Supportive Housing Campaign. On Sept. 1, thanks to seed money from the Diocese of Olympia, Chaplains on the Harbor moved two new/expecting moms and one dad out of tent city and into rental housing with room for up to three mothers, their partners and children. This Supportive Housing Campaign has set a goal to raise $12,000 to house these parents for the remainder of the year as they work to regain and maintain custody of their children, which was jeopardized due to homelessness and poverty issues. It will take $1,000 per month to cover the rent — of which seed money has already covered the first two — along with furnishing and maintaining the home. [Donate Now]
Through our past year of intensive human rights organizing with the residents of Rivercity, Aberdeen’s first sanctioned tent city, we have identified family reunification as a critical area for both our short-term and long-term movement building work. Grays Harbor County has very high rates of CPS removals of children from parents, due in large part to deep poverty. Lack of safe, stable housing is a primary obstacle for families (especially young mothers) who are trying to maintain or regain custody of children. The trauma, grief, and legal battles which accompany custody loss too often trap parents in a place of desperation, compounding barriers to reunification.
At Chaplains on the Harbor, we believe that strong families are the bedrock of our movement to end poverty. Securing safe, supportive housing for parents at various stages of risk not only meets immediate needs — it also allows us to continue building and supporting strong grassroots leadership among the Harbor’s poor and working people. Many of our most dedicated, talented leaders are young homeless parents who seek to create not only better lives for themselves but also a better world for their children. Supporting these families strengthens our entire movement, as we work to abolish poverty in Grays Harbor and beyond.
Please consider joining us in this work by donating now, or mail checks to: Chaplains on the Harbor (memo: Supportive Housing), PO Box 1248, Westport WA 98595.
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