Community During COVID

3 ways you can make a difference right now

We’ve all been there over the last month. You’ve entered the grocery store, looking for toilet paper, hand sanitizer, or clorox wipes, only to be met with empty shelves. Conversations revolved around our new routines, and what stores still had rice in stock. But time has passed, and you’ve gone from feelings of novelty to disbelief to panic to acceptance.

And now you’re restless. You want to do something, be part of the amazing community of people, like the nurses, doctors, firefighters, bus drivers, cooks, delivery people (the list goes on!) who are fighting against the virus that seems to have forever changed our lives.

For our neighbors on the street during this uncertain time, they are experiencing a time where hygiene items are in short supply, hourly work has stopped or puts people’s health at risk, food banks are running dry, and social distancing in a shelter or encampment isn’t possible. It’s a time they find themselves to be even more vulnerable.

So if you’re asking yourself, “ What can I do? How can I make an impact?” — keep reading.

Here are three tangible ways you can make a life-changing difference and maintain our sense of community during a time of isolation:

#1 Invest financially in our unhoused neighbors. Help people afford the basics.

Why? Now more than ever, the basics are hard to come by… especially for individuals experiencing homelessness. Many of the resources they have relied on have closed, like day centers, free meal sites, and hygiene facilities. Their limited resources are being stretched even further as they try to meet their critical needs. Your donations make a significant impact!

Here’s how to give in the Samaritan app.

#2 Share an encouraging word. Even though we’re experiencing physical isolation, we don’t have to experience social isolation!

“The part [people experiencing homelessness are] not getting now is the interaction,” said Krissie Dillin, program director for Phinney Neighborhood Association. “We have to tell them they’re still important — still seen.”

That’s from a Seattle Times report on how the vulnerable health and safety of our unhoused neighbors stretches beyond the physical danger of living on the streets during a pandemic. It includes the profound mental and emotional effects of isolation, too.

Here’s how to send an Encouraging Message in the Samaritan app.

Learn more about giving masks and hand sanitizers to people enduring homelessness when you buy one for yourself at Samaritan Apparel.

#3 Support local & nonprofit organizations serving our unhoused friends.

Why? As nonprofits and stores using Samaritan continue to rally around the unhoused community, we can rally around them!

How? That depends on the organization! Please, consider supporting some of your community’s needs below. We’ll keep the list updated.

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REST (Real Escape from the Sex Trade)

– Funding for hand sanitization stations at encampments
– Contact: Emily Ishiki (emilyishiki@iwantrest.com)

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Mary’s Place Day Center

– Hand sanitizer
– Gloves
– Masks
– Any hygiene products
– Contact: Sarina, 206–621–8474

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Pioneer Square Clinic (Harborview Hall)
Harborview Hall, a shelter for COVID-19 patients experiencing homelessness, is out of the basics like pajamas and slippers.

Bring clothes or care packages to 326 9th Ave (2nd window just north of the front doors, under the tent).

– Pajamas (Especially sizes L & XL)
– Slippers
– Comfort kits (snacks, letters of encouragement, anything that could help bring a smile to the sick)
– TV for streaming movies to those in the shelter
– Coffee
– Break treats
– Meals
– Community love!!!
– Contact: support@samaritan.city

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Pike Market Senior Center

– Donations: https://pikemarketseniorcenter.ejoinme.org/MyPages/DonationPage/tabid/460228/Default.aspx

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Chocolati Cafe
Grab takeout coffee from one of their coffee shops in Greenwood, Wallingford, or near Greenlake!

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Grocery Outlet Madrona (Central Dist.)
The Grocery Outlet in Madrona has accepted your donations to people’s smart wallets as a form of payment, allowing some of your financial support to help meet critical needs over the last 1.5 years. Today, they’re still serving the unhoused community in the midst of this outbreak––check them out!

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Street Bean Coffee
They’re still selling bags of coffee! Use code “inthistogether” to get shipping on orders of 2+ bags. You can also donate to their amazing mission of providing opportunities to street-involved youths.

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