Words of Encouragement

Good morning Lynn,

I am the main architect of our plans to end homelessness in Tacoma/Pierce County. We are making great strides and still facing new challenges in our region. I am inspired by your work and have forwarded your e-mail to our Coalition to End Homelessness membership. I would like to walk beside you for a while when you are in Tacoma this weekend. Raising awareness is a constant battle, and we would like to take advantage of this opportunity.

All my best,

Troy Christensen

Mental Health Manager

Pierce County Human Services

Mental Health and Homeless Initiaives

Lynn,

Bless you for your courageous journey - if more people were as dedicated and passionate as you we would not have a homeless population. I will pass your message on to the people to help you in your goal of reaching 25,000.

Cindy McNabb

Deputy Director

Nativity House

Lynn,

It was terrific to meet you and Patrick! Raising awareness about people in need in our communities is a wonderful project, and I very much envy your walk - it's a singular way to very much appreciate the beauty that surrounds us every day.

Bill Schmidt

Noel House

Seattle, Washington

Hi Lynn,

What you are doing has so touched my heart. I do hope you will come by and talk to my residents. It will give them some great hope and encouragement.

Linda Maples,

Case manager

A Clean and Sober Place

Tacoma, Washington

Hi Lynn,

Great idea! I am happy to support this. Keep us updated and let us know how to join you as you walk through Oregon!

Annie

Family Bridge

Portland, Oregon

Lynn,

Of course I will walk with you --- much longer than the mile or two you are asking. Keep me posted when you will be in the LA area. Walk on!

Valerie McCaffrey

Casting Director

Los Angeles, CA

Lynn,

Thank you so much for your time and for telling me your story. I think this is a story needing to be told, and I think this will change the lives of many people who have misconceptions of the homeless. Good luck on your journey!

Nick Newman

Online Content manager/reporter

Mormon Times

A Most Excellent Adventure

This has been one of the most amazing week I have had in years. We met with a bit of hostility in Seattle our first day. Skepticism our second day. By the third day however, we had our socks knocked off.

Thursday, we took a tour of the temporary location of the Noel House which I wrote about the other day. Even as an interim setting it was evident a lot of care and planning went into it. Housing first is a concept that this writer feels should be in place everywhere, and frankly I am thrilled it is in place here.

Friday, we were interviewed by King5 TV and the camera man was just as nice as can be. Gary, you were great and made this first time TV interview and awesome experience. Next came Cydney an incredible reporter for the award winning newspaper RealChange. The woman does not believe in tape recorders, so she typed word for word and never skipped a beat. But that's not why she was incredible. She totally understood what we were trying to achieve with this walk and her article is going to exude necessity for community action. Thank you Cydney.

Yesterday, our minds were blown away, first by a personal tour of Tacoma's rescue missions and food banks by one of Tacoma's city officials troy and his nephew Trenton. This man and his nephew, were friendly, informative and didn't even huff or puff at the top of Tacoma's 75 degree angled hills! There was so much incredible information that he promised to send it to me so I can write about it in a day or two. With a 77% decrease in the homeless population, Tacoma is definitely doing something right and we could definitely learn from them.

If that wasn't exciting enough, we had the wonderful experience at the family transitional housing center ran by the magnificent Linda. To top that all off, these marvelous residents gave us gifts. Bill entertained us all evening of stories from the streets that were uplifting and hope filled. Clyde shyly presented me with a Hawaiian traveling lucky charm, which I will proudly wear each day of our trip and last but not least Robert, gave Linda his last 50 cents to give to me. He too was a bit shy, but when Linda told me who it was from and that it was the last of his money, I tried to give it back. His shyness miraculously disappeared when he looked me in the eye and said "I won't take it back. I've been homeless too long and know what it feels like to need the help, so you'll take it." As word got around the center of what we were doing, before we left we were given an envelope filled with their hard earned nickels and dimes. I can not tell you how touched I was that these people who have nothing to speak of to their name took up a collection for us!

