A Ballard Food Bank Newsletter

Thank you,
caring community! 

https://www.ballardfoodbank.org/

Hope.
Gratitude.
Community.
 
As I reflect on this past year at Ballard Food Bank, these are the words that come to mind.
 
This is a special place where every day is filled with meaningful moments: a mom shops for healthy ingredients for meals she knows her young children will like; an elderly gentleman selects low-sodium foods to fit his heart-healthy diet; a family learns they’re able to stay in their home after a job loss because we can help with their rent payment.

Selecting healthy groceries so we can prepare food we like and want to eat…something so simple but so important to our mental and physical well-being. Everyone deserves this. And everyone deserves a place to call home.   Our community is strongest when we make sure everyone has what they need to survive and thrive. I am so grateful for you, our caring community! Your support does so much:  – You help fill our neighbors’ grocery carts with healthy fruit, veggies, and protein for their families. Over 1000 households shop for food each week at our no-cost Community Market. – You help fuel our neighbors with a hot bowl of soup, grilled sandwich, and a cup of coffee. 1400 folks come by the free Kindness Café each week for hot and delicious food. – You help bring healthy food to 400 households each week via home delivery. – You help make sure 475 neighborhood kids have the food they need each weekend via the Weekend Food for Kids program. – You help prevent homelessness. We connect with 750 clients in our Community Resource Hub each week, including helping with rent payments, connecting folks to other programs and agencies, and many other services.

Despite the hard times so many are facing right now, I have hope because we continue to be here for all who need us. Thank you, from all of us at the food bank. We can do what we do because you are with us. When you make a financial gift, volunteer your time, coordinate a food drive, or drop by with your food donations, you are helping us bring food and hope to our neighbors.
 
With gratitude, on behalf of our entire team,

Jen Muzia, Executive Director

https://www.ballardfoodbank.org/

De Blasio pleads to Trump for help with homeless crisis

Mayor Bill de Blasio pleaded with President Trump on Sunday for help with the burgeoning homeless situation wreaking havoc throughout the city.

Read more HERE

Also…

Trump slams New York City, California over ‘tremendous’ homeless crisis

“California and New York must do something about their TREMENDOUS Homeless problems,” he wrote.

“If their Governors can’t handle the situation, which they should be able to do very easily, they must call and ‘politely’ ask for help. Would be so easy with competence!”

Read more HERE

Two-Part Mental Health First Aid Training Workshop

Two-Part Mental Health First Aid Training Workshop

Event date: Monday, Aug 12, 2019 –
9:30 am to 3:00 pm

Location: NewHolly
Address: New Holly Gathering Hall
7054 32nd Ave S
Seattle, WA

Attendees welcome:
All tenants – SHA housing residents and Housing Choice Voucher holders
Attendee Age: Adult – Age 18 and older

Description:
Trainers from Valley Cities Mental Health will teach attendees to identify and understand common signs of mental illness and substance abuse. They will also coach how to interact with a person in crisis and how to connect them with trained professionals who can help them through this difficult time.

The two-part workshop will take place on Monday, August 12th and Wednesday, August 14th from 9:30am to 3:00pm. You must attend both days.

Training is free for SHA residents and lunch is provided both days.

Contact Ellen Ziontz at (206) 239-1625, eziontz@seattlehousing.org or Dean McBee at (206) 491-7830, deanmcbee1@gmail.com to reserve your spot.

Supporting programs: Valley Cities Mental Health

Officials: Call 2-1-1 to help people find shelter from cold and ice

Severe Weather Winter Shelters List Here

Outreach teams from King County and the City of Seattle are on patrol around downtown and parts of Capitol Hill to help people on the streets get out of the cold. You can help by dialing 2-1-1.

The King County Emergency Services Patrol, funded by the county and the city, is “operating 24/7 during the weekend to help people who are living on the streets in downtown Seattle” and “out meeting with people who are experiencing homelessness to encourage them to come inside during the winter storm.”

But you can also help out by calling 2-1-1 to let the outreach teams know about somebody who may need help.

You can also call 9-1-1 but reports from some callers say that the emergency dispatchers haven’t treated the shelter shuttle calls as priorities.

The county and the city have increased available shelters and warming facilities through the recent storms and into next week. A roster of severe weather shelters is here.

Read more Capitol Hill Seattle Blog

WINTER SHELTER: Seattle Center’s Exhibition Hall

Homeless man dies of exposure at Seattle light-rail station

Officials and homeless-service providers have been working to try to ensure the survival of thousands of people living unsheltered in King County with a snowstorm expected to hit the region. That’s meant opening shelters and paying for hotel rooms for those who need help.

Seattle planned to keep its emergency overnight shelter at Seattle Center’s Exhibition Hall open through at least Sunday night.

Read more KOMO Website

BEWARE: Fentanyl overdose deaths up 70 percent in Wash., health officials say

Photo from Public Health Seattle & King County shows pills containing fentanyl that were sold on the streets of Seattle.

OLYMPIA, Wash. – The number of people who died from an overdose of illicit fentanyl increased nearly 70 percent this year over last in Washington state, health officials said Wednesday.

