June 2026
PRESENTATION: A brief history of EISCC. Diane Richards, EISCC Historian, has been combing the archives for stories of our early years as a network and nearly two decades at St. Margaret’s.
PRESENTATION: Summer Needs of Immigrant Families. Alicia Spinner, The Circle: Community Navigation. The Circle provides a safe space where individuals and families are empowered to gain knowledge, celebrate their cultures, and engage with their communities. The Circle welcomes individuals and families new to the country, as well as those who are already established in the community. Collaboratively, the Circle shares resources and services, walk-along or referral, and guidance through processes. They help with rental assistance, counseling, insurance, tax preparation, legal services, domestic violence, and senior aid, among others, with emergency help when necessary.
Full minutes of the June meeting are available here.
May 2026
SPOTLIGHT: Mobile Crisis Response. Maxine Anderson, Manager of King County’s Mobile Rapid Response Crisis Team MRRCT, introduceD the work of the team, now based out of the Together Center in Redmond. MRRCT provides an immediate, compassionate, and trauma-informed alternative to law enforcement for individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. These teams, composed of highly trained mental health professionals and peer specialists, are available 24/7 to respond to community needs with de-escalation techniques tailored to each situation.
MAIN PRESENTATION TOPIC: Food Insecurity on the Eastside. Kristen Muscott, founder/coordinator of Open Kitchen Redmond shared how this community meal program was started and runs. She also briefly described the Redmond School Break Food Box Program. Both are examples of the ways volunteers can address rising needs of the community.
Full minutes of the May meeting are available here.
April 2026
SPOTLIGHT: George Ramirez, Ballard Community Taskforce on Homelessness and Hunger, “Changing the Narrative.”
MAIN PRESENTATION TOPIC: Housing 101. Presentation from Jesse Simpson and Brady Nordstrom of the Housing Development Consortium of Seattle-King County and Jazmine Smith of Futurewise. Slides available here.
Full minutes of the April 2026 meeting are available here.
March 2026
MAIN PRESENTATION: Permanent Supportive Housing. Ciarra Madden and Sarah Dickmeyer, Plymouth Housing. Plymouth Housing started in the 1970s as a volunteer effort from Plymouth Congregational Church in Seattle, to address the needs of homeless people on their doorstep. By 1980, it became a separate nonprofit organization, to serve formerly homeless adults who need comprehensive support to maintain housing stability.
SPOTLIGHT: One Parish One Prisoner. Candice Baughman and Austin Rehbein of Underground Ministries made the case for participation of faith communities in the One Parish One Prisoner program (OPOC). The program facilitates, trains, and supports teams of seven or so people in a faith community to get to know an incarcerated person who is close to release and to support them on re-entry through friendship. The program is about relationships, not resources.
Full minutes of the March 2026 meeting are here.
February 2026
PRESENTATION: Old Friends Club. Bob Delf, Executive Director, presented the OFC model of dementia care, offering group activities for dementia patients, providing essential support to over 130 families. To bridge the gap in dementia care, OFC offers a free toolkit and expansion plan to help organizations launch community-leg OFC social respite programs, designed to support both individuals living with dementia and their caregivers. See Bob’s slides here.
PRESENTATION: Safe Haven. Guillermos Rivera, Community Organizer with Eastside for All, presented the work of the Safe Haven group of Eastside immigrant and refugee providers, advocates, and supporters. In collaboration with RISE, the group offers an Eastside hotline to report ICE activity (425-361-0808) and a downloadable packet of resources and opportunities to increase community safety. RISE is actively looking for people with time, skills, resources, and influence, who want to be ready when their community needs them.
Full minutes of the February 2026 meeting are here.
January 2026
SPOTLIGHT: Star Lalario, Executive Director, shared the work of the House of Hope in Issaquah. Their mission is to provide a safe, family-centered home for at-risk mothers and children fleeing crisis situations like poverty, domestic violence, and trafficking. They offer the resources, support, and structured environment they need to regain stability, build self-esteem, and develop the skills necessary to become self-reliant.
MAIN PRESENTATION: The Church Council of Greater Seattle, Jewish Coalition for Immigrant Justice, and CAIR-WA shared about the current work in the Washington for All! coalition. Our multifaith coalition believes that this is a moment to be firm on the values our religious traditions share – to welcome the stranger, to care for our neighbor, and to treat others with dignity. “We know that we are safer and stronger when we stand together.” Washington for All! is a coalition of migrant advocacy and legal organizations, labor, faith communities, and those advocating for democracy, coming together to protect migrant communities. The Church Council, Jewish Coalition and CAIR, along with Faith Action Network, and Intercommunity Peace & Justice Center make up the King County representation of the multifaith spoke of the Washington for All! coalition.
Full minutes for January 2026 are here.