Today, as if we weren't blessed enough, we were privileged to serve breakfast to over 100 people at the community breakfast hosted at Tacoma's Urban Grace the Downtown Church. Willie, who has been overseer of these meals since they began in 1995, showed us the ropes and gave us a bit of history behind the meals and the people they serve.

Most are homeless, or very low income families and being served meals such as as scrambled egg with sausage, freshly buttered grits and toast with jam, orange juice and coffee is uplifting and gives all including the servers a sense of community. The guests come from all walks of life and some of whom we met today were former teachers, carpenters, housewives and at the end of the meal we were even blessed by a pianist whose music brought tears to my eyes.

Then there was Sugar Ray who has been a member of Urban Grace since 1923 was given the nickname because of his weekly sugaring of the buttered grits. He does this with smiles for everyone and energy that would make him a prime candidate to run the Tacoma marathon which began this morning from the front doors of the church.

Pastor Tad Monroe has such a heart for the down on their luck that although the seats in the sanctuary were not filled with more than 100 people, it was surely spirit filled for this man has been blessed with the gift of compassion that comes through loud and clear not only in his words but in his actions as well.

It is these organizations that I am fighting for. The ones who make a huge difference in their community because they care. The ones who don't judge; who accept people just as they are and although struggling themselves and desperately needing donations, they keep on going. Please, help these, and others like them, who help others unconditionally and make the world a better place, beginning in your own back yard.

Lucky Lady

I have been visiting Seattle yearly since 1997. As most cities, it is exciting and beautiful, and fun to visit. I have my favorite places to go like dinner at Il Fornaio where I always order my favorite Butternut Squash Ravioli with Fried Sage. A decadent dessert is always served up at Dilettantes and the view from the Space Needle of the city in lights is a perfect ending to to any city excursion.

This time however, I did not see the city through the eyes of Dr. Frasier Crane. I head down Pine Street toward the famous Pike Street market, past malls, designer shops and fabulous restaurants. There by the fountain curtain we see anywhere from 5-20 street kids; an older woman in a wheelchair, oxygen tank in tow holding a sign that says "Homeless. Anything helps", and an African American pushing a shopping cart, overflowing with all of his worldly possession.

Today, my last day in Seattle, I traveled past many of the people I had gotten to know over the past few days and wished I could somehow do something more to help them all. I continued on my way heading towards the Space Needle and there amongst the poverty and degradation of street life is a small miraculous new chance at life. A chance called lucky.

Noel House is Seattle's largest shelter for homeless women, giving them a safe, secure and compassionate place to lay their heads and the ability to begin a new life. The shelter which provides beds for 40 women each night is temporarily located in the basement of Sacred Heart Church while it's new home, Bakhita Gardens, is nearing completion just a few blocks away.

She was born to a life of wealth, but at the tender age of 9 was kidnapped by Arab slave traders. Due to the traumatic events of being sold and re-sold over the next eight years, the name of this small girl was forgotten. The slave name Bakhita, which was the Arabic word for "lucky", was given to her. After years of being beaten horribly, scarred by scarification and tattooing, she was bought by a family from Italy.

After serving as nanny to the family's daughter she stayed behind in Italy after winning her freedom strictly because it was against the law in Italy to own a slave. She became a nun at the home where she had lived with the sisters for many years and chose the name Josephine. She spent the rest of her life attending to the sick and seeking justice for women, especially those who were treated as she was. With abuse.

"We see the same resilience and power she exemplified in the community of women we are so fortunate to serve," states the brochure of this extraordinary home. So with "lucky" Josephine Bakhita behind the scenes, so to speak, the Noel House is sure to continue growing strong and helping those whose majority of clients are mentally ill, in poor health and/or chemically dependent, many of which are survivors of domestic violence and other physical or mental abuse.

But with over 40% of Noel House funding coming strictly from donations, finances are still needed to be able to continue the incredible work that is being done here. So let luck be a lady tonight and help this very worthwhile shelter from the storm of life.