Congregations
For The Homeless
> www.cfhomeless.org
Steve Roberts
Executive Director
(206) 295-7803
stever@cfhomeless.org

The Sophia Way
> www.sophiaway.org
Helen Leuzzi
Executive Director
(425) 417-7575
director@sophiaway.org

In addition, the Kindering Center has the following Volunteer Opportunities:

• Administrative Support: Volunteers are needed to support various departments in the following areas—mailings, data entry, filing, photocopying, classroom art projects, library maintenance, reception desk, etc.

• Classroom Assistant: Volunteers are needed to assist teachers in classrooms with activities and support services. Position only available during the school year (September-July). Times and days may vary, Monday-Friday, 2-hr sessions.

• Committee: Volunteers who have a particular skill or area of expertise are encouraged to provide support in the following committees: Marketing/PR, Technology, Development, Finance, and Programs.

For more information on volunteer opportunities, contact the Kindering Center's volunteer coordinator at 425-653-4294 or jennifer.clark@kindering.org.

The Kindering Center's main phone number is 425-747-4004 and they are on the web at www.kindering.org.

NAMI EASTSIDE: NAMI Eastside is the East King County chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI). Their members include families, friends, and people with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder (manic depression), major depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, general anxiety disorder and ADHD.

NAMI Eastside sponsors free support groups and educational programs, and advocates for improvements to mental health delivery system in terms of access to care, standards of care, continuity of care, recovery, housing and rehabilitation.

NEEDS:In addition to financial contributions, NAMI Eastside needs help letting the community know who they are and the services they provide. They can't help people who don't know that they are there. EISCC member congregations can get the word out. Faith communities are places that people go for support. Congregations are encouraged to contact NAMI for information about how their services might help congregation members or their loved ones who are struggling with mental illness. NAMI staff members are available to make presentations to congregations, helping not only those who struggle with mental illness, but also those who struggle to find ways of helping them and making them feel welcome.

NAMI Eastside is also looking for volunteers to help with bookkeeping, to become trained as support group facilitators, to serve on their board of directors, and to help with outreach to Spanish-speaking, Russian-speaking, and other non-native English speakers.

For further information about NAMI Eastside and how you can help, please contact them at 425-885-NAMI (6264) or www.nami-eastside.org.

THE EASTSIDE WOMEN'S CENTER: The Eastside Women's Center (located at First Congregational Church in downtown Bellevue) is a homeless women's drop-in center that provides clients with hot showers, laundry facilities, noontime hot meals, information and referral services, help finding night-time shelter, job search assistance, and phone and internet service. They are open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

NEEDS:The Eastside Women's Center is looking for volunteers to prepare and deliver hot lunches, either on a one-time or an ongoing basis. Volunteers would prepare a hot main dish to serve approximately twelve people, along with a salad, milk or juice, and dessert.

Women in the community are also needed to create fellowship opportunities with clients.

For more information on how you can be a blessing to homeless women on the Eastside, please contact Helen Leuzzi at 425-653-5893 or outreach@fccbellevue.org.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: EISCC members are allowed to share announcements pertaining to their congregations/agencies at each EISCC meeting. If you wish these announcements to appear in the minutes, please remember to make them well in advance of any event that you are publicizing and, to help insure accuracy, please provide them in writing to the recording secretary. Among the announcements made at the October 9, 2007 meeting were:

THE EASTSIDE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT CONSORTIUM is hosting an Eastside Affordable Housing Forum on December 5, 2007 to be held at the Bellevue Hilton Hotel from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. The purpose of this event is to raise awareness and to create the momentum needed to solve the affordable housing problems facing East King County.

This FREE event will include a full complimentary breakfast buffet. At the event you will learn why the affordable housing crisis on the Eastside impacts us all and impacts the livability of our communities. You will learn about the current successes and struggles on the Eastside to provide affordable housing. You will be given some concrete steps that you can take and that we all can take to solve this problem.

