Archive for 2018

Charity isn’t a word you hear too often anymore. It carries the connotation of a hand-out; in the extreme, the concept of charity can infantilize those receiving it and make those giving it seem arrogant and aloof.

This shouldn’t be the case. Selfless giving and accepting gifts without shame are hallmarks of our humanity. There are people in our very own communities who truly need charitable giving now. Individuals and families who have no food, no home, and no means to meet their basic needs of survival.

Without charity, we would be literally leaving these people out in the cold.

It’s true, however, that this type of charity—giving that meets people’s basic and immediate needs—does not lead to long-term solutions for problems like homelessness and the addictions that often lie at its roots.

Charity is important and essential, and it’s just the beginning.

Community Investment for Lasting Relief, Growth, and Healing

Once basic needs are met, people can focus on making lifelong changes for more rewarding and community-driven lives. Resources to guide and promote these long-term changes are lacking, though.

That’s where Recovery Beyond is making a difference.

Through our current programs, Climbing Out and Team Mission, we provide individuals already succeeding in addiction recovery programs with an additional and lasting opportunity for growth.

In Climbing Out, ten months of team-building and intense physical and mental training culminates in a five-day hike to the summit of Mt. Rainier—an achievement that resonates for the rest of anyone’s life. Team Mission (our companion program at Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission) achieves the same results through ongoing guidance in the sport of long-distance running, an activity that is more accessible yet demands equal commitment, endurance, and effort.

Reaching the peak and making it through that last mile are memorable rewards, but it’s the trek that makes it all worthwhile. It’s the new skills and perspectives climbers and runners build along the way that leads to new lives and new futures.

Homelessness and the substance dependency that often precedes and is exacerbated by it is a complex social and personal problem. Recovery Beyond addresses the personal aspects, empowering participants with better understandings of themselves and the extent of their capabilities.

Where charity leaves off, they learn to take the next steps, confident of the ground underneath their feet.

Ending Addiction, One Step At a Time

There are hundreds of thousands of homeless people and families in the United States, and more than twenty thousand in Washington State. More than 60{637c4c527fde39f83a380e19107d2ba88ad72607f37ccf8f8b7edeff1c20688c} of these people also suffer from substance dependency. Ending addiction is key to ending homelessness, and to mitigating an array of problems and behaviors detrimental to the community at large.

No single program can do it all. No single approach will be the key to success.

But the difficulty is no excuse, and we can do better.

If you’re interested in learning more about Recovery Beyond, making a contribution or even joining our Fundraising Climb to experience the life-changing Rainier summit for yourself, please click here to learn more.

Let’s be clear: every single dollar given to help another human being is priceless. Whenever you give, whatever you give, know that it’s appreciated and going to good use.

Unfortunately, the disproportionate number of donations given in a holiday season can make budgeting and planning difficult for many organizations. They may be pressured or even required to use the resources they have on hand to serve as many as possible, as quickly as possible, and this can leave them coming up short the rest of the year.

Giving Tuesday doesn’t solve that problem, but by choosing the right organizations to give to, you can.

This year, we ask that you consider donating to organizations that are less crisis-oriented, and more focused on long-term changes that will ease the burden on temporary shelters and food banks.

The Climbing Out program provides a unique opportunity to people who are currently struggling with addiction-related homelessness by successfully recovering from addiction. Those participating in our program rebuild their strength, resolve, and commitment to themselves, building more resilient connections with their community along the way.

This program doesn’t provide shelter or meals. It provides the means for self-sufficiency, healing, and growth, so our climbers may never experience another homeless Thanksgiving again.

We’re not saying you shouldn’t make planned donations to homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and other organizations this time of year. Please do, if you can! Our organization currently partners with two local homeless shelters, Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission and The Tacoma Rescue Mission; both of us are grateful for your support.

We also hope you’ll consider the long-term impacts of your giving, and balance the urgent needs of today with the unsolved problems of tomorrow. Learn more about our business case and Investment Drive and make this Giving Tuesday last the entire year.

Click here to learn more about the Climbing Out Program.

As a result of the opioid crisis and addiction problems plaguing our society, homelessness continues to be on the rise. Every night, more than half-a-million people in the United States are in search of somewhere to sleep.

When they’re lucky, they find a shelter, or doorway, or a bench, or a patch of grass or asphalt. The unlucky spend their nights wandering, or under arrest, or in any number of dangerous circumstances.

And every morning, there are a few who don’t wake up.

Homelessness is a life-and-death issue and addiction plays a large part in the problem. Many of our nation’s homeless who also suffer from a drug addiction have that much more to overcome and are that much more at risk. While there are many programs and shelters doing terrific work to help our homeless population, they don’t have space or the resources to help everyone.

And few programs have proven successful in helping to lift people out of their addictions and as a result, homelessness permanently and productively. Why? Because they aren’t equipped to treat the root causes like addiction, and because there are too many lives that need saving today to make adequate plans for tomorrow.

We need to change the paradigm. We need better long-term solutions for homelessness, for addiction, and for giving everyone the help and the tools for self-help they need.

Climb Out

Of the 540,000+ homeless people in the US, more than 21,000 of them are here in Washington State. Well over half of Washington’s homeless citizens are located in the Seattle-Tacoma area—one of the most affluent and high-tech regions in the country.

In cities with many “haves,” the plight of the “have-nots” becomes even harder to witness.

