We’d like you to meet Amanda*:
Fleeing abuse, Amanda found herself in desperate need of housing and support. Exhausted, coping with extreme anxiety, and alone in the city, she turned to the Window of Kindness for help.
Thanks to generous supporters like you, Amanda accessed necessities like clean clothes and warm meals at our Window. Trusting the staff and volunteers, she took the next step and worked with our Resource Navigation Program to connect with a case worker.
This journey led Amanda to our BLOCK Project. Since 2021, she's lived in a BLOCK Home in North Seattle, growing a vegetable garden, decorating her home, and prioritizing her health and recovery. She's building new relationships in a trusting community that makes it less likely she'll ever live on the street again.
There are many more people like Amanda that we can help—if we have the funding to do it. The BLOCK Project has proven it works, with 95% of residents maintaining continuous housing either in their BLOCK Home or in other permanent housing, compared to 15%-50% for similar programs in our region. Your support is also needed at the Window of Kindness—helping care for those living unhoused right now.
Consider the action you, as an individual, can take. Over the last week, 87 of you have helped us raise $80,905 towards our $200,00 goal!
If you're waiting for the right moment to join them, now is that time. We still have $63,500 matching dollars on the line! More people like Amanda need you to act.
Visit givebutter.com/FacingHomelessness2023, donate, and make a difference today!
With gratitude,
The Facing Homelessness Team
*Name changed to protect privacy
Wreath Making at The BLOCK Project Workshop
Psst!
What are you doing next weekend? Need a little greenery to spruce up your winter holidays? Consider swinging by the BLOCK Shop on December 9th, from 12 pm to 5 pm to join us making wreaths and swag!
This is a wonderful event to come spend time with staff and Facing Homelessness community and have a little fun together.
Give us a heads up if you're coming here: https://docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLSdhRsvIBib.../viewform...
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!
The Homelessness Crisis
An estimated 53,000 people in King County will experience homelessness over the course of this year. 53,000 human beings like you, with their own hopes, dreams, and stories.
Tonight, as many struggle to stay warm in tents, cars, or temporary shelters, we say enough is enough. This holiday season, your support is urgently needed to end this unacceptable suffering.
givebutter.com/FacingHomelessness2023
The homelessness crisis is daunting, but at Facing Homelessness, we believe in the power of community action. Your donation fuels our community-powered programs that are making a difference every day.
The Window of Kindness: Providing survival essentials and building meaningful connections between our unhoused visitors, staff, and volunteers.
Resource Navigation: Assisting Window visitors to access crucial resources like case management, ID’s, bus tickets, and cellphones.
The BLOCK Project: Building permanent homes in backyards throughout our region and supporting hosts and formerly unhoused residents to thrive.
Companionship Program: Creating bonds between BLOCK residents and the wider community.
Let's build hope, connections, and homes together. Your generosity can be the catalyst for change.
P.S. Good news! Some dedicated Facing Homelessness supporters have created a challenge match. 100% of your gift up to $103,500 will be matched!
Winter Warm Up
As the leaves change color and temperatures drop, we're reminded that winter is coming. For those experiencing homelessness, the cold months can be incredibly tough. But, as a community, we can help! You're invited to our "Winter Warm Up Supply Drive" on October 20th!
Date: Friday, October 20th, 2023
Time: 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Location: The Window of Kindness, 4001 9th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105. Find us on the bottom floor, North side of the University Friends Meeting building. We have free parking available. Call 206-632-7299 for assistance.
Here's how you can help make a difference:
Contribute Warm Clothing: Donate clean, gently used, or new warm clothing items like beanies, gloves, scarves, jackets, thermal underwear, and coats.
Bring Survival Supplies: Hand warmers, emergency blankets, sleeping bags, tents, and tarps are invaluable. Check our Amazon Wish List for more ideas. https://www.amazon.com/.../UQ5JY.../ref=nav_wishlist_lists_2
Give Gift Cards: Gift cards provide access to food, restroom facilities, and shelter from the cold. We appreciate $15-$20 cards for Safeway/QFC, Starbucks, Subway, Domino's, and more. Costco gift cards are also helpful for bulk supplies.
Donate to the Window of Kindness: If you can't join us on the 20th, consider making a donation to support our unhoused neighbors who rely on the Window of Kindness. https://givebutter.com/FHwok
Spread the Word: Share this event with your friends, family, and colleagues. The more people who join, the greater the impact we can make.
