The Village Family Project
Raising a village… together. For over 25 years, we have offered our support, our concern, and our resources to young people we've encountered on the streets of Seattle.
Sometimes, They Came to Live With Us
For more than two decades we have encouraged, advised, fed, and clothed young people living on Seattle's streets — providing blankets, transportation, and other basic needs, joined along the way by friends, neighbors, doctors, and dentists who donated what they could. And sometimes, when there was no other option, some of those young people came to live with us.
More than 75 young people have lived with us over that time — some for days, some for months, some for years. Many struggled with addiction, mental health, and the scars of abandonment and abuse. Today, many of our current and former residents are working productively in the community. Many have graduated high school or earned a GED. Some have gone to college, married, built careers, and started families of their own.
Four young men currently live with us. Our mission is unchanged: to do everything in our power to provide our clients with the resources, the opportunity, and the support necessary to affect a significant, positive change in the quality of their lives — with honesty, empathy, and compassion.
The Crisis on Our Streets
In Seattle, hundreds of young people have no safe place or trusted guardian — on the streets, in cars, or couch-surfing because they were abused, kicked out, or simply couldn't be fed. One-third of homeless youth in King County have been through the child welfare system, and young people aging out of foster care at 18 face no established pathway to stable housing, education, or employment. They are in immediate danger from those who would lure them into trafficking or addiction.
People are literally dying in the streets. We can — and we must — do better.
Used Cell Phones
Old phones, tablets, and laptops. Being able to call for help can be the difference between life and death — and a phone returns a sense of normalcy to a kid who has lost nearly everything else.
Blankets & Rain Gear
Gently used jackets, coats, hats, boots, and — always — dry socks. Surplus blankets are distributed to shelters and directly to people on the street.
Grocery Gift Certificates
Feeding the young men in residence costs about $1,000 a month beyond assistance programs. Grocery gift cards help close that gap with dignity.
Cash Donations
General fund, groceries, clothing, transportation (ORCA, Amtrak), work essentials, home upkeep, and legal fees — with specific allocation reports and a tax-deduction receipt available.
Every Dollar Goes to the Kids
PS1 and ESS LLC fund 100% of the Village Family Project's operations — so 100% of external contributions go directly to resident food and supplies.
The Village Family Project — BOA Account
4730 University Way NE, Suite 104 #1418
Seattle, WA 98105