Seattle Mennonite Church

3120 NE 125th,   Seattle, WA   98125
SMC Home Page   |   Outreach Home Page

Seattle Mennonite Church's Community Ministry

  October 2007,  Proposal for Drop-in Space Location

Background and Introduction to SMC Community Ministry

The development of Community Ministry at SMC is an outgrowth of SMC's vision for peace and justice as followers of Jesus Christ. The Seattle Mennonite Church's Task Force on Homelessness was established in 2004 to coordinate a holistic response to the homeless community in the Lake City neighborhood (where the church is located).

       

Goal

Stop, Drop, and Roll's goal is to provide belongings storage and transportation to allow clients access to critically needed services and employment opportunities not available in Lake City. Stop, Drop, and Roll is open once each week and serves 15-25 individuals each Thursday.

Details

The program provides secure storage of personal belongings for the day, roundtrip metro bus tickets, toilets, telephone, and other resources from 6-8 am and 6-9pm each Thursday. The program, which was developed in consultation with the homeless community, is staffed by task force volunteers along with homeless clients.

Lake City currently does not provide many of the services or employment opportunities in the neighborhood that our clients call home. Labor Ready left the neighborhood several years ago. The closest community clinics are in Wallingford and Greenwood. The nearest social service agency, the North Seattle Family Center (located on our church property), focuses its efforts on a different population in need.

Our program invites local homeless individuals to stop by on Thursday morning between 6am to 8am. We provide coffee, basic hygiene services (sinks and toilets), a telephone for arranging appointments or conducting brief personal business, and a secure place to leave their personal belongings to facilitate travel outside the neighborhood. We also provide 2 Metro bus tickets for roundtrip transportation. Clients are asked to return between 6pm and 8pm to retrieve their belongings. Volunteers are available to assist with finding community resources and services.

Our clients have found the service to be of vital assistance to enable them to visit a physician, access complete hygiene services, visit a social service agency for support, or find employment when their lack of cash available on a given day would otherwise make it impossible. They have found that the baggage storage service enhances their ability to move around town more efficiently, with less concern over belongings left behind, and with decreased stigma.

 

kevin, kim and don    youth group vol

Other Seattle Mennonite Church programs benefiting homeless and low-income residents

  1. The congregation hired Community Ministers , who began their work on June 1 st , 2007. Their role is to offer spiritual care, reaching out and engaging homeless people, extending hospitality, and connecting people with resources and referrals when desired. The Community Ministers will work with SMC to develop future programs, do public education, liaison with community partners, and develop the resource base available to the homeless community in Lake City.
  2. The SMC Emergency Fund continues to provide funds for emergency housing, medical bills, groceries, hygiene services, utilities, gas, and bus tickets. The fund responds to three to four requests for assistance each day. These funds are provided to both low-income and homeless residents.
  3. We own and manage two houses on our property that are used as transitional housing for homeless residents.
  4. SMC provides monthly community meals at our church to continue dialogue with the homeless residents of the neighborhood as well as other neighborhood stakeholders. We continue to gather feedback, suggestions, and information on needs and abilities in this forum. This has recently become a weekly gathering, as two other churches and one synagogue have joined this effort. Still outstanding is a volunteer group for the months which have a 5th Sunday.
  5. SMC facilitates the Lake City Task Force on Homelessness , which gathers each month (2nd Friday 3:30-5:00pm) at the Seattle Mennonite Church to share insights and efforts on ways to address the concerns of homelessness in the Lake City neighborhood. Goals include information sharing, strategizing, visioning, inviting participation, and collaborating.

Future Plans

We continue to develop other services that can be delivered to this homeless population that would empower them to rise out of homelessness. Due to the redevelopment of the Lake City Park, a large group of homeless residents have been displaced from the space they've, until recently, used as ‘legal loitering space'. This group of folks, though not unchanging, has a degree of cohesiveness and sense of belonging to the Lake City neighborhood. This loss of space has caused the need for a safe and acceptable location for these neighbors to congregate. In the past, Labor Ready, a temporary employment agency, was located in Lake City and provided jobs for some members of this group. Since their departure, there are even fewer opportunities for finding employment in the neighborhood.

Consequently, we have future projects under consideration which include a daytime drop-in center, employment services, legal and medical services, nighttime shelter, and other social support services. Our hope is that the need for metro bus tickets and belongings storage provided by Stop, Drop, and Roll will decrease as more of these services can be provided within Lake City – it is the neighborhood these homeless residents call their own.

Volunteering and Support

If you are interested in connecting with homeless folks in Lake City, and becoming part of the community of support, please contact the SMC Community Ministers – Jonathan & Melanie Neufeld at seattlesdr@gmail.com or call the church office, (206) 361-4630.