SPOTLIGHT – Reclaim. Jennifer Kirk, Director. Reclaim offers the Upper Snoqualmie Valley’s first community service center to support our unhoused neighbors and those at risk of losing their homes. This welcoming space offers essential resources, compassionate care, and a sense of community for those navigating housing instability.
MAIN PRESENTATION. Domestic Violence – Recognizing and Helping Victims. Alexis Harden, Housing Director, Lifewire, the main domestic violence service provider for the Eastside. LifeWire is a leading provider of safety, stability, and healing for survivors of domestic violence in Washington State. They invite us to join them in changing mindsets and healing communities, so that together, we can build a brighter future for survivors and their children.
Main topic – Mental Health De-escalation. Marc Oomen, Executive Director of NAMI-Eastside (Eastside chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness). Marc gave a preview of longer training NAMI provides to address mental health crisis with CALM (communicate, assess, listen, mediate).
PANEL PRESENTATION: Growing Food to Help our Communities
Moderator – Tammy Waddell, Nourishing Networks
- Jim Eichner – Associate Rector at Episcopal Church of the Holy Cross and General Farm Manager at Food Bank Farm
- Cindy Coleman and Michelle Raymond– Overlake Park Presbyterian and Marymoor Gardens
- Zsofia Pasztor – Founder & Executive Co-Director Farmer Frog
MAIN PRESENTATION: Developing Affordable Housing on the Eastside
A Regional Coalition for Housing (ARCH). ARCH is a partnership of the County and East King County Cities working to preserve and increase housing for low and moderate-income households in the region. Presentation by Sophie Glass, Government Affairs, Policy, and Communications Manager. Joined by Lindsay Masters, Executive Director.
SPOTLIGHT: Anything Helps. Anything Helps is on a mission to create and clear paths to stability for people experiencing chronic homelessness. Presenters: Mike Mathias, Executive Director; Mark Garrett, Board Chairman.
MAIN PRESENTATION: Impact of Budget Cuts on Hunger, Homelessness, and Housing
- Claire Lane, Director, Anti-Hunger and Nutrition Coalition
- Hali Willis, Community Policy Manager, Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness
- Po Leapai, Advocacy Organizer, Washington Low Income Housing Alliance
SPOTLIGHT: Khizer Sheriff, Essentials First. When Immigration Knocks – Advice for Service Providers
MAIN PRESENTATION: Do our shelters meet the needs of people experiencing homelessness in our communities?
- Kiki Serantes and Tony Machada, King County Regional Homelessness Authority;
- Troy Christensen, Director of Development and Communications, Porchlight.
- Marc Vermouth, Development Director, The Sophia Way.
SPOTLIGHT: Jewish Community Services. Ellen Weiss Phelps, Temple B’nai Torah
- Regional Crisis Response Agency – Brook Buettner, Executive Director
- HERO House (Hope, Empowerment, Relationships, Opportunity) – Isabelle Kalisa, Lisa Coleman, Shauna McKee
- Legal Needs in Dangerous Times – Jerry Kroon, Eastside Legal Assistance Program