Recap: Faith Shelter Summit

On April 8, the Church Council co-hosted SHARE/WHEEL’s third Faith Shelter Summit at University Congregational UCC. After powerful testimonies by SHARE/WHEEL leaders, faith hosts, and allied organizations, the group began to harvest the good brainstorming that we’d done over the past two summits to start building toward action. Through workshops, we considered how to deepen the work that is already being done, how to bring new communities in to host shelters and Tent Cities, what new projects need to be built to support our communities, and how to advocate at the city and county level for the resources and change we need to succeed.

Co-Executive Director Tara shared about the power of this work being led by residents when agency is often taken from people experiencing homelessness. Pastor Megan Ramer of Seattle Mennonite Church and Secretary of the Church Council Board of Directors reflected on learning what solidarity looks like by honoring the tactics of Tent City leadership during last year’s fight to hold the City of Seattle accountable to their promises.

The Church Council and SHARE-WHEEL aim to schedule a targeted "How-To" or logistics Q&A session within the next month or so for congregations considering hosting ANY type of shelter. Contact Tara if you'd like to be informed of this "How-To" session, or have questions.