This event is particularly important for: business leaders whose workforce is struggling to find affordable housing; policy makers, city council members and city staff who are trying to address these issues for their constituents; faith communities whose younger and older members can no longer live near their place of worship; education leaders who are struggling with students living in poverty or struggling to attract teachers due to the high cost of housing; and the general public who are impacted by clogged highways and the lack of affordable housing in the communities they know and love.

For more information or to register for the forum, please visit www.housingconsortium.org

FOR THE GRANDCHILDREN - A MEANINGFUL WAY TO EXPERIENCE THANKSGIVING: Temple B'nai Torah with our Eastside neighbor churches and ForTheGrandchildren presents a symposium entitled Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream. The object of the symposium is to inspire the bringing forth of a socially just, environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling human presence on this planet. The symposium will take place Sunday, November 25 from 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Bellevue's Temple B'nai Torah and will address, in a unique way, the illusions and delusions that drive the environmental and spiritual crises of our times. We come together to answer four simple questions: Where are we? How did we get here? What is our new dream? How do we make that dream real? Entry is $20 per person (no one will be refused entry). Registration can be made at www.forthegrandchildren.org or checks can be sent to ForTheGrandChildren c/o Victor Bremson, 8001 Sand Point Way NE C73, Seattle, WA 98115. Directions/Address at www.templebnaitorah.org. For more information, call Victor Bremson at 206-789-5293.

HERO HOUSE (a program of NAMI Eastside) will be holding its annual HERO House Gala on Saturday, December 1, 2007. In addition to raising funds, this will be a celebration of the individuals, business and foundations that believe in and support the mission of HERO House. The gala will take place at the HERO House Clubhouse, 14230 NE 21st Street, Bellevue, WA 98007. For tickets, please contact Roberta Lyon at 206-910-9417 or rlyon@herohouse.org. A minimum donation of $100 per person is suggested.

NEW EISSC WEBSITE!!! The new Eastside Interfaith Social Concerns council is up and running. You can now just click on over to www.eiscc.net to find information about EISCC, its member congregations and agencies. The website gives you easy access to the Eastside Emergency Services Directory, information about past and upcoming EISCC programs, and allows you to view or update announcements about upcoming events being sponsored by EISCC members.

November 13, 2007

AGENCY PRESENTATIONS (PART II):

• Eastside Baby Corner
• Kindering Center
• NAMI
• YWCA Women's Center

Ray Extract of Temple B'nai Torah will be contacted about presenting additional information on a program called "For the Grandchildren."

October 9, 2007:

AGENCY PRESENTATIONS – “Winter & Holiday Needs”

• Children's Response Center
• The Emergency Feeding Program of Seattle & King County
• Friends of Youth
• Hopelink
• Jewish family Services
• Multifaith Works
• The Salvation Army Eastside Corps

CHILDREN’S RESPONSE CENTER: The Children’s Response Center (located at Overlake Hospital Medical Center) is designed to “heal the hearts of children that have been harmed by sexual abuse and other traumas” as well as to prevent such traumas.  The program serves the Eastside and North King.  The program has community resource staff persons who are available to visit congregations to educate members about the warning signs of sexual abuse.  Congregations can also send groups to CRC for this training.

NEEDS: The Children’s Response Center is always looking for volunteers to help provide child care during their support group meetings.  Volunteers help out on occasional early evenings watching small groups of ten or fewer children during these meetings.  They are looking for donations of holiday gifts fro the low-income families they serve.  These “gifts” are defined broadly to include necessities and services such as haircuts.  Volunteers are also needed to work with staff to put together small-scale events such as house parties built around its do-it-yourself gingerbread house kits.  Also, volunteers can help CRC plan a caroling party to both celebrate the upcoming winter holidays and to promote CRC’s services and how to support them.  To find out more about these and other ways to support the mission of Children’s Response Center, please contact Lisa Arnold, CRC Volunteer Coordinator at 425-467-3384 or laarnold@u.washington.edu or visit CRC on the web at www.childrensresponsecenter.org.

THE EMERGENCY FEEDING PROGRAM OF SEATTLE & KING COUNTY: EFP packs 14 different varieties of healthy, nutritionally-balanced emergency food packs and distributes them through a network of 115 different social service agencies and faith communities located throughout King County, providing a readily-available response to individuals and families in crisis.  EFP is dedicated to helping ensure that no one in our community goes to bed hungry tonight.

NEEDS:  Congregations can partner with EFP by providing financial support or by participating in either their monthly “Food of the Month” food drive or their quarterly drive.  They have a particular need for donations of 28-oz iron-enriched powdered infant formula.  To find out how your congregation can help feed our hungry neighbors, please contact Brian Anderson, EFP Eastside Program Coordinator at 425-653-1652 or brian@emergencyfeeding.org.

FRIENDS OF YOUTH: Friends of Youth is dedicated to reigniting the spirit, passion and possibility of youth.  They deliver a broad range of services to youth and their families to improve their emotional stability and self-sufficiency ranging from youth shelter and housing programs, street outreach, substance abuse prevention and treatment, to mental health counseling, employment resources, parent classes and family counseling. 

NEEDS: Congregations are encouraged to partner with Friends of Youth this holiday season to put together Thanksgiving baskets with all the trimmings for families of 4-6 (if including a turkey, please call to arrange a drop off time), to host Giving Trees at their offices or places of worship, and to help pick up and deliver donated Christmas gifts from large Giving Tree sites.  On-going volunteer opportunities with Friends of Youth include holding a drive to collect baby supplies, toiletries, clothing items such as socks, underwear, hats, and gloves (all items must be new), providing a prepared dinner or breakfast for 15 youth staying at the Landing, their homeless shelter, or preparing larger meals for up to 50 youth at their Kirkland-based “Teen Feed.”  To get involved, please contact Jason Wilson, Volunteer Coordinator at 425-869-6490, ext. 309 or Jason@friendsofyouth.org.

HOPELINK: Hopelink provides a wide variety of services designed to help homeless and low-income families, children and people with disabilities.  Through all they do, Hopelink is dedicated to safeguarding and providing hope—helping those whose lives they touch truly believe that tomorrow will be better than today.

NEEDS: Hopelink has an on-going need for community interpreters of medium to high frequency in a variety of languages to help better communicate with those they serve.  During the coming holidays, they are looking for sponsors and volunteers to help with their annual gift room where families can share in the joy and promise of the season by selecting gifts that their tightly stretched budgets would otherwise make impossible.  Each year Hopelink collects and some 8,000 new, unwrapped gifts, toys and clothes from children from infants to 18 years of age.  This simply couldn’t happen without the dedication and energy of volunteers.  To learn more about these and other Hopelink volunteer opportunities please contact either Theresa Connelly at 425-869-6066 or Debra Stusser at 425-943-7558.

JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES: Volunteers are the lifeline of Jewish Family Service, a program dedicated to providing a helping hand to the most vulnerable in our community through a wide variety of services.

NEEDS: For the Jewish community, the holidays have already started.  JFS is currently in need of volunteers to help with food drives and food distribution at the JFS Food Bank in Seattle.  Help is also needed at their Eastside-based Refugee Resettlement Program which helps set up families who often arrive in this country with nothing in their own apartments and provides them with everything from warm clothes, to furniture and household supplies.  For more information on how you can help, please contact Jane Deer-Hileman at 206-861-3155 or volunteer@fjsseattle.org.

MULTIFAITH WORKS: Multifaith Works began 20 years ago as a response to the AIDS crisis providing an opportunity for faith communities to come together in a concerted effort to support those living with AIDS, and later, with Multiple Sclerosis.  As the AIDS situation changed, so has the mission of Multifaith Works.  But it remains an effort to provide support and relationships to those in our community who are isolated.

NEEDS: The annual Client Holiday Dinner is set for Thursday, December 13th.  Congregations are being asked to help purchase food or assist with the preparation of the dinner.  For their clients living with AIDS and Multiple Sclerosis, the annual Holiday Dinner has become a treasured tradition.  While many Americans experience holiday fatigue from a frantic schedule of events, many of the individuals and families served by Mulitfaith Works do not have any events to look forward to.  That’s makes the Holiday Dinner so anticipated and such a special opportunity for your congregation to be a part of.  Last year, over 200 people were in attendance.  To find out how your congregation can help, please contact Brian Halcomb, Volunteer Program Manager at 206-324-1520, ext. 236, or at brian@multifaithworks.org.

THE SALVATION ARMY EASTSIDE CORPS: The words of a popular song found in The Salvation Army songbook read: "Joy, Joy, Joy, there is Joy in The Salvation Army." The Salvation Army not only brings necessary financial relief to families in need, but strives through all its programs to bring joy.  Bringing joy to children is what the youth programs of The Salvation Army Eastside Corps are all about. Our scouting programs, after school drop-in center, summer day camp and music programs instill self-esteem and character-building qualities in children, which bring joy to their lives and help to mold them into productive members of society.  Sharing joy together is a goal of our other programs as well, such as family fellowship events, senior ministry visitations, monthly potlucks, and our men's, women's and teen's fellowship groups. The Joy of the Lord is also a key element of our Sunday School classes (for all ages) and Sunday morning Praise and Worship services.

If you need more joy in your life – and who doesn’t? – please join us. Everyone is welcome!

NEEDS: The Salvation Army Eastside Corps is looking for the following help this holiday season:

Thanksgiving Baskets:  Some families would have no Thanksgiving dinner if it weren’t for the food provided in their special food baskets.  Volunteers are needed to help sort donated food and fill the boxes for each family.

Toy ‘N Joy Shop: Each year hundreds of families are given the opportunity to “shop” for Christmas gifts that are donated by members of the community.  Volunteers are needed to help pick up, sort, mark, and display the toys as well as to assist the families with their toy selections.

Adopt-A-Family: Each year several families are adopted by individuals, families, groups and faith communities.  Everyone in the family receives gifts and a food box to help make their Christmas merry.

Giving Tree: To help the Salvation Army gather all the toys that are needed to make the season cheery and bright for those in need, organizations, businesses and faith communities can sponsor a Giving Tree where gift tags are displayed that represent children in the community.  Individuals are asked to purchase toys appropriate for that child that are then placed in the Toy ‘N Joy Shop.

Bell Ringer: The Salvation Army raises the majority of the funds it uses throughout the year during their Christmas Red Kettle Campaign.  Volunteers are needed to stand in front of local stores and ring the bell.  You can stand for a few hours or all day or several days.

Other Needs: The Salvation Army Eastside Corps is also looking for a warehouse or office space in which to hold their Toy Shop.  Space in needed from December 3rd to January 4th (1500+ square feet is preferred).  They are also looking for boxes to pack Thanksgiving Dinner for needy Eastside residents (paper ream boxes are ideal!), as well as bags in which to distribute Christmas gifts (large heavy-duty opaque bags work great!).

For more information or to volunteer to help the Salvation Army Eastside Corps this holiday season, please contact Sierra Wagner at 425-452-7300 or sierra_wagner@usw.salvationarmy.org.

July 10, 2007
Communities Count: Social and Health Indicators Across King County
Alex O'Reilly, City of Bellevue Human Services
(425-452-6884).

She identified health, housing, and mental health as indicators for which progress is noted every three years in conditions valued by King County residents. (A complete report is available from Public Health ­ Seattle and King County, 206-296-6817.) Areas of improvement include crime, tobacco and alcohol use, and academic achievement. Areas needing attention include affordable housing income inequality, health insurance coverage, and physical activity. She noted that four in ten households pay more than 30% of their income on housing. An interactive web site(www.communitiescount.org ) is being developed to provide links to specific reports, for which questions can be directed to Sandy Ciske (206-296-2791).

June 12, 2007:
HOW CAN EISCC BETTER SUPPORT CONGREGATIONAL OUTREACH?
Rev. Dr. Rick Russell (425-746-2411)

A lively discussion of the program topic centered on three questions:
A. How can EISCC support congregational outreach?

• EISCC can serve as a forum providing information about community needs, community services, and emergency services
• congregationscan inform EISCC of their needs and projects which serve as ideas and inspiration for others.
• A directory of volunteer opportunities could be created listing projects being undertaken or supported by EISCC member congregations with names of contact persons and phone numbers. This directory might be best available on the upcoming EISCC web site.
• The Web sitecould also include: congregation and agency listings with links to their own web sites a column penned each month by a congregation profiling them and their upcoming or ongoing projects, links to organizations that track legislation or offer ³action alerts² that would be of interest to EISCC congregations, and the latest update of the EISCC Eastside Emergency Services Directory.

B. Is EISCC¹s mission statement an accurate reflection of its ministry?

EISCC¹s current mission statement reads as follows:

We, Eastside Interfaith Social Concerns Council, believe that we are guided by the moving of God¹s spirit in our community to work together in a spirit of caring and celebration. We honor and respect each other¹s religious heritages, welcome and pray for each other, and share information about pressing community needs.
We provide a forum to educate, advocate, initiate, coordinate, support and through task forces and other means, work for the common good of the Eastside community to address human need and improve the quality of life.

Some comments/suggestions for change included:

Should the word God be replace with Almighty in recognition of Should the phrase work for the common good² be further defined by adding the words addressing human needs in a concrete manner?² When asked to identify phrases in the statement that are most important, members mentioned, respect other religious heritages, educate and advocate, and we are guided by God's spirit which set's EISCC apart from other more secular groups that attempt to meet human needs and work for the common good.

Should the phrase support or promote understanding and interfaith cooperation be added to the statement? Overall, the statement should attempt to succinctly answer the questions, Why are we here? and What is our purpose?

C. How can EISCC programs be made more useful for member congregations? What can EISCC representatives do?

1. EISCC could better provide information to congregations that they might want to include in their bulletins or newsletters.
2. The minutes from EISCC meeting could be distributed in a timelier manner so that the information contained therein is more current and could be used in bulletins and other announcements.
3. Representatives are strongly encouraged to report each month on things discussed at EISCC meetings to their board, staff, clergy or more generally through newsletters and other means. This information should be as specific as possible, including dates, phone numbers, etc.
4. EISCC member congregations should share with EISCC the projects that they have undertaken and what they have learned from those projects in sharing information projects they will be undertaking and inviting the participation of other EISCC congregations.
5. Details of upcoming programs should be shared prior to scheduled meetings to increase congregational interest and participation.
6. A list of program presenters, their topics, and their contact information could be added to the web site.
7. Speakers should be encouraged to inform EISCC members how they can help their causes in ways other than only donating money.
8. EISCC members should be encouraged to invite others from their congregations (both lay members and clergy) to EISCC meetings.
This is hardly an exhaustive list of possible ways to improve the way that EISCC supports the efforts of its member congregations in their ministries to help make the Eastside a better place for all its residents. EISCC members are encouraged to continue thinking about what EISCC can do better or differently and to share those thoughts with Co-presidents Marilyn Rands (425-746-5249 or gmrands@comcast.net) or Rev. Rick Russell (425-746-2411 or myrtos@comcast.net).

May, 2007 Program:
LDS EMPLOYMENT SERVICES.
Larry Clark, Regional Manager, LDS Employment Services (425-687-6942)
LDS Employment Services is an international organization with more than 250 centers operating worldwide and eight centers right here in Western Washington. Volunteers from LDS Employment Services visit employers learning about job opportunities and educating these employers about what the program can offer them. Any congregation wishing to help members who are unemployed or underemployed are welcome to use the many resources available at the LDS Employment Services web sitewww.providentliving.org.

