National Homelessness Awareness Month
November is National Homelessness Awareness Month. In King County, homelessness is at a record high with more than 16,000 people experiencing homelessness on any given day. Despite what long-held stigma...
Outreach
A Window into the World of the Outreach Team
“Care, respect, funding, and coordination are the needed alternatives to fear, anger, and sweeping encampments away.” By Betsy Wells, ETS Board member— I serve on the Board of Evergreen...
“It’s His Choice.” — Supporting Clients Through Success and Setbacks
“It is absolutely Dwight’s choice, because he knows the hardship of having a substance use disorder and the barriers this has created in his life.” Febben Fekadu has worked with...
Changing lives through trust, outreach, and treatment
Becky Gilley does outreach with our unhoused community in the SODO neighborhood of Seattle. Becky has been with the REACH program since 2016, she is currently an outreach care...
“We live here. We give here.”
The numbers don’t lie. Despite making up only six percent of the overall population in King County, 39 percent of people who are unhoused are from Black and Indigenous communities....
“When people need help, we help them.”
Throughout the pandemic and before, ETS has been providing support to unhoused people following a core principle of harm reduction: meet people where they are. Recently this has come in...
Pop-up services in a pandemic
One of ETS’ core principles—and a principle of harm reduction more broadly—is to meet people where they are. Figuratively, this means meeting people where they are on their recovery journeys...
We cannot treat harm with harm
By Michelle Conley and Brandie Flood, REACH program— Incarceration and recidivism rates in King County make clear that our overreliance on policing and the criminal legal system is failing....
We’re finally treating homelessness as a crisis
We want to give you an inside look at our response to the COVID-19 crisis from the points of view of our incredible staff. They’ve been working together to keep...
Reminding people they’re not forgotten
We want to give you an inside look at our response to the COVID-19 crisis from the points of view of our incredible staff. They’ve been working together to keep...
Why neighborhood-based outreach is the best response to homelessness
Photo credit: Jim Meyers, Vertizon Photography “U District Partnership got a call from a business that a woman was in obvious emotional and mental health distress was outside of their...
Reach on a Roll
Homelessness is a hot topic, both in our Seattle community and across the nation. The ETS REACH team is often asked to participate in media stories about effective solutions to...
Guest blog: What can I do about addiction and homelessness?
It’s hard not to look and feel heartless as you traverse the city of Seattle on your way to and from work and see the many people struggling with...
Forging trust and fostering change in Seattle neighborhoods
“The number one need is housing. It could also be things like getting a replacement ID, or getting assistance with food, or medical help... things like that. Everyone’s need is...
REACH goes above and beyond
“Where are you from?” is a common question asked when people meet for the first time in Seattle, the assumption being that so few people are actually from the city....
From Recluse to Reconnection
When Becky, a REACH care manager, met Cody*, he was living in a trailer in South King County. It was desolate; he had no water or waste hook ups and...
A Helping Hand Leads to Housing
REACH case managers are steadfast in their support of clients. They meet them where they are, and forge partnerships with the community to achieve the best possible outcomes. Jerry and...