NARCAN SPRAY

Read more HERE

October 15, 2018 – Seattle Neighborhood Business District Safety Forum

OCT 15 Seattle Neighborhood Business District Safety Forum
by SODO BIA
Free

Actions and Detail Panel

REGISTER

drugs addicts in south tel aviv

Event Information

DESCRIPTION
The BIAs of Ballard, Chinatown/International District, University District, Pioneer Square, and SODO are collaborating in our efforts to engage with city, county, and state officials to address the increasing challenges our businesses are experiencing with drug dealers/users, public disorder, threatening behaviors and crime toward our customers and employees.

We want to invite you to attend a constructive conversation with our elected officials about the problems and solutions to our public safety concerns.

Questions? Email us at: info@sodoseattle.org

—

Agenda:

1. Facilitator Introductions – 5 minutes

2. BIA Panel Presentation – 40 minutes

What BIAs are doing
Crime Stats
Business, employee, and customer concerns
BIA request for action
3. City, County, State responses – 40 minutes

Enforcement
Prosecution
Services
4. Public Comment – 30 minutes

5. Conclusion and Next Steps – 10 minutes

REGISTER

Free Summer Meals and Recreation Activities

Free Summer Meals and Recreation Activities
May 17, 2018 by Christina Hirsch

FREE SUMMER MEALS

This summer, Seattle Parks and Recreation, Seattle Human Services Department, and United Way of King County are partnering to host a drop-in summer program offering free meals and recreation activities. Recreation activities are open for kids and teens ages 1 to 18 and may include arts, crafts, board games, and organized recreational games. A free lunch and snacks will be offered to youth ages 1 to 18. The program will run daily from June 27 to August 24 from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday rain or shine at 19 park sites across Seattle.

2018 Summer Meals and Recreation Field Days locations:

• Beacon Hill Playground: 1902 13th Ave. S
• Beer Sheva Park: 8650 55th Ave. S
• Brighton Playground: 6000 39th Ave. S
• EC Hughes Playground: 7907 30th Ave. SW
• Georgetown Park: 750 S Homer St.
• Greenwood Park: 602 N 87th St.
• Highland Park: 1100 SW Cloverdale St.
• Judkins Playground: 2150 S Norman St.
• Lakewood Playground: 5013 S Angeline St.
• Lakeridge Playground: 10145 Rainier Ave. S
• Little Brook Park: 140th and 32nd Ave. NE
• Madrona Playground: 3211 E Spring St.
• Maplewood Playfield: 4801 Corson Ave. S
• North Acres Park: 12718 1st Ave. NE
• Othello Playground: 4351 S Othello St.
• Peppi’s Playground: 3233 E Spruce St.
• Powell Barnett Park: 352 MLK Jr. Way
• Pratt Park: 1800 S Main St.
• Roxhill Park: 2850 SW Roxbury St.

FREE SUMMER MEALS

For questions or more information about the program, please contact Nicholas Farline, Sr. Recreation Program Specialist at 206-615-0303 or nicholas.farline@seattle.gov.

StopOverdose.org

http://stopoverdose.org/

Opioid trends across Washington state

Death data from the Washington State Department of Health Center for Health Statistics are combined with population data from the Office of Financial Management to create rates of death. Data include only deaths for which an underlying cause of death was determined to be any opioid. For more information on data, see details at the end of the page.

ST. JOHNSBURY, VT – FEBRUARY 06: Drugs are prepared to shoot intravenously by a user addicted to heroin on February 6, 2014 in St. Johnsbury Vermont. Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin recently devoted his entire State of the State speech to the scourge of heroin. Heroin and other opiates have begun to devastate many communities in the Northeast and Midwest leading to a surge in fatal overdoses in a number of states. As prescription painkillers, such as the synthetic opiate OxyContin, become increasingly expensive and regulated, more and more Americans are turning to heroin to fight pain or to get high. Heroin, which has experienced a surge in production in places such as Afghanistan and parts of Central America, has a relatively inexpensive street price and provides a more powerful affect on the user. New York City police are currently investigating the death of the actor Philip Seymour Hoffman who was found dead last Sunday with a needle in his arm. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Any opioid: primary categories and sub-categories
Probable heroin
Other opioids
Commonly prescribed opioids
Methadone
Other natural and semi-synthetic opioids: Oxycodone, codeine, morphine, etc.
Other synthetic opioids: Pethidine, tramadol, fentanyl and analogues, etc.
Other and unspecified narcotics, including opium
Deaths attributed to any opioid: 72% increase

As a whole, opioid deaths regardless of subtype occur throughout the state. Modest declines in the opioid death rate in Chelan and Spokane Counties (and some smaller counties) between 2002-2004 and 2014-2016 have been outweighed by increases in most counties, particularly more populous counties. The later period reflects a decline in deaths from intervening years–opioid deaths peaked in 2009 at 720 statewide.

Read more HERE

Meth, the Forgotten Killer, Is Back. And It’s Everywhere

PORTLAND, Ore. — They huddled against the biting wind, pacing from one corner to another hoping to score heroin or pills. But a different drug was far more likely to be on offer outside the train station downtown, where homeless drug users live in tents pitched on the sidewalk.

“Everybody has meth around here — everybody,” said Sean, a 27-year-old heroin user who hangs out downtown and gave only his first name. “It’s the easiest to find.”

The scourge of crystal meth, with its exploding labs and ruinous effect on teeth and skin, has been all but forgotten amid national concern over the opioid crisis. But 12 years after Congress took aggressive action to curtail it, meth has returned with a vengeance.

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