blog

a shout of joy

Tuesday, 22 September 2009 07:59

As a Jubilee Women’s Center care manager, I have the honor of working with residents to develop their Individual Success Plans.  These plans allow residents to identify short and long-term goals in such areas as permanent housing, physical and mental health, spiritual well-being, employment, education, financial freedom, and healthy relationships.  The Individual Success Plan also provides the opportunity for residents and care managers to work collaboratively to develop achievable action steps for attaining life goals.

The work of identifying life goals and action steps is one that can be challenging for Jubilee residents because sometimes, the harshness of life’s realities have not afforded these truly resilient women with a safe and inviting space to seriously contemplate the direction of their lives.  Sometimes, the harshness of life’s realities strip residents of belief that the dreams dearest to their heart are within their reach.  And sometimes, residents struggle to maintain a belief in themselves—to maintain a belief in their inner capacity to not just survive adversity, but to create full and vibrant lives.

But this is what is so wonderful about Jubilee Women’s Center:  volunteers, donors, neighbors, human service providers, area businesses, and Jubilee staff come together as a community to support each resident’s efforts to bring her life goals to fruition.  Poet David Whyte writes, “Inside everyone is a great shout of joy waiting to be born.”  It is thrilling to know that the residents of Jubilee have a community passionately committed to the amazing act of birthing the new lives of Jubilee residents.

Dannette Allen
Care Manager

jubilee’s 612 house is transformed

Thursday, 17 September 2009 17:37

A little décor and a lot of dedication and design expertise has transformed the basement at “612” (Jubilee’s newest home) into a gorgeous common area for our residents, thanks to the efforts of a local real estate staging group.

On September 17, the Seattle chapter of the International Association of Home Staging Professionals (IAHSP) donated their time to coordinate and install new furniture, wall and tabletop décor, rugs, and shower curtains. The IAHSP wanted to create an uplifting, warm and beautiful space for our residents to help promote hope. 

“Jubilee transforms lives, and staging transforms spaces,” said Patty Bonnell, president of IAHSP. “I think it’s hard to do the hard work that everyone is doing over at Jubilee when your surroundings aren’t warm, positive, and inviting.”

Thanks to each member of the IAHSP who contributed to this project, as well as to the Seattle Quality Rentals Store for their donation of all the major furniture pieces for this transformation!

Newsletter
Fall 2009

jubilee garden grows thanks to microsoft volunteers

Monday, 14 September 2009 10:48

At the end of each month, after all the rent and other costs of living have been accounted for, many of our low-income residents find themselves with very little to cover the cost of their groceries. While donations of non-perishable food items are greatly appreciated and help bridge the gap each month, fresh and nutritious produce items are simply harder to come by.

For these reasons, we are delighted to thank our friends at Microsoft, led by Theresa Haynie, for their efforts on September 11, which has been designated a National Day of Service. In one day the group of 13 volunteers pulled up turf and installed two new large vegetable garden beds which will produce a sustainable array of fresh fruits and vegetables for our residents. Longtime volunteer and gardener extraordinaire Lauren Zimmerman headed up the project for Jubilee.

During this Fall season, the garden grows lettuce, spinach, kale, beans, and tomatoes. The installation also included “cloches” to protect the new plants and allow for winter gardening. Volunteers have taught and will continue to teach residents how to plant and maintain their garden throughout the year.

“The garden will be a welcome addition and provide fresh, healthy produce. Thanks to all the volunteers for their hard work and to Microsoft for donating all the plants,” says E., a current Jubilee resident.

Thanks to Microsoft, Swanson’s Nursery, Squak Mountain Stone, Home Grown Organics, and Lauren Zimmerman for their support of this project. You can help support our vegetable garden, too! Jubilee needs additional donations of seeds and gardening supplies; please contact Bryn at (206) 957-5512 to help our garden continue to grow.

Newsletter
Fall 2009

the health care gap

Monday, 14 September 2009 10:23

Health care, health care, health care.  Swine flu, swine flu, swine flu.

Right now, you can’t turn on your car radio without hearing something about the health care debate, or about how the swine flu is expected to affect 40-50% of people as schools get back into swing.

Oddly, when I hear this, lately the image that’s been sticking in my mind is of three different women, one with a medication in hand, showering a naturopathic doctor with questions as she eased for the door.  She was already leaving a half hour late, but the residents had more needs than could possibly be met in such a short time.   The office was closing.  She had to go.  This happened two Thursdays ago and I was struck by how great our residents’ need was.

Health care is a huge gap for the low-income and homeless in Seattle.  In July of this year, a report was released concluding that the average age of death for a homeless person in Seattle was only 48 years old.  Per Wikipedia, the average age of death in the U.S. is currently 77.5 - 80 years old.

48 for the homeless, can you believe that?  That’s something to think about the next time you see a homeless person sitting on the street.  How old is she? 

Our residents certainly personify this statistic.  By the time many get here, their health care or dental care has been neglected for years thanks to poverty.  Some accept daily, untreated pain as a simple reality of life.  They don’t even bring up the constant soreness of a missing tooth, the left foot that smarts from a broken bone that didn’t heal correctly, the throbbing of undiagnosed arthritis.   They’re just used to it.  Luckily, our care managers (social workers) ultimately intervene by connecting them with health care, dental care, and more to change the standard of life and the outcomes for these women.

But what will the swine flu boil down to for the other homeless people around town?  They’re especially vulnerable because many of them already have compromised immune systems from those years of untreated medical conditions.  What kind of care will they receive?  What kind of health care is available to them?

I will be crossing my fingers and hoping that whatever happens with these health care reforms we’re discussing, we will be changing the homeless person’s life expectancy from 48 to something closer to 77.5 – 80 like everyone else.

Let’s keep talking about health care.  It’s time we did. To learn more about President Obama's plans, check this link from WhiteHouse.gov.

Becca Petrin
Office Manager