Mark your calendar for October 20th, RSVP at https://forms.gle/Vba16AVASEqMnsNx9 to get a reminder about the event, and let's ensure this year's Winter Warm Up Supply Drive warms hearts and lives. Your generosity and kindness can truly make a world of difference for those in need. #WinterWarmUp #CommunityCare #facinghomelessness
helpingHEARTS
helpingHEARTS:
Imagine today you were out and about and you realized your phone died, or you lost your ID, or you didn’t have money for the bus home. You would probably feel vulnerable, stressed, or even anxious, right? But most of us who are housed would be able to sort out replacing any of those items in a matter of days. For our unhoused neighbors, access to necessities like these present a much bigger challenge.
Earlier this week we asked for your help to support our work at Window of Kindness. We want every person who visits the Window to have access to warm food, dry clothing, and a non-judgemental listening ear. This is our baseline. But over the years we have found that because of the close relationships we build with our visitors, they trust us enough to ask for additional help.
With our new Resource Navigator Program, in partnership with the UW School of Social work, dedicated Master of Social Work candidates work one on one with our clients at The Window: assisting them in accessing government-sponsored phones, case management, new IDs, bus tickets, and various other essential services. This program exists to break down barriers because when folks don’t have access to a permanent mailing address, cell phone minutes, the internet, transportation, and other tools we might take for granted, they simply cannot get help even when it is available to them.
In just 5 days, our community has shown up for us and collectively we have raised $1,185 for the Window of Kindness so far. Thank YOU! The unwavering generosity displayed by this community through your financial contributions, your volunteer time, and your heartfelt words of encouragement ground us and inspire us to do more. YOU make that possible.
If you are inspired to support, you still can! We’re $1,815 away from our $3,000 goal, and your gift, no matter the size, is so needed.
giveLOVE
giveLOVE:
What cheers you up on your worst day? Perhaps it’s a cup of coffee or hot chocolate, a hug from a friend, or a comfortable sweater that makes you feel confident, safe, or warm?
At the Window of Kindness, we serve individuals whose daily struggles would be considered one of our “worst days” for those of us who have stable housing. Our job at the Window is to do the little things we can do as individuals to make the lives of people living without permanent shelter a little brighter.
Those little things take many shapes and forms. It's the popsicle that calls forth memories of sunlit childhood as a client remenices with our volunteers on the hottest day of July. It’s the trust built with another client who confides that they just need a bus ticket to get to a friend's house in a nearby city so that they’ll have shelter for a few weeks. It’s the tent for the family who lost their belongings when the encampment they were sheltering in was swept.
A popsicle. A bus ticket. A tent. These are not big objects, but they make such a difference.
We need your help to make sure the staff and volunteers at the Window of Kindness have the resources to provide the physical objects that extend our care for our community beyond the hours that the Window of Kindness is open. Our goal is to raise $3,000 this week so that our staff have the funds they require to meet the evolving survival and comfort needs of our clients as the weather gets colder.
Today we are asking you to make a donation - for hand warmers, and cups-of-noodles, and long underwear - but also for the smiles exchanged over cocoa, the gift cards that get our visitors access to a few hours of respite in warm coffee shops and businesses, and the referrals to services our Resource Navigation program provides. Please donate through the Givebutter link below, or send a check with “Window of Kindness” in the memo line, and we’ll take it from there. If you have supplies that you would like to contribute, stay tuned for more info on our Supply Drive on October 20th. Thank you for helping us care for the most vulnerable among us with your gift!
University District | Karina, Maja, Caroline
(Photo by Aurelio - Rituel Salon)
autumnalFOUNDATIONS
autumnalFOUNDATIONS:
Wow, it seems like there is nothing our BLOCK Team can’t do. Shortly on the heels of finishing BLOCK Home 15, we’re hard at work with our volunteers to get our next home built and create a warm place this winter for someone who currently doesn’t have anywhere safe or secure to live.
Check out these pictures of our tilt up, and see if you can spot a few familiar staff faces
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!
meetandGREET!
meetandGREET:
Interested in learning more about Facing Homelessness, The BLOCK Project, and meet our amazing new Executive Director, Christina Rocks?
