Findings

• 2,594 men, women and children had no shelter in King County last night, a small increase over those found without shelter last year.
• 800 volunteers counted people in 13 cities across King County.

Why does the Count take place? The primary purpose of the One Night Count is to document how many people still lack basic shelter. The results are impossible to misinterpret: several thousand men, women, and children lack safety and stability. Alison Eisinger, organizer of the Count and the Executive Director of the Coalition, says, “There’s another reason for the Count. When hundreds of people see their neighbors sleeping on cardboard or riding buses to keep warm, they are shocked and saddened. We want them to be inspired to urge their local and state officials to address these needs with resources.”

This morning’s count focuses on people surviving outside without shelter; it does not include those who are staying in shelters and transitional housing. A full report that also includes the number of people in shelters and transitional housing will be released in the spring. Last year, volunteers found 2,442 people surviving outside, without shelter, and another 6,382 in shelters and transitional housing programs.

Organizers recognize that this morning’s count is an undercount of people without shelter on this night. Counters can reach only a portion of the geographic area of the county, and many homeless people sleep in hard-to-reach places.

Bill Block, Director of the Committee to End Homeless, which implements the Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness in King County, said, “The street count is only a snapshot, which can be influenced by a number of factors. We know without our prevention and housing programs, thousands more people would be on the streets. Even in the face of the recession, we know that our investments can reduce the number of people who are homeless — that happened last year and the year before.”

Our community continues to be committed to finding solutions to homelessness. This effort, supported by governments, faith communities, non-profits, businesses, homeless and formerly homeless people, has helped to develop over 4,000 housing units, with an additional 800 in the pipeline. The outpouring of volunteers participating reflects a strong and growing community resolve to end homelessness.

The Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness (SKCCH), www.homelessinfo.org, works collaboratively to ensure safety and survival for people who are homeless, and to end the crisis of homelessness in our region. For more information about the One Night Count please contact Alison Eisinger at 206.357.3148 or alison@homelessinfo.org.

For more information about the Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness, please contact Bill Block at 206-263-9001 or bill.block@kingcounty.gov.

Meal service open to the public include the Pioneer Square, Lake City, Bellevue, Capitol Hill, University District, and South Park neighborhoods. New meal sites this year include South Park, Lake City and Bellevue.

In September, the Mission launched its 4th annual One Meal … One Hope Campaign with a goal of serving 190,000 meals by December 31.

PIONEER SQUARE:

• Men’s Shelter Thanksgiving Meal Schedule:

318 2^nd Ave. Ext. S. (corner of Washington St.)

5:30 am – Volunteers prepare an egg, sausage, bacon, and toast breakfast.

7:30 am – Breakfast begins

5:30 pm – Traditional turkey dinners served to anyone walking through our doors

To volunteer at the Union Gospel Mission (at any of their locations, not just Pioneer Square), feel free to contact Sharon Thomas at SThomas@ugm.org or call 206.432.8422.

Your $30 ticket entitles you to tastes of the chocolate (bars and truffles), samples of the wines, and a bar of the Fortunato No.4 to take home.  Chocolate and wine will also be available for purchase.  These sales and silent auction items will also help support the Sanctuary Art Center.

When

Friday November 18, 2011 from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM PST

Add to my calendar

Where

Greg Kucera Gallery
212 Third Avenue S
Seattle, WA 98104

Please register at http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=5ykbncdab&oeidk=a07e4zwlktccddcff45.

“It’s truly our pleasure to help out and be a small part of the big things the Mission does,” said Cooper Mills, general manager of El Gaucho.

Last year, the Mission served 64,000 more meals, totaling over 500,000 meals. Why? The Mission believes that a single meal can lead to changed lives. Day after day people come through our doors for a meal and then leave a year later changed men and women because they entered our long-term programs.

“El Gaucho is really serving second chances to thousands of people who are without hope and desire a change life,” said Jeff Lilley, president of The Mission. “We are so appreciative of their dedication to serving the needs of this community.”

El Gaucho and Aqua, members of the Mackay Restaurant Group, both serve lunch once a month at the Men’s Shelter.

As you consider cleaning out your house to prepare for summer, consider donating any unused items at Seattle 4 Rotary’s Spring clothing and food drive on June 15th to support those in greatest need!

What: Seattle 4 Rotary will be collecting food and clothing to benefit Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission www.ugm.org; Northwest Harvest www.northwestharvest.org; and the YWCA Dress for Success www.ywcaworks.org. The Mission and YWCA will receive clothing donations while all food donations will go to Northwest Harvest for distribution across Washington.

When: Wednesday, June 15, 7:30am to noon

Where: Seattle Convention Center “Drive-Thru”, 800 Convention Place

Why: The Seattle 4 Rotary Club wants to make a difference in the lives of people struggling with homelessness and poverty as the economy struggles to rebound.  The “Drive-thru” will make it easier for the community to donate food and/or clothing for men, women and children. Please make sure clothing donations are new or gently used and clean.