Click on the ³Employment² tab for job postings, links to community resources, business support programs, and information about financial aid, as well practical advice like interview tips and personal assessment strategies that will help individuals successfully land a satisfying job. LDS Employment Services helped place over 3,000 people in jobs last year in Western Washington alone.

April, 2007 Program:
EASTSIDE REFUGEE & IMMIGRATION COALITION (ERIC).
Debbie Lacy (206-709-3948) reported.
Over the years, ERIC has grown to a membership of over 200 people representing 31 agencies and primarily serves as a resource for providers and other community members who work with immigrant and refugee populations in East King County. ERIC publishes Helpful Connections, an invaluable multilingual resource guide for Eastside immigrants and refugees. Available in Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese, Korean, and Chinese, Helpful Connections provides a wide range of information on subjects ranging from banking and children¹s education to neighborhood activities and social services. The guide is designed to be more than a mere telephone and address directory. Each of its 22 sections begins with a useful description targeting people who are unfamiliar with U.S. culture and service, making a true guiding hand for those who face not only the challenges of low income, but of adapting to a new and land. Copies of this guide are made available at Eastside public school, city halls, and certain King County Library branches. Interested faith communities and agencies can obtain free copies of the guide in any language by downloading from http://www.eastsideforum.org/guides.htm or picking them up directly at the Kirkland Parks and Community Services offices at 505 Market Street, Kirkland, 98033.

More recently, ERIC developed a new pilot project for the Eastside based on a ³cultural navigator² model of service that utilizes bilingual/bicultural staff as liaisons between immigrants and resources, assisting immigrants and refugees who need information about available resources as well as hands-on help accessing and navigating services. Initial languages for the pilot include Vietnamese, Russian, Spanish, and Chinese (Mandarin and/or Cantonese). Cultural Navigators are available for drop-in appointments at community hubs. These Cultural Navigators also respond and follow-up with messages left on the language-specific voicemail lines. The information maintained by the Cultural Navigators is useful not only to individuals and families, but also to providers and seeking interpreters and cultural experts. For a map of all Eastside locations with hours and languages available, please go to http://www.zeesource.net/maps/map.do?group=32495.

If you¹d like more information about ERIC and how it serves the Eastside¹s immigrant and refugee population, you can request sign up to receive their email newsletter by sending them an email to ericleaders@hotmail.com.

March, 2007 Program:
YWCA EASTSIDE EMERGENCY SERVICES DROP-IN CENTER:
Helen Leuzzi of First Congregational Church of Bellevue introduced YWCA East King County Regional Director Elizabeth Westburg (425-556-1350 ) who reported on the work of the Eastside Women¹s Center (425-241-8711), a new homeless women¹s drop-in program located at First Congregational center in downtown Bellevue. Open Mon day-Fridayfrom 9:00 a.m. until 3 p.m., services provided there include hot meals and snacks, laundry facilities, showers, computer and internet access, phones, and access to an employment specialist and a specialist in crisis intervention. (In addition, work-quality clothing is available from the YWCA¹s Working Wardrobe in Redmond. For more information call 425-556-1354). Volunteer opportunities with the drop-in center are available and interested persons should call them at 425-421-8711.

In addition to partnering with YWCA Eastside Emergency Services in creating the drop-in center, First Congregational Church of Bellevue has also made $20,000 available to them to establish a new interim housing initiative designed to provide homeless women on the Eastside with safe, decent and affordable places to live. This program will be leasing apartments in Bellevue and making them available to qualified individuals at no or low-cost rent, helping them to stabilize their situations as they seek permanent housing. A goal of raising an additional $25,000 has been set to make this important ministry a reality. EISCC member congregations are urged to consider how they can help.