This is the first year that people accessing Snoqualmie Valley Shelter Services don’t need to worry about whether they will be indoors this winter and when.
In years past, the shelter would have been scurrying to get shelter open by securing and permitting various locations, hiring and training staff, gearing up volunteers, working and reworking budgets.
The pandemic caused the shelter to shift from a winter-only overnight shelter, with daytime services, to a 24/7 year-round overnight shelter. This pivot ballooned the shelter’s budget from $645,000 in the 2021 fiscal year to $ 1.3 million in the current year.
Says shelter director Jennifer Kirk, “Our budget has doubled in one year…. that is both exciting and daunting.”
Even with these changes, SVSS is still not able to meet the full need in the Valley. Every week, they refer numerous people to other agencies simply because they don’t have the space or financial bandwidth to do more.
So, this year, their primary fundraising event is a 5-day Week of Giving. Join Snoqualmie Valley Shelter Services (SVSS) for their Reclaiming Stability Virtual Week of Giving fundraiser from Monday, November 8th – Friday, November 12th, 2021.
This fundraiser will celebrate their organization and raise critical funding so SVSS can continue providing life-changing services to those experiencing homelessness in our community and helping them to reclaim their lives.
During this Week of Giving, they will share daily video messages highlighting the vital work of SVSS and the community they serve. They need YOU to help them meet the increasing demand for homeless services in the Snoqualmie Valley. Please register today to receive their videos and more information about the virtual fundraiser.
Snoqualmie Valley Shelter Services is bringing our community together to help support their mission to provide much-needed programs and services that directly benefit the community members living unhoused in the Snoqualmie Valley.
Last month, after some time in the SVSS motel voucher program, the shelter transitioned a family of three into permanent housing.
This valley family entered homelessness for the first-time last year, after the loss of numerous extended family members. Although educated and articulate, mom struggled to navigate the difficult, and often frustrating, social service systems by herself. She partnered with SVSS’s Housing Case Manager and, together, they were able break down barriers and secure housing for her and her children.
Said mom, on her family’s move into permanent housing, “It’s going to be fun setting everything up and decorating, and totally awesome that the kids have their own space. Thank you for everything; you really went above and beyond, and we are so very grateful.”
With our support, SVSS can continue to grow its programs in response to the increased demand for homeless services in our area. These programs include:
- A congregate shelter that has 10 permanent beds & 5 emergency overflow beds that prioritizes single adults
- Their motel voucher program which has 15 permanent double-occupancy motel rooms that families, couples and those with more severe medical vulnerabilities can access.
- Outreach services for those still living unsheltered in the Snoqualmie Valley
- A small, subsidized housing program for 3 households
- Eleven Emergency Housing Vouchers through the King County Regional Housing Authority & King County Housing Authority. These are permanent subsidized housing vouchers that will allow the shelter to house valley folks in their own community.
If you can support SVSS, donations of any size are appreciated and are currently being accepted. They are endlessly grateful to this amazing community and how we embrace our neighbors, regardless of housing status.
Comments
I spoke to the 3 people staying in the shelter one day when they were hanging out on the veterans park. None of them were from the valley.
Whats the incentive to move? There was an overdose there a few weeks ago and I see the same 2 people at the gas station across the street buying single beers.
I fully support someone in need but I do not support forever handouts. Especially to those who drink all day and sit in the park doing nothing.
So homeless are supposed to stay in the town that they became homeless in? If I were homeless I’d go where the best support was being provided to better my odds of success. Solving homelessness will take patience, resources and partnerships between communities. Armchair experts like us will not solve it by complaining and having a NIMBY attitude. Either will arresting or shipping them back to where they came from. Providing temporary or permanent housing with resources and/or mental support will be a start but the details how to do effectively is a huge challenge. In the meantime the homeless population is growing and few are brave enough to act. But Jennifer and her team are the brave and compassionate people will to take this challenge on.