Families Together 2023 was a success!

Families Together 2023 was a success!

 

Families Together 2023 was on Thursday, October 26, 2023!

Following last year’s successful format, our annual fundraiser offered both in-person and virtual attendance options.

This year, Families Together 2023 occurred in the midst of our ongoing Annual Fund 2023 campaign, which seeks to raise $100,000 by the end of the year.

Total number of unique devices that attended: 34

Total number of attendees at small-group (in-person) gatherings: 65

Total amount raised (so far!): $27,500

Our keynote speaker, Benjamin Simons, a community development manager at Pallet, explained: how Pallet shelters evolved; how they meet the need for durable temporary shelters; and how Pallet shelters offer dignity and space for families who are experiencing setbacks – without having to settle for crowded mass congregant shelter areas. We are proud to partner with Pallet on our most recent program, the Faith Family Village shelter program in Everett, WA.

Faith Family Village to Open Soon

Faith Family Village to Open Soon

We are committed to working with partners to provide low-cost yet effective solutions in the effort to minimize family homelessness in our communities. And Faith Family Village – a Pallet Shelter project for families with children in Everett – is just the latest example of an innovative and collaborative partnership to move families off the streets and into homes.

In partnership with Faith Lutheran Church, Faith Food Bank, the City of Everett, Snohomish County, and Pallet Shelter, the Interfaith Family Shelter will operate an additional eight emergency shelter units for families at this new location in Everett.

A diverse group of partners came together to break ground for Faith Family Village on August 21, 2023, including: US Representative Rick Larsen, Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin, Everett City Councilmember Paula Rhyne, WA Representative Mary Fosse, Bishop Shelley Wee, and Roxana Boroujerdi.

The Interfaith Family Shelter is running the emergency-shelter-and rehousing program for families at Faith Family Village, based on the same proven and successful model at the Family Shelter and scattered shelter sites.

This latest project increases our program capacity by 38% and house about 32 people—including 19 children—at a time. More importantly, Faith Family Village provides even more families with the tools to overcome homelessness, achieve permanent housing, and become financially self-sufficient.

 

Construction underway at the Faith Family Village site in September, 2023.

At this location, each 100 sq. ft. individual unit will contain four beds and a lock on the door. Families will have access to our emergency shelter program, food from the Faith Food Bank, secure bathrooms with showers, a kitchen, a play structure, the Children’s Program, and the range of other resources that we provide to help families develop healthy living dynamics and financial independence.

Making Birthday Dreams come true

Making Birthday Dreams come true

Interfaith was proud to commemorate one of our long-time partner’s milestones in June: Birthday Dreams celebrated its 13,000th birthday celebration right here at the Family Shelter, delivering birthday goodies to make one young resident’s birthday extra special!

As AJ and his mom, Merina, watched in glee, several gift bags and a large chocolate cake were carefully unloaded and stacked on a table beside the Family Shelter play structure. The excited birthday boy exercised admirable restraint as his mom smiled and thanked the Birthday Dreams crew, and Interfaith’s Child & Family Advocate, Lynn Barashkoff, for organizing this special celebration.

“Birthday Dreams is based in Renton, and we work with over 70 shelter partners in Pierce, King, and Snohomish Counties,” says Development Director, Jarod Drozdowski. “It’s a wonderful feeling to have a positive impact on the people who need help in the community.”

AJ and his mom, Merina

Thank you to Jim, everyone at Interfaith, and Birthday Dreams. We really appreciate it!”

– Merina, AJ’s mom

AJ is all smiles, surrounded by his birthday surprise

Little AJ – who turned 5 years old in mid-June – and his family moved out of the Family Shelter a couple of weeks earlier, and now live in a nearby apartment. AJ is the middle child of three children and attends preschool. He likes books, counting numbers, and playing with blocks.

Birthday Dreams and its army of volunteers are dedicated to bringing smiles to kids on their birthdays. Volunteers like Jim Waugh, who has been helping out at Birthday Dreams for four-and-a-half years now. To date, he has made over 2,000 deliveries, and drives all over the tri-county region from his home base in Kent, WA.

Volunteer Jim Waugh greets the birthday boy with gifts and cake.

