Give Someone in Seattle a Hand Up and Path Out of Homelessness Next Year

Over the last two years, 10 Seattle nonprofits piloted Samaritan, connecting 500 people without a home to over 10,000 samaritans (like yourself) through a smart wallet called a beacon. Dozens of participants used the resources you provided to enter housing, employment, opioid treatment and stronger community relationships. We received this incredible letter on Christmas from one of them.

Orgs from the initial pilot (including St. Vincent De Paul, Mary’s Place, and Salvation Army), as well as new nonprofits (like DESC, LIHI, and Pioneer Square Clinic), have requested beacons now to accelerate the outcome for 750 more individuals in 2020. Each beacon holder costs about $250/year to support in the background. So a joint $175K proposal was offered to City Council. Sadly, it failed in their budget rounds by a single vote.

We might not be able to fund all 750 beacons this way, but every person matters deeply. We wanted to give you an opportunity to sponsor one beacon for one person next year. Each $250 donation will give someone on the street a beacon for a year through an outstanding nonprofit, including a $10 starting balance from you.

Would you be open to sponsor a beacon for someone? Here’s the link. Your gift will be processed by 501(c)3 Survive the Streets and is tax-deductible. Care to give a different amount? Denominations of $20 will give someone access to a beacon for that equivalent amount of months (6 months for a beacon holder @ $120, 3 months @ $60, etc).

Know a corporate group or community who may want to sponsor multiple beacon holders? You’d be welcome to forward this journal post and, should they be interested, to connect us.

Happy holidays to you and yours,

Jonathan

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When you sponsor a beacon, someone on the street in Seattle will be able to set their own housing and health goals with an outstanding nonprofit, and then access the financial and relational capital needed to reach those goals. Beacon holders will be able to earn bonuses on their beacon by setting and completing goals, or through completing positive actions in the community. They’ll even be able to secure critical documents and ID to their beacon (the loss or theft of which can create colossal barriers).

Each dollar on their beacon will be used in the context of a relationship with a case manager, spent to address critical housing, income and health factors.

Beacon holders visit their case manager each month for a new battery for their beacon. This visit gives that nonprofit an opportunity to further develop a relationship with the individual and help plot out the goals and needs for the month ahead.

The impact from the small-scale pilot was recently covered by FOX, Geekwire and KUOW.

If you would like to sponsor a beacon for someone on the street next year, just tap here.