The Good News: Mutual Aid In Washinton State

Today's Good News coming out of Washington state:

Story #1:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2018/12/21/father-his-sons-cut-wood-fill-trucks-then-they-brought-it-homes-that-needed-heat/?fbclid=IwAR3AYeFOwLtJ4rp9ijLalIzy5Vw4CcZiz9-mS0WGubVnCav7BfSwIT9X3UQ&noredirect=on&utm_term=.4c625505ce42

A father and his sons spent the summer cutting wood. It started off as kind of a family tradition and necessity, as they had some felled trees on property they owned. People would see their giant piles of wood and stop and ask to buy some - and the family refused. Instead they gave it all away.

From the article: "It turned out that he reached some of the neediest people in Western Washington, many who heat their home with wood only. Firewood is measured in cords — one cord is about four feet high, eight feet wide and four feet deep. In the Lake Stevens area, a cord costs about $400. The McDaniels had 40 of them.

...Once the McDaniels’ generosity started going viral, others in the Lake Stevens community started pitching in. Local food bank volunteers help sort through the firewood requests and make delivery lists. A company offered free chimney sweeps and inspections. A bulletin board at Norm’s is filled with donation offers, and people show up day or night to drop off truckloads of wood to add to the McDaniels’ pile."

image from article

More from article: "The McDaniels are on track to deliver the last of the donations before Christmas, but that’s not the end. They have their sights set on an even bigger stack of firewood next year.

With an army of volunteers, community work parties and hopefully a couple of donated log splitters, the new goal for next year is to cut 100 cords minimum. There is still so much need."

Story #2:

https://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/solidarity/would-you-put-a-tiny-house-for-a-homeless-person-in-your-backyard-20171116

A project in Seattle is building tiny houses for homeless people in neighbor's backyards!

From the article: "Kim showed me the plans for what would replace the strawberry plants she’d just uprooted: a 125-square-foot house for a homeless man. The house would be built by the BLOCK Project, a new nonprofit that aims to house the homeless in high-quality backyard cottages. The organization would build and own the houses, helping with formalities like planning permission and insurance—while homeowners would lend space for the tiny homes and welcome the new inhabitants into the neighborhood.

The tiny house in Kim and Dan’s backyard would be the first in the city. It appeared that somebody was doing something about homelessness in the neighborhood, after all."

Continued from article: "Hohlbein [from the group Facing Homelessness - I jumped ahead in the article here] sees homelessness as primarily the result of people being excluded from society and community. “The beauty of community is that we can change that now, if we turn around and love people instead of judging them, accepting them and knowing that they’re doing the best they can.

“If we’re really serious about ending homelessness, we have to be honest about what’s going on here, and that is that community’s not involved—we have completely stepped to the side and let government and nonprofits take over, hoping we’ll hear on the evening news that, finally, we’ve got a solution to end homelessness. It’s never coming, because homelessness has more to do with healthy community than it even does with providing enough shelter.”

That’s where the tiny-house-in-a-neighborhood-backyard comes in, by modeling a community solution to homelessness and allowing people to step up, to offer up some space and invite a new member into their community. And they are."

image from article

Thirty households in Seattle have already agreed to have tiny houses put in their yards for the project. A major construction company has committed to building the first four and donating materials. Many more people volunteer their labor.

More from the article: "'Facing Homelessness wanted the first person housed through this project to be Native American,” says Kim, “in recognition of the fact that this is Native land that we’re living on. And Native Americans have one of the higher rates of homelessness.” Kim and Dan were connected to Robert through the Chief Seattle Club, which will continue to give him whatever support he needs after he moves into the house. The three spent some time in conversation to make sure their backyard-sharing arrangement would be a good fit, and took to each other immediately. “He is just the nicest man,” Kim says of Robert, “and it’s a honor to get to know him.” Robert just turned 75. He has worked all his life at a variety of jobs, including construction and fishing, and yet has been homeless for nearly 10 years, some of that on the street. He’s currently staying in a dormitory-style shelter and doesn’t want to be interviewed—he’s already had enough media attention.

When I see the site for the tiny house, I remark to Kim that it is generous of her and Dan to give up half of their backyard. “We don’t think of it that way,” she says, looking a bit embarrassed. “I think of this as something I’m doing for me. There is such a negative political atmosphere right now. This project is making me happy. When you look at the problem of homelessness, it’s so huge—but when you do one thing, you start to feel like you’re able to do more.'"

I just thought both of these stories were awesome and wanted to share. We CAN come together and make the world a better place! <3