On a cold day on December 8, over 50 Home Depot employees from stores around Seattle spent the day volunteering at McDermott Place. The volunteer effort was part of Home Depot's "Celebration of Service" to honor U.S. military veterans.

 

McDermott Place provides permanent low income housing linked with supportive services for 75 chronically homeless individuals, including 44 veterans. The volunteers worked side-by-side with residents of McDermott Place to create gardening spaces, build a retaining wall, and construct two outdoor pavilions with benches and planters.

 

In addition to providing volunteers, Home Depot donated $20,000 for materials and supplies. At the end of the day, McDermott Place residents had a beautiful new space to garden and enjoy the outdoors. Thank you to everyone at Home Depot and LIHI who worked so hard to make this day a success!

On December 8, King County Council Chair Larry Gossett joined the residents and staff of Gossett Place for a festive holiday dinner. The dinner was organized by staff of LIHI and Sound Mental Health, and a generous donation was provided by the Rainier Lions Club. Council Chair Gossett and his wife, Rhonda, enjoyed sharing the delicious meal with the residents. Thank you to Gayle Johnson, Annamaria Gueco, and Brian Youngberg of Sound Mental Health; Tony O'Connor and Serge Djang of LIHI; the Rainier Lions Club, and Chef Renata Bocayuva!

On December 15, the Seattle International District Rotary Club presented LIHI with a $10,000 grant to help families with children living in transitional housing. The grant will focus on the needs of homeless, immigrant and refugee families living at Columbia Court in Seattle.

 

Shannon Woodman of the ID Rotary Club (second from left) with Sharon Lee (far left), Columbia Court resident (second from right) and LIHI staff Zena Dodson, Hannah Rudnick, and Ania Beszterda-Alyson.

 

"LIHI and the residents of Columbia Court thank the ID Rotary for their generous support and partnership in helping to end poverty and homelessness," said LIHI's Executive Director Sharon Lee. "Refugee and immigrant families face extraordinary barriers to becoming self-reliant when they come to this country. Unfortunately some families experience extreme hardship and fall into homelessness. This gift from the I.D. Rotary will provide critically needed services and support to immigrant households with children to enable them to successfully transition out of being homeless."

Seattle Works volunteers took on some big projects at two LIHI buildings this month. 28 volunteers sorted, cleaned, organized, and painted - all for the benefit of LIHI residents! Thanks to these enthusiastic and dedicated young professionals, homeless individuals moving into the Frye Apartments can now access a well-stocked Household Supply Bank and Arion Court residents will enjoy freshly painted hallways. Thank you Seattle Works!

 

 

Check out more photos of LIHI volunteers in action here!

Community leader and LIHI resident Janice Tufte was recently honored by the Faith Action Network (FAN) with their "Connecting Communities" award. According to FAN, Janice has been instrumental in projects that engage the Muslim community, such as the Islamic Civic Engagement Project. She has also been a longtime advocate for the homeless community as a member of the Interfaith Task Force on Homelessness. Congratulations Janice!

 

What better way to celebrate the New Year than by taking a stand for change? On January 20th join the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance and thousands of other advocates and community leaders for Housing and Homelessness Advocacy Day in Olympia. Let our elected officials know that they need to fully fund the Housing Trust Fund, and we will not tolerate more cuts to the services that homeless and low-income citizens depend upon! Click here to register and find more information.