Jim Waugh has made over 2,000 deliveries for Birthday Dreams- many of them to the Interfaith Family Shelter!

“I was looking for something to do to support nonprofits, and decided to get involved with Birthday Dreams,” says Waugh. “I like coming to Interfaith a lot – seeing the kids and their families, as I deliver and drop off gifts.” He pauses and adds, “I enjoy seeing their smiling faces and making a bit of a difference in their lives.”

“Jim is our resident rock star!” says Drozdowski. “And it’s such a pleasure to work with Lynn and the crew at the Family Shelter. The more we can do here, the better!”

 

Hospitality House opens its doors

Hospitality House opens its doors

The Interfaith Family Shelter opens its second scattered-site shelter location in Everett!

There’s no place like home for the holidays! And now at least three families have a cozy and welcoming space for the cold wintry days ahead: the Interfaith Family Shelter launched its second scattered-site shelter location, Hospitality House, in Everett on December 18, 2022.

In partnership with Cascade View Presbyterian Church, this new shelter location will apply our proven and successful emergency-shelter-and rehousing program, and  also increase our current capacity by 23 percent. Hospitality House serves up to three families at any time, i.e., at least 12 families per year (approx. 40 individuals, including 24 children) which allows us to serve even more families in our community.

Rev. Luke Hyder (Pastor, Cascade View Presbyterian Church) & Don Whitfield (Interfaith Board Member).

Rev. Luke Hyder & Jim Dean (Executive Director, Interfaith Family Shelter)

The overarching goal is to help families achieve long-term housing upon exiting the 90-day program: our other similar scattered-site Miracle House (operated in partnership with Marysville United Methodist Church) has served more than 15 families since its launch in February, 2020, and enabled 80% of them to achieve stable housing.

Located at 1010 Casino Road, Hospitality House will offer families: up to 90 days of emergency shelter, Rapid Rehousing case management, the Children’s program, employment and healthy living guidance, mental health and/or substance use counseling, and other resources to help them achieve independence and stable housing.

Does your family or someone you know need emergency shelter at Hospitality House?

Leave a message on our Intake Line (425) 200-5121, and fill out this form. Our staff will contact you soon:

Shelter Intake Request

Thank you for your interest in our program. Please fill out this form and our staff will get back to you soon.
Your Name(Required)
Include area code. This is the number we will use to contact you, so please provide a current working phone number.
Relationship to Client(Required)

Current Address or Location
How many adults will need assistance through our shelter programs?
How many children will need assistance through our shelter programs? (Includes pregnant and pre-natal children)
Do the following apply to anyone in your household? (check all that apply)(Required)

Giving Tuesday 2022 Overview

Giving Tuesday 2022 Overview

Giving Tuesday 2022:

You Gave, and we’re Grateful

Giving Tuesday – which falls on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving – is always a special time for the non-profit community. This is an important occasion to recognize and support organizations that are making a difference in our communities.

At Interfaith, Giving Tuesday is especially important because all donations go directly to fund our programs and services. That means that your gift is directly impacting the lives of families with children in our communities, whether it’s helping cover basic needs services, utilities and maintenance repairs, art supplies for the Children’s Program, or any of the other everyday demands at our shelter locations.

Hot on the heels of our successful Capital Campaign to buy the Family Shelter, Giving Tuesday helps keep our programs running! And we are so thankful to everyone who gave this year.

Total Giving Tuesday funds raised: $6,865

Total number of donors: 26

Rest assured that your gift is making a family’s holiday season brighter!

Homecoming Benefit Concert on Sep. 18

Homecoming Benefit Concert on Sep. 18

The Interfaith Family Shelter is proud to collaborate with our community partners on the Homecoming Benefit Concert on September 18,2022!

The Homecoming – Stabilizing Our Community One HOME at a Time concert is a joint effort by several community organizations to support local charities that specifically provide assistance to people in our community who are facing homelessness and housing instability.

In addition to the Interfaith Family Shelter, proceeds will also go to support Domestic Violence Services, Cocoon House, the YWCA/Pathways for Women, and VOA/Maud’s House.

And the concert line-up features many amazing musical talents, including: The Davanos, Medicine Hat, Vandals, Brenda Kashmir, Bernadette Bascom, Roni Lee (Runaways), Lynn Sorensen (Bad Company), and Roger Fisher (Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame Artist from HEART).

