From Don Fornoff, Bishop’s Task Force on Homelessness: It has been a hard couple of weeks for the members of the Task Force since learning of the death of our spiritual leader and motivator. The Missioner to the Homeless pushed us always to find ways in our parishes to take care of those on the outside of society. He was fearless in his pursuit of service to the poor. He always reminded us that God expected us to do our
From Don Fornoff, Bishop’s Task Force on Homelessness: I am grateful for a good Thanksgiving week with family and friends. Now, we should give ourselves time for renewal in the Advent celebration. We would be remiss, however, to not give attention to our brothers and sisters who are homeless or near to being unhoused. I doubt that in the Diocese of Olympia, no parishes are lacking in this season of giving. Food drives, feeding programs, clothing drives, toy collections…the list
From Don Fornoff, Bishop’s Task Force on Homelessness: As we all look to next week’s day of Thanksgiving, let us all be thankful for opportunities to engage with and serve our unhoused neighbors. If not having already done so, have our parish outreach groups made sure the homeless folks we have been helping are included in our feeding plans? Remember, the food doesn’t just nourish the body; it also brings our neighbors into community as valued neighbors. While doing so,
From Don Fornoff, Bishop’s Task Force on Homelessness: A good friend was visiting the past couple of days, with conversation often encompassing the current election. When I told him I was planning to write this column on behalf of the Task Force, he suggested I write about the necessity for responding to homelessness the same way regardless of who wins the election. Good idea, I said and thought further about it. So here goes! It starts with belief in our
From Don Fornoff, Bishop’s Task Force on Homelessness: I would like to reflect on the Diocese of Olympia’s Convention, as the Bishop’s Task Force experienced it. The Task Force made its presentation. It also peopled a booth with handouts and opportunities to discuss the homelessness issues of the day. Parish representatives met those who answered the call to serve the unhoused with the Task Force. As one who was at the booth both days, I was privileged to meet and
From Don Fornoff, Bishop’s Task Force on Homelessness: Good morning, Dear Ones. I trust your day is happy and productive. Please remember that this day has not been happy or productive for many of our neighbors. Our mission with the Task Force is to serve others who need a hand-up. Through the Task Force and within and outside of Convention, we are trying to establish lines of communication with all parishes in the Diocese of Olympia. Living into our Baptismal
From Don Fornoff, Bishop’s Task Force on Homelessness: The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness is a federally coordinated project that addresses homelessness on the national level. Its directions also help local and state efforts. On September 23, 2024, the USICH released a new series called “Ending Homelessness Before It Starts: A Federal Homelessness Prevention Framework.” The framework was developed by several federal agencies and adopted by agency leaders. It is an action guide for ‘local, tribal and state governments;
I have recently been reading news and opinion articles relating to the unhoused, none of them particularly positive. Many E-news readers have probably seen them. National studies show the number of homeless continues to rise. Why? There is, of course, no one answer. Those who have lived the experience of suffering homelessness reveal a vicious cycle of job loss, a dearth of affordable housing, and a poor safety net. These outcomes reveal multiple structural and personal reasons. Structurally, the lack
From Don Fornoff, Bishop’s Task Force on Homelessness: Last week, I wrote about an ecumenical organization in Fairfax County, Virginia, of which I was personally familiar. I reached out to the founder to find out its origins and confirmed that FACETS’s base is the faith community. The County government knows that and counts on the base’s strength. It turns out that FACETS isn’t the only organization in the county system. Allow me to summarize the organization of the county’s community
From Don Fornoff, Bishop’s Task Force on Homelessness: As I look back over my notes on homelessness from the past 6-8 years, I see that the more things change, the more they stay the same. About homelessness, that is certainly a tired truth. The more that is done, the more we need to do. Yet, if ever there was a local, regional, and national issue (it all looks the same on every level, in every situation) that requires support by
