As the year draws to a close, we are witnessing Seattle’s homelessness crisis grow more urgent than ever. Simply put, our focused work to prevent homelessness and stabilize lives has never been more important.

With your help, we provided tangible support to more than 2,200 families and individuals this year.

The number is abstract, but the people and stories are all too real. Here are a couple of them:

N. was caring for her two children at home when she realized she needed to end her unhealthy relationship. The consequences were daunting, as she faced rental costs that far outstripped her resources, a lack of affordable housing options, and insufficient income for school supplies and other basic needs. While preparing her family for their next phase, N. searched for a stable job and a secure place to live. She reached out to us here at the Helpline for short-term rent support. With our help, she was able to resolve her immediate housing jeopardy so that she could find solid employment and get back on her feet. She quickly got a great job and was able to stabilize herself in her current apartment, planning to transition to a more affordable apartment around the holidays. Her family is now doing well, the children are flourishing at school, and our resilient neighbor is thriving.

Cost to us? $720. The impact? Creating the conditions that allowed a vulnerable family to stop the cycle of abuse without risking homelessness as a consequence.

M. worked for the same company for many years, but she unexpectedly lost her job. She secured a new position elsewhere, but not before depleting her savings and unemployment earnings. M. would have to wait three weeks for her first paycheck. Meanwhile, her rent and utilities were overdue, so she faced eviction and likely homelessness. In a panic, M. called us and met with our staff the next day.  Not only were we able to contribute to her rent and utility bills, but we worked with her to create a realistic budget, including a savings account for future emergencies. We also connected her to a utility discount program that would reduce her monthly expenses, and we provided her with information about accessing low-cost medical insurance, since her new job didn’t offer benefits.

Cost to us? $354. The impact? Preventing an eviction and helping stabilize someone’s life going forward.

All of our clients have their own stories and their own complex problems to solve. We provide tailored support that helps people face those problems and overcome them. None of this would happen without the generous support we receive from people like you.

This year, whether or not you plan to make New Year’s resolutions, take resolute action to prevent homelessness with a year-end gift to Queen Anne Helpline.

Your shared commitment to community is powerful, and we are all stronger for it.

Thank you everyone who participated in our annual Taste of Queen Anne gala on October 13th, where we gathered both to celebrate and strengthen our community.

Together we raised $177,815 to support Queen Anne Helpline’s work of preventing homelessness and stabilizing lives. We couldn’t have done this without the extraordinary caring and generosity of our supporters. Special thanks go out to:

• All of our business sponsors, including Title Sponsor HomeStreet Bank and Matching Gift Sponsor Metropolitan Market
• Our energized and committed volunteers who worked tirelessly to make the event a success
• The outstanding local restaurants who provided tastes of their culinary best
• Over 30 table hosts who brought friends, family, colleagues, and neighbors together in shared purpose
  
  

The crisis of homelessness can be overwhelming, but the Taste of Queen Anne is one uplifting way for us to come together to make a tremendous difference in the lives of vulnerable neighbors. Thank you for putting your values into action!
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Warmly,
Cara
Cara Lauer, Executive Director

Please join us in welcoming Cara Lauer to the Queen Anne Helpline as our incoming Executive Director. Cara grew up in the Seattle area and migrated south to pursue undergraduate and graduate studies in psychology at Stanford University, where she studied the ways in which life tends to get better with age across adulthood, in spite of cultural presumptions of decline. This academic focus was inspired by her grandmother, Fay Kerry, a Queen Anne High School alum for whom learning was a lifelong endeavor and living was a gift.

Cara moved back to Seattle in 2005 to be closer to family and work more directly in community. She comes to us with a depth of experience in social services, including serving as the Executive Director at Elderwise and a variety of roles within Sound Generations (then Senior Services), Solid Ground, and most recently, Neighborhood House. She and her husband, Brian, have a 19-month-old daughter, Maggie, who you may see waving and saying hello from her stroller at the Fun Run!