Show up to support an important social issue in our community and also enjoy some amazing live music!

Open to all ages, and tickets range from $37.50 – $100

Families Together 2022 was a success!

Families Together 2022 was a success!

 

Families Together 2022 was on October 26, 2022 – and was a big success!

We raised $26,000… and counting!

This year, Families Together had both in-person and virtual attendance options. So there was something for everyone, depending on their preference.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this event a success! The numbers are now in, and here’s what we know:

6 in-person groups of attendees joined Table Captain hosts at local venues

AND

33 unique devices logged on to join us virtually.

We have (so far) raised: $26,300 by 74 donors.

 

 

 

Meet our Staff!

Our amazing staff were in the spotlight this year. Meet them and learn about their amazing impact on families’ lives:

 

GiveBIG 2022 – Thank you for supporting us!

GiveBIG 2022 – Thank you for supporting us!

GiveBIG 2022 was on May 3 – 4, 2022.

GiveBIG is a statewide movement that supports non-profits in your community.

You have been hearing a lot about our ongoing Capital Campaign to purchase the Family Shelter. And we have made great progress toward that fundraising goal.

But even during this exciting time of change, the Interfaith Family Shelter’s programs and services that serve families in our community still need funding and support.

And that’s where GiveBIG comes in!

With the help of our generous and long-standing supporters, Interfaith raised a little over $4,968 during GiveBIG 2022!

Thank you to everyone who made a gift toward our GiveBIG campaign.

We’ve said it before: Your gift makes a tremendous difference in a family’s life!

As we continue to explore partnerships and innovative solutions to the homelessness crisis in our region, we want to pause and say THANK YOU for supporting our efforts to help families develop self-sufficiency, housing stability, and independence!

Trust-based Philanthropy

Trust-based Philanthropy

Earlier this year, the Interfaith Family Shelter was proactively selected by the Puget Sound Energy Foundation (PSEF) as the recipient of a trust-based philanthropy program.

Among a handful of other regional nonprofits, Interfaith was recognized as an exceptional nonprofit organization leading the way in the prevention and elimination of homelessness throughout PSE’s 10-county service area.

This unique philanthropic approach focuses on an organization’s core aspirations, principles, and best practices. It reflects PSE’s commitment to help local communities and support programs that benefit those experiencing homelessness by providing pathways to home ownership.

Unlike competitive grants, trust-based philanthropy involves an in-depth examination of carefully pre-selected candidates: a detailed analysis of their history, reputation, governance and leadership, vision and strategy, communications with community stakeholders, resiliency, and social equity all factor into this thorough assessment.

“We hope this trust-based philanthropy model inspires nonprofit organizations who are working diligently in this sector to know that they have the trust and confidence of funders like the PSE Foundation to continue their great work. We view this as the beginning of a fruitful partnership,” says Karlee Deatherage, Senior Community Engagement Representative at Puget Sound Energy.

“On behalf of PSE and the PSE Foundation, I look forward to supporting the vital work Interfaith Family Shelter does for our community members in Snohomish County without stable housing.”

The $25,000 unrestricted grant has been allocated to Interfaith Family Shelter’s ongoing Capital Campaign to purchase the Family Shelter, and enable us to continue serving families in our community in the years ahead.

We are deeply grateful to PSEF for their confidence in our programs and track record.

And we applaud PSE’s commitment to support programs that help families break the cycle of homelessness!

Families Together 2021 was a success!

Families Together 2021 was a success!

Families Together 2021 was on Wed, October 20, 2021!

Our annual fundraiser showcasing the Interfaith Family Shelter’s recent accomplishments – including our expansion into Homeless Prevention – was online again this year.

 

 

A BIG thank you to everyone who attended and supported us with a gift!

Attendees

Total number of registrants: 128 (39% increase from 2020)

Total number of attendees: 111 (25% increase from 2020)

on 96 unique devices (8% increase from 2020)

 

Funds Raised: $28,311

Your support helps our programs serve families in our community!

We could not do it without you.

If you missed the event, you can watch a recording of Families Together 2021 by clicking here.