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You Can Help 40 Homeless Families Enjoy the Comforts of Home
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Next spring, 40 families transitioning out of homelessness will move into Bellwether Housing’s new
Arbora Court Apartments
in the University District. Knowing that these families will arrive with few possessions and few resources for outfitting their apartments, Bellwether is launching the
Comforts of Home Campaign
to raise $220,000 to purchase furnishings for these 40 families. Moving into fully furnished homes - not empty apartments - will allow these families to focus on other areas of life like health, work, and school.
Thanks to support from the Boeing Employees Community Fund, The Norcliffe Foundation, Wells Fargo, and Key Bank, we have already raised $66,000. We need your support to reach our goal of 40 families having desks for children to study at, tables to gather round, and beds to sleep in. You can learn more about the
Comforts of Home Campaign
and make your gift
here
.
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Meet Resident Molly Smith: Creating Art and a Bright Future at the Casa Pacifica Apartments
On the walls of Molly Smith’s sunny apartment hang bright and colorful self-portraits and whimsical paintings of bunny rabbits. A resident of Bellwether Housing’s
Casa Pacifica Apartments
in South Lake Union since 2016, the 26-year-old artist loves having a place of her own.
“Having this space to myself allows me to do art from home without having to rent an expensive studio. Here I can focus,” Molly said about her home. For a long time Molly aspired to work full-time as an artist, and she recently achieved that goal when she started as a caricature sketcher at Seattle Center and at events around the city. Also a painter and illustrator, Molly primarily creates portraits and fantasy images like unicorns and recently was commissioned to do a large painting.
Molly loves many things about her apartment’s location. “I appreciate that I don’t need a car, and since I can walk to work [at Seattle Center], I don’t even need to spend money on public transportation,” she said. She also enjoys running around Lake Union on the Cheshiahud Loop Trail.
The stability of a Bellwether Housing apartment helped Molly check off her goal of working full-time as an artist, so she has her eyes on her next goal. “I’d like to focus more on my independent projects and be a self-sustaining artist,” she said.
Molly’s affordable home at Casa Pacifica Apartments is moving her toward the future she wants for herself. “It’s really helpful that I’m able to save money at this point in life so that I’ll have savings if one day I want to buy a house or start a family,” she said.
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Casa Pacifica Resident, Molly Smith, stands in front of two of her paintings - both self-portraits - hanging in her Bellwether Housing apartment.
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It’s not too late to join us at our 7
th
Annual Closer to Home Breakfast
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Bellwether Housing invites you to join us on Wednesday, November 1, 2017 at Benaroya Hall to learn how we are creating stability, opportunity, and community in our region. Brooke Gladstone, editor and co-host of WNYC’s
On the Media
, will offer a keynote talk on her recent podcast series,
“Busted: America’s Poverty Myths”
, which explores how our understanding of the causes of poverty are formed not by facts, but by myths, media, and tales of the American dream. The event begins at 7:30am with registration and networking, and the program and breakfast follows. To learn more about the event and to register yourself or a group, please visit the
event page
or email
[email protected]
. We hope you will join us to celebrate, network, and learn!
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Bellwether’s Two New Buildings 50% Complete; Set for Spring Openings
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Walking through Bellwether Housing’s two
new buildings
, you can almost see families cooking dinner, people relaxing after a day at work, and kids doing their homework. Construction is more than half way finished at both Arbora Court in the University District and Anchor Flats in South Lake Union. The buildings are anticipated to open in Spring of 2018 and will add 204 affordable homes to our community.
Arbora Court (pictured left) will provide our community 133 affordable apartments with an emphasis on family-friendly units including 20 three-bedroom and 33 two-bedroom units. 40 of the apartments are set aside for families transitioning out of homelessness. The building also includes a courtyard, community room, and on-site supportive services for residents provided by Wellspring Family Services and Bellwether’s Resident Services Coordination Program. Grocery stores, major transit lines, community centers, and schools are all located within walking distance of Arbora Court.
Anchor Flats will offer 71 affordable apartments and features live-work units where artists, craftspeople, and entrepreneurs can work from home. There is also a common room and kitchen for social gatherings. Anchor Flats is the second development supported by Bellwether’s
impact investment fund
, a tool that provides socially-minded accredited investors a meaningful way to address Seattle’s affordable housing crisis while receiving modest returns on their investments.
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Rob Born, Bellwether Housing's Construction Manager for Anchor Flats, helps Bellwether Housing's Chief Operating and Financial Officer Cheryl DeBoise visualize what the lobby of Anchor Flats will look like when construction finishes in spring 2018. The building is more than 50% complete as of October 2017.
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Bellwether Housing Real Estate Development team members stand on the roof of Anchor Flats with downtown visible in the background during a recent tour. From left to right: Housing Developer Alyssa Alcantara, Housing Development Associate Aric Skurdal, Program Manager Becky Bicknell, and Construction Manager Rob Born.
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