Recommended donations:

• New socks and underwear
• Clean and gently used jeans, shirts, slacks, jackets, and garments suitable for job-seeking
• Non-perishable kid-friendly food items such as peanut butter, refried beans, tuna fish, cereal and granola bars
• Canned goods such as chili, stews, soups and fruits
• Dry goods such as pasta and rice
• Baby items such as large diapers and wipes

Consider this shocking national statistic: one out of every six adults and nearly one out of four children struggle with hunger. Here in King County, record numbers of people—our neighbors, co-workers and friends—don’t have enough to eat. People have to choose between paying rent and buying groceries, and children are going to bed hungry.

YOU can help. Join United Way of King County for Hunger Action Week beginning March 21.

They have listed numerous ways to help in this cause, including volunteering to plant a garden, serve a meal,  delivery groceries, etc. They are also running something called “The Hunger Challenge,” which I have to admit, I didn’t think I would be able to participate in, because of how difficult it is. Why?

You’re supposed to pay for a full day of meals for only seven dollars (which is the maximum food stamp benefit for an individual per day, by the way). Every day, Monday through Friday, on only seven dollars a day.

Even if you’re not able to try the challenge — just think about whether or not you would be able to do it, and what it would take. And then think about all of the people who try to do it every day. And then go to United Way’s website and see what you can do to help.

If you’re interested in learning more, check out this event tomorrow at the ShowBox in SoDo:

Gimme Shelter

with The Dusty 45s, Kasey Anderson & The Honkies, Star Anna, Tom Bennett & The Rolling Blackouts, Massy Ferguson, Rachel Flotard & Rusty Willoughby, Vince Mira, Zoe Muth, Mark Pickerel, and Kristen Ward

On Thanksgiving Day, Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission expects to serve an estimated 1,200 meals. In September, the Mission launched its third annual One Meal … One Hope Campaign with a goal of serving 164,000 meals by December 31.

MEN’S SHELTER THANKSGIVING MEAL SCHEDULE:
318 2nd Ave. Ext. S. (corner of Washington St.)
4:30 a.m. – Kitchen manager and president of the Mission available for interviews
5 a.m. – Volunteers prepare an egg, sausage, bacon, and toast breakfast.
7 a.m. – Breakfast begins and will conclude around 8:30 a.m.
5 p.m. – Traditional turkey dinners served to anyone walking through our doors

Although they don’t need any volunteer help on Thanksgiving Day, they do on “the other 364 days.”

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Bread of Life is also serving Thanksgiving Meals tomorrow at 11:30am, 3:30pm and 7:30pm. If you’re interested in volunteering, contact Mia Campbell at miac@breadoflifemission.org.

There are also plenty of other volunteer opportunities around Seattle — check out United Way’s page.

I have posted multiple times about the Bread of Life Mission and of the services they do for the homeless in our neighborhood. I received an announcement a little while ago about an expansion of their services:

I wanted to let you know about an exciting thing happening at the Bread of Life Mission. Starting at the end of September, we will be expanding our services to include a day shelter. The goal of the shelter will be for a quiet and relaxing place where people can come during the day to read, write, study and most of all, be sheltered from the elements outside.

Because of the shelter, we are expanding our lunch service to Monday – Friday and are looking to gather some volunteers who would be able to commit to one day a week to serve lunch. Right now, the largest need is for Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. We would ask that volunteers arrive at 11:30 and stay until approximately 1pm.

We are also expanding our clothing distribution service to 5 days a week and are in need of one female volunteer per day to escort ladies down to the clothing locker and help them find what they need. This would go from 1 – approximately 2 pm, depending on the number of ladies we have coming to get clothes that day.

Although the neighborhood has debated having a day shelter in the neighborhood, there’s no question in my mind that the Bread of Life is doing everything they can to help.

With an expansion of services, they are also in need of more volunteers. If you are interested in helping, email Katie Birge at katieb@breadoflifemission.org or call 206-682-3579 ext. 108.

Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission expects to serve 167,000 meals from now until December 31^st – a 20 percent increase! That is why the 1Meal … 1Hope campaign is so important.

The headlines hurt. Family homelessness increasing. Unemployment at a nine-month high. Economy stalling again. Government cutting back on social services. Where and when will it end? The Mission has already seen an increase in the number of meals served and overnight stays since last year. Now, there will be more people, more meals, and less hope.

That’s where the Mission’s campaign comes in. We will provide meals and hope. 1M1H is the initiative that will help bring comfort and hope to thousands upon thousands – hungry kids, desperate women, homeless men.  The Mission is out on the street with them.

“We believe that we are facing a deepening humanitarian crisis. We know the economic facts. And it is precisely because of them that we are as determined as ever to deliver even more than what we have done for 78 years – to do whatever it takes,” said Jeff Lilley, president of Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission. “We know the power of a meal, we know what it is to lose, and regain hope, that is what 1Meal …1Hope is all about.”

1Meal . . . 1Hope Campaign is the initiative that will help the Mission and the community to meet Seattle’s greatest needs. 1 MEAL is about meeting the most basic needs among Seattle’s homeless and hungry. 1 HOPE honors the promise and possibility in someone’s heart, under layers of pain, that we’re able to tend to once basic needs are met.

If you’re interested in helping/finding out more, click the image below: