Interfaith Task Force on Homelessness


​​​​​​​​​Donations sustain us!

All gifts are tax-deductible!

Checks to ITFH, 3030 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue WA 98004


Reach us at ​​​​

425-442-5418 or 

itfh@comcast.net

​

Who we are 
Formed in 2001 under St. Mark's Cathedral Seattle, we've been subsequently hosted by The Church Council of Greater Seattle, and since 2009 by St. Luke's Lutheran Church, Bellevue WA. It is via St. Luke's that we are able to operate as a 501(c)3, aligned as it is with the Northwest WA Synod, ELCA.  We thus work and appreciate being a ministry of St. Luke's and are "in residence at St. Luke's" as an expression of their outreach. Our accounting and banking are done by St. Luke's.


The  Interfaith Task Force on Homelessness (ITFH) is composed of individuals representing religious congregations, religious and secular organizations which work toward preventing and ending homelessness.  Most of our membership spans much of the religious community, including Christian, Unitarian, Jewish, and Muslim.   We reach out to all sectors of the faith community to join us in action and to support us morally and financially. More than this, we work as colleagues with all who seek to alleviate the harm of homelessness.



Our mission
 
The ITFH works to create the political will to end homelessness.  We are organized by four
principles:

· Because housing is a basic human right, being homeless (and/or unsheltered) is not criminal, and its continuing existence is an offense to what is moral in a civil society.

· Homelessness for those unsheltered and for those in interim housing is a major barrier to achieving social and economic justice and is harmful to the well-being of those so afflicted.

· Embedded in the sacred scriptures of all the world's religions is the moral mandate to act individually and in partnership with others to end homelessness.

· Homelessness can and must be ended through a range of efforts that provide either Housing Tonight or a safe permanent place to live, accompanied by programs of sustained support and as necessary pathways that promote work and foster self-sufficiency.

 

​In memoriam 

Colleague and friend to many Jean Darsie died August 27. Jean will be remembered in many ways. She co-founded the Scofflaw Mitigation Team with me in 2011, and had several other founding efforts to her credit, such as Ballard Homes for All, and the Ballard Community Taskforce on Hunger and Homelessness.


KUOW Memoriam 

RIP with your beloved nature, Jean. We continue your work.​  

​​



Current Efforts

Within the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, the ITFH is currently:


1) Public Records Request of Seattle, Jan.-May '23, impounds of lived-in vehicles, RVs, Campers, Detached Trailers, and Buses, came to 1,441. Write me for details.


2) Handed over Vehicle Residency Outreach fully to University Heights Center, Seattle

          Here is a video from Fall 2022 of the South Outreach team 


​3) Advancing the use of the Companionship model to use with clients to alleviate the realities of isolation, stigmatization, criminalization, and abandonment


4) Advancing with the City of Seattle the use of on-street safe zones, aka "nests," for 4-5 RVs with case management, trash/porta-potty, code of conduct, good neighbor agreement, and more, toward making pathways to stability 


5) Seeking to assist in Olympia on Legislation to advance decision Long v Seattle 


​6) Continuing work with KCRHA Vehicle Residency Work Group


7) Working within/attending area groups; North King, Easy King, South King. SKHHP





Ongoing​​


The Stones Would Shout: Homelessness and Place and Faith 

Softcover available NOW direct from me or on Amazon and can

be purchased now The Stones Would Shout .  The Kindle version

is readable yet I recommend the soft cover since it is work book size

and may be used more easily. As noted, you can purchase direct

from Amazon. If you are nearby, you can order it straight from

me ( Bill )  $16 for the workbook-sized soft cover print version.  


  • ​Podcast with Dr. Michael Trice, Religica Theolab, on the book above (about 32 minutes) dated 1/10/2022     
  • Our new Parking in Seattle booklet is printed and hard copies are being distributed. This aims to be an assist for vehicle residents. (see Ticketing in Seattle page). We are also creating a Safe Parking  document for use in Washington State. 



  • We have ended monthly meetings. TOO MUCH DRIVING for distant partners! Instead, we maintain an email list that includes at minimum our weekly E-Update every Friday. This is a one-sheet reference, along with upcoming meetings within the local Strategic Homelessness Plan and related area meetings, and other information each week that is pertinent to working to alleviate the harm of unsheltered homelessness in King County WA.  Sign up by emailing to itfh@comcast.net .


  • The ITFH continues outreach efforts in East King County via Joe Ingram, current ITFH Chairperson. Joe's contact info is 206.579.2205, and joe.vetsedge@gmail.com . Joe is a member of Washington State Balance of Care for 34 of 39 Counties, is a knowledgeable resource for all aspects of unsheltered homelessness, is a Veteran, and practices Companionship (accompaniment of those in harm's way).


  • The ITFH remains an active partner in anti-criminalization of the homeless. The Washington State Homeless Anti-Criminalization Campaign was started 3 years ago. In partnership with Seattle University School of Law and the Homeless Rights Advocacy Project (HRAP, under Professor Sara Rankin), there have been just under a dozen reports by law students that span topics of the criminalization of the homeless. "Living at the Intersection" has been particularly helpful in our work around vehicle residency and the law. Further, in collaboration with a private attorney and Columbia Legal Services, a vehicle resident has sued the City of Seattle. This effort is seeking the court to provide relief and policy guidance.