Please join us for a Happy Hour Meet and Greet at our BLOCK Shop in Georgetown on Wednesday, September 20th, from 5-7 pm. Light snacks, beer and wine will be provided.
Please RSVP here: https://forms.gle/di3p77uB6WmeNSSu8
We can't wait to see you!
Announcing our new Executive Director, Christina Rocks!
We are overjoyed today to share the news that Facing Homelessness has found our new Executive Director. Please welcome Christina Rocks! Christina joins our amazing community yesterday, August 30.
Christina brings to the Facing Homelessness team fifteen years of experience in organizational development and systems building, as well as a proven record of designing and implementing successful fundraising, strategic communications, and public affairs initiatives in nonprofit, government and multisector environments.
Prior to joining Facing Homelessness, Christina was an account lead at a private communications firm. In recent years she has also worked in major gifts at the University of Washington and in community engagement at the Washington State Department of Health. In addition to these roles, Christina has deep experience working in various Seattle-based nonprofits (foundations, direct service, housing, advocacy, political, public health, education) where she has developed and deployed complex, results-driven campaigns and programs to serve her community.
Christina is most happy when solving problems, engaging in physical activity (especially outdoors), or when she’s caught in a laughing jag with family and friends. Born and raised in sunny Arizona, Christina loves exploring every natural body of water the Pacific Northwest has to offer, rain or shine. She can often be found experimenting with a new recipe or hosting loved ones over delicious drinks and food. She makes a point to let her passion for justice and equity seep into everywhere she spends her time.
Christina is eager to engage with this great community and we look forward to introducing you to her in the coming months! To that end, we hope you can join us on September 20th for a special welcome happy hour at the BLOCK Shop from 5-7pm. Please register below:
https://docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLSdy.../viewform
photo credit: @jwkinnunen
What is Home?
whatisHOME?
“Home.”
It’s a word that can carry layered meanings for each of us. We’d like to share a beautiful reflection on the idea of HOME from our incredible Resource Navigator, Elena, who has recently completed her MSW practicum with us and who has offered SO MUCH support to our Window of Kindness community over the course of her time with us.
This month we hear from super volunteer Erin Bosik about what Home means to her:
"Home is the life and lives that make you feel your most supported and centered - the people, animals, hearts, minds, places and actions that make you feel whole and alive. It's so much more than just a place or a group of people. It's everything that grounds you..."
What does home mean to you? Comment below to let us know
White Sock Drive Update!
WE DID IT!
Thank you to everyone who contributed to our White Sock Drive! We are very excited to share that we’ve received a total of 1,883 (!!!) pairs of white socks, and we could not have done it without you!
Please know that each individual pair that was donated will make a huge impact, and could quite literally be the difference between life and death for those who are living without shelter. Thank you for making our white sock drive a success, we are so grateful to everyone who participated!!
With Gratitude,
The Facing Homelessness Team
sweetSUPPORT
sweetSUPPORT:
We would love to express our deepest gratitude to the South Lake Union location of Fresh Flours, and to their manager Mara, for putting together a canned goods and clothing drive for our Window of Kindness program!
Mara was initially introduced to the Window of Kindness while discussing homelessness with one of our volunteers. After that discussion, Mara was connected to the Community Programs Coordinator for the Window of Kindness, and immediately got to work collecting supplies from her customers! The drive is still ongoing, but has already collected several bags of clothing and a box full of canned goods.
We are consistently so amazed and grateful for the outpouring of love and support our community shares with us! YOU are the reason our programs are able to thrive!
Please feel free to check out the Fresh Flours Website by going to this link: http://www.freshfloursseattle.com/
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!
fullHEARTS
fullHEARTS:
Wow, it’s been a labor of true community love and power to bring together SUCH a beautiful BLOCK Home. We celebrated our 15th finish BLOCK Home last week and can’t wait to welcome home a new Resident.
In line with our new Open House tradition, we planted a bulb, and with each handful of dirt, offered a hope or dream for what this new house could provide for future residents.
Comment below if you’d like to offer a wish for this home as well
Special thanks to all our volunteers, our new hosts JD and Anne, our construction staff for creating such a beautiful home in such a magical spot, and our partners Justin Polley of Masters Electric and the Dim Sum Crew for their pro bono electrical work, and Lane Lunasco, David Masi, Anthony Rogers and Craig Atkinson of Hermanson for their pro bono plumbing work. This collective work has made this home a reality!
