Fall 2021 Newsletter
An Update from the Board
Blessings to you in this season of Thanksgiving. We would like to extend special thanks to University-Ballard Lions Foundation and University Christian Church Legacy Foundation for their support of UCEF this fall.
Our big news at year’s end is that our director, Jo Gustafson, will be retiring in 2022. Jo has written a moving story about her journey for this newsletter. We will celebrate Jo’s service throughout 2022, and will start the search for our next director in January. Please keep us in your prayers! Thank you for everything.
How great is the Need?
The need for rental and utility assistance has remained high during the entire pandemic. October is a good example: In 2019 and in the years before, we would typically help between 33 and 45 people. This year, we helped 66. We’ve been breaking records. Nearly every month of the pandemic has been much busier than it was pre-pandemic.
Even as the economy recovers and jobs are plentiful, the price of housing, especially rent, has continued to outpace wages. A common case at UCEF is one in which our client has a job often a new job, which they are so glad to have. However, even though they are working, they have not been paid yet. The rent is due, the water bill, and the light bill too, and they used up their savings just at the point they found employment. It often isn’t even enough when they get paid at the end of the month.
Below are two client stories that highlight the diversity of challenges that bring people to our doors. We hope these stories serve as reminders of how important the mission of UCEF is, and inspire you to keep UCEF a part of your charitable giving at the end of 2021 and into the new year. It is through your generosity that we can help keep people in their homes and prevent them from needlessly becoming homeless.
Cindy
Cindy was a single mom of three, trying to keep a roof over their heads, the lights on, and the children fed. She had to quit her job when her children could no longer attend school in person. She scraped by for a year on savings. Finally, she got a job again when the kids went back to school this fall.
Unfortunately, when the kids were sent home again, she had to quit her job, and has been living off the rest of her savings ever since. She needed help with rent, which we were able to provide. We also gave her the names of three other agencies who could match or go beyond our help.
Dolly
Dolly was a young woman who moved to escape an abusive relationship. English was not her first language and she admitted she was here illegally. Somehow, she found some part-time work, which barely covered her rent each month. Unfortunately, her hours were cut and she was left short for her rent. We were able to help with $250.
We ask all managers/landlord/property management companies to supply us with a tax form which we keep on file. We had not worked with Dolly's manager before and when I called to request the form, found out she had just had a stroke. Rather than wait for her to recover and take a chance that our client would be penalized for a late payment, we made an exception and sent our check in anyway. It seemed like there were enough hurdles in both their lives, and maybe our help would bless them both this one time.
More Than a Job
As the year 2021 comes to a close, with another year of pandemic woes and the economic crunch that affects each of us in more and more ways, I find myself on my knees and surrendering to what must be in 2022. I plan to retire sometime next year. What has been my ministry for nearly 20 years, must come to an end. It is time for someone else to pick up the reins and guide this agency into the future. I trust God is already preparing the right person to come our way.
In looking back over my time here, I want to recall some of the highlights. When I became director, UCEF began a series of donor breakfasts, gathering the churches who supported us in one room and asking them how we could best steward their monies. Policies came out of those rich discussions- better ways to empower our clients with financial help, rather than enable dependency; more ways to build relationships in the community with landlords/managers and partner with other help agencies. Each step UCEF has taken has been designed to better serve our clients. By getting out and talking to more churches in the N. End, we have been able to grow our donor base. Changing our name from University Churches to United Churches Emergency Fund also broadened our reach. To focus in on what best suits our mission of helping to prevent homelessness we zeroed in on three areas - rent, utilities, and move-in costs. When Covid hit, we took steps to protect our clients and ourselves by moving the office to my home and conducting all business over the phone and via email.
Over the years we have had some difficult financial challenges. Sometimes we wondered how we could keep going. But how could we not? We provide a life-saving service to expanding numbers of people and families in crisis. The need has always been there for this agency, and somehow, we receive exactly what we need to keep going, to keep doing what we must continue to do. It seems like I say this every year, but it is true especially today- we need your support more than ever before. Without it, we will not be able to keep up with the demand. Let me say it again, this agency provides life-saving help for those in crisis, for those who are about to lose their housing and face the horrors of living on the streets.
I’ll save my final goodbyes as the time to step down draws nearer. For now, let me just say that my life was forever changed when I came here. God’s presence is ever palpable in the faces of our clients, in the partnerships we form, and the community we build up around us.
I wish you all a joyous holiday season. And on behalf of all of us at UCEF, thank you so much for your support through the years. It is because of your help that we help others, one family at a time.
Peace,
Jo