An update on "The House" by our Director of Housing Services
By Ebo Barton
Is it already September?
We’ve been immersed in The House that I didn’t realize the days were passing so quickly. Is it already thick Vogue season? Over the past month, we’ve toured a couple of properties, jumpstarted The House’s Registry campaign, and we are continually navigating how to move forward with our mission, vision, and values leading our directions. And with the support of our community members, friends, and chosen family members, we can ensure The House’s doors are open and a place our communities want to live in.
Touring properties has been such a learning experience; what the city of Seattle has to offer in terms of accessibility, private space, and neighborhood. We have to live in a community prepared to welcome gender diversity, in a building accessible to its residents and guests and exclusive housing for gender diverse individuals. Some of these items are definitely our responsibility, but others are challenging to find in a city with Seattle’s terrain, history, and the most obvious, price. But in these tours, we learned what we are unwilling to accept, and we were able to dream within the structures.
Randy Ford, our Development Associate, has officially kicked off our 5th anniversary and House Registry campaign! I thought I’d share with anyone reading some tips for gaining your network’s attention on buying gifts for The Registry:
Pick a room in a house and ask your network to help you furnish it! You could purchase bed sheets and ask your friends to go in on a bed frame, a nightstand, pillows, blankets, headscarves, and bonnets, or beauty products to match.
Next time you go to pick up a refill of your favorite hygiene, or laundry product, pick up a similar hygiene product for us? Hand sanitizers and laundry detergents are definitely on our list, hint hint.
What if you found a similar product that’s not exactly the right brand in the clearance section or in another store for a bargain? We’ll take it! Bring it to one of our live drop-off locations at Gay City or the Gaybucks on Olive Way.
As we continue searching for appropriate properties for The House, if you know a commercial real estate agent or hotel broker that would like to support our efforts, please have them email me here.