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!
What is Home?
whatisHOME?
This month we hear from Jill, a Window of Kindness volunteer about what home means to her:
"Home is safety. It’s a feeling rather than a place. It’s me feeling like I can relax and be my truest self without judgment or disrespect. It’s when I wake up first thing in the morning and don’t have an immediate thought that I need to do something to protect myself. I’ve lived in houses and apartments with people where I was physically sheltered and not physically, mentally or emotionally safe, and those were never my home. My partner and my children are home. With them I am safe and loved”
Thank you, Jill!
What does "Home" mean to you?
#whatishome #FacingHomelessness #TheBLOCKProject #housing
socksSAVELIVES
socksSAVELIVES:
We are in dire need of NEW white socks!
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.
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, and here is an easy way to donate straight from your home: 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 this drive!
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!).
Thank YOU!
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!
Client Support Fund Update!
Client Support Fund Update!
We want to give everyone who’s donated to our Client Support Fund a HUGE thank you! With your donations, we’ve been fortunate enough to be able to support our Window of Kindness clients in several ways!
Not only were a number of art supplies provided for Dean, but our client David had an opportunity to obtain a cell phone and tablet from Assurance Wireless for only $25 dollars! Because of the Client Support Fund, we were able to make the purchase for him, and he received his devices within two weeks.
Additionally, with your donations, we were able to support our long-time client and friend of Facing Homelessness, Steve, by paying for his phone bill so he could stay connected to his community. We were also able to purchase a long sleeved shirt for our friend, Joshua, who struggles with a sun allergy and requires extra protection. Joshua did not have the financial capacity to purchase one for himself, so we immediately said “this is something we can help with.”
Since we’ve been able to provide one of our clients, David, with some much needed technology, he told us “Since you’ve gotten me a phone and tablet, I’ve been able to stream applications when I’m at the Shelter in my room, I’ve been able to make appointments and also be connected to my friends. When I didn’t have a way to stay connected, I started feeling out of touch with everyone, which can be depressing sometimes.”
Any time we can financially support our community with small necessities such as this, it’s a huge win for us, and we wish for nothing more than to be able to continue to share these resources.
And you can help! You can donate to our client support fund here: https://givebutter.com/FHClientSupportFund
Donations go towards creating sustainable avenues of stability for our clients and provide them with some financial relief. If you have capacity, please consider donating to this much needed cause.
Lastly, we'd like to share with whomever may be in need: if you are eligible for SNAP/EBT and have never received a phone through Assurance Wireless before, you are also eligible to apply for a cellphone! Please see the comments of this post for the Assurance Wireless Link.
Thanks to everyone in advance!
University District Neighborhood|
Melinda Gates and Facing Homelessness!
On June 12th, we were honored to host 40 volunteers from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation between our BLOCK Shop and Window of Kindness.
The day was filled with assembling panels for our upcoming BLOCK Home 16 and serving visitors out of our Window of Kindness, in addition to helping assemble life-saving naloxone kits and helping us organize our sock wall.
One volunteer shared, “Volunteering with you today felt like home, it is the most welcoming volunteering experience I have ever had, and I’ve volunteered with… other organizations, this was definitely my favorite.”
Between these forty volunteers, we received over 100 hours of volunteer support! Thank you Gates Foundation for helping us address our housing crisis and serving our street-based neighbors with the love and compassion we are all due.
Is your organization interested in volunteering? Contact us at info@facinghomelessness.org and let us know what kind of volunteering you and your teammates would like to do with us! Or check out this page on our website for other ideas on how your workplace could get involved: https://facinghomelessness.org/involve-your-business.
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!
volunteerVOICES
volunteerVOICES
Volunteers make everything we do at Facing Homelessness possible! From handing out warm meals at the Window of Kindness, to insulating wall panels and raising roofs at the BLOCK Project, Facing Homelessness is truly a grassroots movement of caring, passionate, and action-oriented people who know that we all have a role to play in creating the standard of housing as a human right!
Sinéad, a BLOCK Project volunteer had this to share about her experience volunteering with Facing Homelessness: "I love volunteering with the Block Project as it allows me to do something that directly impacts the life of another person. I know that through donating my time and money I am helping someone take a step forward in making a new life for themselves.
