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