t fully understand her situation. I could barely speak English and I couldn’t assemble words to ask my questions, but I found myself heartbroken by the image of her occupying the ground as her home. Growing up, I wanted to be in a position to help people that were living outside. I found myself not needing answers to the questions, not believing every stereotype, but feeling compelled to make a difference.

About 6 years ago, I went through a series of events which led me to experience homelessness. Through that time, I came to know a community of people that have beautiful stories, stories that I believe should be heard and acknowledged.

I was fortunate to navigate myself out of homelessness through hope and understanding support systems. I realized that being a voice for our community and dedication to this line of work is where I belong. I am connected to this mission, which is to walk alongside our neighbors by hearing their voices, and to enrich our community through shifting the paradigm on homelessness."

Karina we love your overflowing empathy and all the talents and energy you'll be bringing to this work. We feel honored that you are our new Community Programs Coordinator!!

University District neighborhood | Rex

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 "monthly recurring" donation of just $5 in support of the work. THANK YOU!
#Kindness #JustSayHello #FacingHomelessness