The weather was blustery last Friday when a group of service providers, faith community members, and volunteers showed Joe Mallahan some of Lake City’s support system for people needing the social safety net it provides.
At the North Seattle Food Bank, North Helpline Executive Director Amy Besunder told Joe that the number of people lining up for groceries rose 22% last year. Many are retirees struggling to manage on Social Security. The food bank hosts a free clinic, shared with Neighbor Care Health, which serves hundreds of uninsured or under-insured individuals - not only homeless people, but also the working poor. Counselors on the premises assist individuals facing utility shutoffs or evictions when something wasn’t paid on time because a family member lost a job.
The group walked past several homeless people out on the streets between the rains – Joe stopped to chat with Greg and Hershey, and then Maria – on the way to the Seattle Mennonite Church drop-in day center. Here homeless people can do laundry, take showers, use the Internet, cook meals in the communal kitchen, and team up to tend the vegetable garden or build a shed. Community Minister Melanie Neufeld told Joe that the drop-in center is “a counter-structure to the chaos of their lives.”
Last stop was a nearly completed, impressive Helpline facility. MVS Local Program Coordinator Jill Watson explained that it will house 75 disabled homeless individuals and accommodate the food bank in the larger space it needs, along with a medical clinic and case management services. Standing in a future clinic room, Joe recalled having a tooth pulled when he was in college: “I was a poor student and couldn’t afford a bridge to fill the space. By the time I had a good enough job to pay for one, it was too late. Nobody should have to go without proper dental care.”
Many neighbors have teamed up to weave Lake City’s safety net, although problems still grow. Joe told the group what he learned as a volunteer in post-Katrina Hattiesburg, Mississippi: “People who lose everything can build new lives if they have family members or friends to turn to. But isolated individuals are less likely to recover.” One of his deepest beliefs is that all people can make personal progress, and can make life better for others - if they can connect with their neighbors to meet the challenges they face.
“I’m humbled by what you’ve accomplished,” said Joe to his hosts.
Words by Judy Lightfoot, Freestyle Volunteer
Photo credit: Nancy Treder for Nancy Treder Photography 
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