Like a thread in an intricately woven tapestry, Cynthia Jaffe has become entwined in the lives of over 1,200 families, mothers and children in her 25 years as a midwife.
JoAnn Hellmann is acutely aware of the devastation and emptiness that follow in the wake of a loved one’s death.
Over 40 years later, she still vividly remembers the phone call she received in 1975. The voice on the other end of the receiver said younger sister Kathy was dead.
Ryan’s House for Youth will begin moving into its new digs in the former Countryside Inn south of Coupeville on Tuesday. But the work to fully convert the space into an inhabitable transitional living facility for homeless youth is far from finished.
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” Juliet Capulet said famously in Shakespeare’s beloved tragedy.
If the quote uttered by one of theater’s most beloved characters is to be believed, it stands to reason that a rhododendron, too, would be as lovely given any moniker.
Meerkerk Rhododendron Gardens in September will award one lucky person the opportunity to name a rhody of their own.
Within the past year, about 60 people, at least one-third of whom are children, have called Langley’s House of Hope home.
The house is the city’s first and only transitional housing facility for homeless individuals and families. It operates on the 90-day rehabilitation model, with an average stay of about 60 days.
Nearly 400 Whidbey residents between the ages of 12-24 reported experiencing homelessness within the past year, according to the results of a recent island-wide youth perception survey.
The survey was one of two conducted by area service providers and school district liaisons in January, partnered with a community perception survey for those 25 and older. As of last Wednesday, 2,349 people responded, of which 378 indicated having been homeless at some point within the past 12 months.
Time is ticking away and Ryan’s House for Youth is not giving up hope in its effort to raise the final $200,000 towards the purchase price of the former Countryside Inn, south of Coupeville.
Like many of Whidbey’s first European settlers, Alex Magowan moved out west in search of opportunity.
Ryan’s House for Youth this week presented two bills to state lawmakers that could potentially make it easier for homeless kids and teens in Washington to receive care through host family programs.
Unaccompanied homeless youth on Whidbey may soon have access to the island’s first temporary housing facility specifically designed to meet their needs.
Advocates on Whidbey are working to give voice to the voiceless by creating a task force to better address the needs of unaccompanied homeless youth.
Ryan’s House for Youth is part of a homeless advocacy effort to draft legislation potentially making it easier for households to offer sanctuary to unaccompanied homeless youth.
A lifelong resident of South Africa, the Rev. Laurie Gaum is distinctly familiar with the injustice of apartheid and the unhealed, invisible wounds that lie in its wake.