Last week it struck me, as I was up a ladder, electric drill in hand that I was literally helping to put a roof over someone’s head. It’s not often you get to say that. "
Inspired to volunteer with Facing Homelessness? We are always looking to grow our team of dedicated volunteers like Sinéad. In fact, we have an orientation coming up on July 6th. Learn more and sign up at https://facinghomelessness.volunteerhub.com/vv2/.
#volunteering #volunteervoices #FacingHomelessness #TheBLOCKProject #Communitypowered
Best Day Ever Event May 26th 2023
While we're shivering through these cold June-uary days, it warms us to look back at one of our recent Best Day Ever events at the end of May!
Thank you Arianna Lyman at Neon Margot, Syd Suntha from Kottu Seattle, Renee and Jeanette from 415 Coffee, and Luna from Dog Hair Don't Care, for joining us to make such a beautiful day even more special!
#volunteerpowered #community #FacingHomelessness #BestDayEver
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!
HonoringJUNETEENTH
HonoringJUNETEENTH
As we reflect on what it means for us, a primarily white organization, to honor this day; we find ourselves delving deeper into not only the history of the excruciatingly slow roll out of the emancipation of slavery in this country, but also the present day iterations of Jim Crow and forced labor. Our economy relied on slave labor in order to grow and flourish. This is why following emancipation, new iterations of slavery were put in place in order to continue this mass exploitation of labor through systems like sharecropping and convict leasing.
Our thirteenth amendment states: "Neither slave nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” This convenient loophole paved the way for the disproportionate mass incarceration of black and brown people we see today. We have a whole “different” (yet not so different) system where housing/job discrimination and labor exploitation is perfectly legal for those labeled as felons. This can be seen through the loitering and vagrancy laws that criminalized black folks for simply existing without a home or a job, to the War on Drugs and subsequent policies designed to target, imprison and disenfranchise people and communities of color.
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. writes, “For them (the freed people of Texas), Juneteenth was, from its earliest incarnations, as Hayes Turner and others have recorded, a past that was ‘usable’ as an occasion for gathering lost family members, measuring progress against freedom and inculcating rising generations with the values of self-improvement and racial uplift” (What is Juneteenth?). If we are to measure our current progress against freedom, we can’t ignore the fact that America has the highest incarceration rates in the world, and that black Americans are incarcerated in state prisons at nearly 5 times the rate of white Americans. With this data in mind, we must recognize that we still have so much more work to do in the fight towards freedom, equality and justice for ALL.
One thing we know for sure is that despite our overwhelm, there is always something that we can do to move us closer to a more just world. So, in addition to celebrating and honoring this day in ways that feel meaningful to you, we encourage you to check out (and consider donating to) one or more of these incredible organizations that are working towards addressing systemic injustices such as mass incarceration, police brutality, over policing, the school to prison pipeline, the detention of immigrants and asylum seekers, among many others.
Vera.org | Mission: To end the overcriminalization and mass incarceration of people of color, immigrants, and people experiencing poverty: https://www.vera.org/ending-mass-incarceration
Choose 180 | Mission: To transform oppressive systems that have caused harm and assist young people as they heal from hurt to wholeness: https://choose180.org/
The Seattle Clemency Project | Mission: To increase access to justice for reformed individuals serving sentences that no longer serve a purpose and to prevent deportations that fracture our communities: https://www.seattleclemencyproject.org/
La Resistencia | About: “La Resistencia is a grassroots organization led by undocumented immigrants and people of color that have been oppressed by the immigration enforcement system. We are based in Washington State working to end the detention of immigrants and stop deportations.”:https://www.google.com/url?q=https://laresistencianw.org/&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1686940619867294&usg=AOvVaw05w7WCS6jijpFU3DxvaMtK
Additional Resources
Black Codes (loitering and vagrancy laws): https://www.history.com/.../black-codes-reconstruction...
Article “What is Juneteenth?” by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.: https://www.pbs.org/.../afric.../history/what-is-juneteenth/
Incarceration Rates by Country 2023: https://worldpopulationreview.com/.../incarceration-rates...
The Color of Justice on Racial Disparities in State Prisons: https://www.sentencingproject.org/.../the-color-of.../
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!
See insights and ads
All reactions:
77You and 76 others