But homelessness isn’t simply a matter of economic hardship. For many, it is tied to lives of abuse, neglect, drug addiction, and other mental health issues. For these people, finding their way to a happy and productive life means undergoing a more intense and profound healing process than finding a new place to call home.

They need a way to take back control, and to build the skills and strengths they need to move up and beyond the positions, they’ve landed in.

Since 2011, our organization has been working with two local shelters to give recovering addicts a life-changing experience—one that allows them to truly climb out of homelessness. Each year, individuals demonstrating success in a broader recovery program receive nearly 10 months of physical and mental training in preparation for a summit of Mt. Rainier. The five-day trek is one that few people from any walk of life attempt, and marks a significant triumph for those with a background of drug dependency and shelter insecurity.

This year, we’re holding a Fundraising Climb to raise funds to help serve more people. Eight donors will be joining us on a climb that follows a route our program participants may take, right up to the peak of Mt. Rainier. These donors can’t get their alone, though—they need your help, too, because they’re each raising funds to sponsor a minimum of two recovery climbers in 2019.

Please consider making a contribution to one of our donor climbers. Together, we can take steps to end homelessness once and for all, one summit at a time.

To donate, or to learn more about our organization and our Fundraising Climb, please click here.

Want to donate to a participant’s climb? Visit https://donate.recoverybp.org, search for the climber you want to support and make your donation.

“Seattle’s homelessness crisis has been years in the making, and its roots run deep, touching racial inequity, economic disparities, mental health treatment, rising housing costs, mental health, addiction, and so much more. We have a responsibility to be honest that this crisis won’t go away overnight. Lasting, meaningful progress will take years. But we still must act – and are acting – to improve life in Seattle.” – Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan

Scott Greenstone, the Seattle Times “Project Homeless” producer and engagement editor, stated that one way to help the homeless in Seattle is to shorten the wait time to receive mental health and addiction treatment services. “It’s common to wait a week or two – sometimes as much as a month –for an appointment.”

In a report done in 2010 by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 34.7{637c4c527fde39f83a380e19107d2ba88ad72607f37ccf8f8b7edeff1c20688c} of sheltered adults who were homeless had chronic substance use issues (SAMHSA) and over 80{637c4c527fde39f83a380e19107d2ba88ad72607f37ccf8f8b7edeff1c20688c} have experienced lifetime alcohol and/or drug problems. According to Seattle Major Jenny A. Durkan’s website, drug overdose is currently the leading cause of death among people who are homeless. More individuals seek detox for heroin than they do alcohol in King County. Due to the lack of beds in Washington (Washington state is ranked 47th in the nation for psychiatric beds per capita), there are more than 150 people on a waitlist for treatment every day! The City of Seattle has allotted a $78,00,000 budget for Homelessness Response in 2018, which includes areas such a shelter, hygiene and outreach, permanent supportive housing, rapid rehousing and diversion, prevention, access to services, operations, and more.

Recovery Beyond’s Climbing Out program has shown an optimistic success rate in helping individuals holistically through recovery by weaving together socialization skills and teamwork with physical activity. As noted in a Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, amended in 2015, entitled “Opening Doors”, individuals who are homeless struggle with having a non-existent or frail support network. The interpersonal skills Recovery Beyond teaches are important in the recovery process because they remove the “us vs. them” mentality and increase the likelihood of recovery due to better, supportive relationships. In the past three years, nearly all participants in the program have remained sober. This is incredible. On average, it takes an individual about seven attempts to achieve lasting sobriety.

We need to do everything we can and have all-hands-on-deck if we are going to help homeless individuals in recovery. We are asking for your help: Homelessness can’t be solved overnight. It’s a process of recovery, achieved one individual at a time.
Homelessness continues to be on the rise in King County, according to All Home, an agency that works collaboratively with other organizations and institutions in the county to significantly reduce homelessness. At the time of data collection in 2018, the homeless population in King County was at 12, 211, rising by 469 individuals from the previous year. Over half of the homeless population lives unsheltered, and the remaining live in vehicles, buildings, tents, transitional housing, villages, and emergency shelters.

The housing crisis is just one of the many causes of homelessness, but currently grabs more media attention than other causes. Other factors that contribute to homelessness include domestic violence, certain disabilities, untreated mental illness, medical bills, and addiction. Individuals may utilize substances to alleviate the discomforts they are experiencing, whether it be the challenges of an undiagnosed mental health disorder, physical pain, or a coping mechanism for a life situation, such as the death of a loved one or a divorce. There are several factors that can lead to substance use disorders, including social factors, genetic predisposition, availability and tolerance, and other mental health problems.

Will you support our efforts? A monetary donation will support our mission. Please click here to donate.

• Current Statistics on the Prevalence and Characteristics of People Experiencing Homelessness in the United States[PDF]. (2011). SAMSHA.
• Greenstone, S. (2017, November 24). One way to help homeless in King County? Shorten the wait for treatment. Retrieved from https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/homeless/one-way-to-help-homeless-in-king-county-shorten-the-wait-for-treatment
• L. (2016, January 21). Homelessness Programs and Resources. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/homelessness-programs-resources
• Opening Doors[PDF]. (2015, June). United States Interagency Council on Homelessness.
• The Roots of the Crisis. (n.d.). Retrieved July 4, 2018, from https://www.seattle.gov/homelessness/the-roots-of-the-crisis