When Anything Helps met Shelly Vaughn, she was living in an encampment in North Seattle. Her natural leadership and her desire to care for her community were obvious, so we empowered her to do exactly that. We ensured her voice was included in all decisions involving the future of the camp and its residents. When the City of Seattle Government began referring people to shelters, she became the site's liaison — any referrals went through her first. The result? She held the City accountable, forcing them to make offers to every resident of the encampment that she knew they would accept. For the first time in City history, an entire encampment - over 50 people - had moved inside, and the only thing left to sweep on the day of the cleanup was what should have been swept—trash. Shelly was also our first paid staff member. We trained her to work in the field, provide quality care and how to protect herself from vicarious trauma. It hasn't always been perfect, and we haven't always seen eye-to-eye, but we have always believed in her ability to do great things for the people she cares about. Today, that belief paid dividends as she assisted one of her clients with signing a lease for the first time. As someone who has experienced homelessness myself, I can't tell you how emotional it is to see one of our former clients house someone else. It is such a surreal moment, and an accomplishment that Shelly and our team should feel incredibly proud of. Keep up the great work, Shelly. We love you, and we will never stop believing in you. (fb)

Just wanted to thank all of our donors for contributing to our #givebig2024 campaign this year - despite us being too occupied with growing pains to do any marketing or engagement with you at all. Really means a lot to us. (fb)