On Tuesday, August 16th, King County residents voted overwhelmingly to renew the Veterans and Human Services Levy for another six years. The measure had strong, bipartisan support across King County. Results show nearly 69% of ballots counted approved the levy.

 

Kelly Rider, Policy Director with the Housing Development Consortium, expressed gratitute to LIHI for providing crucial support to the campaign. "I want to thank LIHI, Imagine Housing and Catholic Housing Services/Catholic Community Services (CHS/CCS) for engaging the most volunteers in our Get Out the Vote efforts." Sharon Lee, Executive Director of LIHI, joined Rider, King County Executive Dow Constantine, and other campaign supporters for a celebration on the evening of August 16th. "The citizens of King County have demonstrated their respect for our veterans and compassion for our neighbors most in need by voting to renew the Veterans and Human Services Levy," Constantine said. "I thank the voters for approving the levy and showing, once again, that King County is an extraordinary community in which to live."

Dear Readers,

 

I am pleased to announce the grand opening celebration of Gossett Place, a brand new building in Seattle's University District. The building is named for Larry Gossett, King County Council Chair and human rights champion. The 63 units at Gossett Place serve homeless veterans, young adults, singles and couples.

 

Please join King County Executive Dow Constantine, LIHI Board President Melinda Nichols, United Way CEO Jon Fine, Bob Santos, Enterprise VP M.A. Leonard, and others in celebrating this exciting event!

 

Wednesday, September 14th at 3:00PM
4719 12th Avenue N.E.
Seattle, WA 98105

 

I look forward to seeing you there! If you need more information, please contact Jo Kingman at (206) 443-9935 ext. 142.

 

Sharon Lee
Executive Director

 

LIHI invites you to celebrate 20 years of serving our neighbors in need at our Gala and Auction on Friday, October 28th, at the Hyatt at Olive 8 in Seattle. Presented by KeyBank and numerous other sponsors, this event is our premier fundraising event of the year. All proceeds will go to our housing and supportive services programs, and the Urban Rest Stop. Please join in as an event sponsor, help secure an auction item, and register early for the event. For more information, contact Shelly Tolo at 206.443.9935 ext. 140 or auction@LIHI.org . See you there!

Bellevue's Beal Bank employees have been volunteering with LIHI since April, providing individualized job search assistance and computer coaching to residents at Columbia Court and Martin Court. Here's what Michael, Jean, Hope and Julie shared about their experiences so far:

 

"It has been an amazing experience getting to know LIHI as an organization and bonding with the residents. It is truly rewarding being able to teach and help others, and I look forward to the next round of classes."

 

"It was a fun and meaningful journey. The chance to help someone become more self-sufficient is priceless. Thank you for allowing me to positively impact another life."

 

Beal Bank volunteers help LIHI residents

We are looking forward to the Beal Bank team's kick-off of a second series of volunteer coaching, and are recruiting additional volunteers to provide this critical assistance to residents currently on a wait list. Share your job search and/or computer skills with LIHI residents! Email volunteer@LIHI.org to learn more.

 

Our second shout out this month goes to Projectline Services, Inc. A team of twelve staff volunteered their time in early August to help prepare our newest housing site for move-in. Big thank you to this enthusiastic group also for their donations of books, clothing and toiletries, and for providing home-baked cookies as "welcome home" gifts to residents of LIHI's Gossett Place!

Arion Court tenant shows off his new kitchen

LIHI is pleased to annouce that Arion Court is 100% occupied. Arion Court has 36 units for homeless individuals, with 16 of those units set aside for homeless veterans. The units for veterans were recently remodeled with energy efficient appliances and cabinet/stove-top/sink inserts. "I am very proud that we were able to fill all the vet units by the end of July," said Travis Jones, the program coordinator for Arion Court.

Marc Anderson with Sharon Lee (center) and LIHI supporter Vicky Downs

In July, LIHI was pleased to host a visit from Marc Alexander, the Governer's Coordinator on Homelessness for the state of Hawaii. Sharon Lee took Alexander on a tour of several LIHI properties including McDermott Place, The Bart Harvey, and the Urban Rest Stop. The visit was also an opportunity for Lee and Alexander to share ideas. Alexander expressed that visiting LIHI was a great experience. "Visiting the various projects, like The Bart Harvey, is inspiring because it shows what can be done to help those in need when we stay focused on solutions that really work."

Hunt Hoffman with Sharon Lee and Ronni Gilboa

This August the Urban Rest Stop said goodbye to Hunt Hoffman, who has spent the past year at the URS as a member of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. The URS has partnered with the JVC/Americorp program for the past two years. This partnership allows the URS to have a Mainstream Services Liaison position to assist homeless people who are interested in housing and other services. The volunteer helps URS patrons apply for social and health services and financial supports that they may be eligible for but are not yet receiving. In the past two years, over 2,200 individual referrals were made for housing/shelters, meals, employment, medical and dental care, government benefits, counseling, access to bus tickets, and other emergency needs. URS patrons have successfully moved into LIHI housing at McDermott Place, Arion Court, Glen Hotel, Martin Court, and Gossett Place. The new JVC is Caitlin Lanigan. You will see her at the URS assisting with housing and locating resources for patrons.