Homelessness Archives - Page 3 of 5

SPiN dinner service is back!

Posted on April 25, 2022April 25, 2022

SPiN Café was pretty quiet on a recent Wednesday afternoon. You know how you’re sitting at dinner and it’s loud and chatty and then the food comes and everyone shuts up and eats, because it just tastes and feels so good after a long day?

It was that kind of quiet. A quiet of relief, gratitude, and hope as SPiN’s dinner program spins back to full speed.

Helping hands, back to making real meals for SPiN guests

Executive Director Michele Chapman smiled with that same relief and gratitude as she chatted about the meals, open to all who are hungry. SPiN has struggled to feed guests since late 2019 through COVID, funding challenges, and a change of location.

“We worked extra hard for two years,” Michele says, “just to make sack lunches for our guests. Now it’s wonderful, and our guests are so grateful, that once again we can provide…” she pauses, “…a real meal.”

SPiN is now providing those dinners to 25-30 people on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings.

Real meals were on tables around the room as guests thanked Tangiler, Shirley, Kaya, and Amira for bringing plates piled high with casserole, bread, and vegetables.

With funding from an Island County grant, SPiN restarted dinner service in March, stepping back into a tradition that began when SPiN was founded and paused abruptly two years ago with COVID.

St.Stephen’s Episcopal Church has been a constant through that tough time, welcoming SPiN guests while masking and distancing were required. Michele is grateful for the support, and she laughs that the easing of virus restrictions has brought about more contact with church members. “We have to remind ourselves, we aren’t the only ones here anymore!”

Asked if anything would make the dinner service better, Michele is quick to answer, “more volunteers!” Chef Tangiler cooks the meals at the Presbyterian church and transports the huge trays a few blocks over to St Stephen’s, where volunteers serve to the guests. “We could use a few more people each night to help out.”

On the horizon, the one-time county grant runs out at the end of this year. Michele and the SPiN board have a fundraising task ahead of them, to ensure the future of the program.

For now, though, real meals are a real deal.

SPiN Café’s Day Center is open Monday through Friday, 6:30AM – 5:30PM

Dinners are served Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, 4:15PM – 5:30PM

At St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 555 SE Regatta Drive, Oak Harbor

Please click here to go to our volunteer page to help us serve dinners.

Please click here to donate and help with the future of our SPiN meal program.

More information by phone or email: 360-682-5949, spincafeoh@gmail.com

For a fun evening out supporting SPiN Café, click here for tickets to the Spring Fling fundraiser.

Mom, daughter set SPiN mood

Posted on February 27, 2022February 27, 2022

Fe Mischo has orbited in the SPiN Café universe since the beginning.

When SPiN started out on Bayshore Drive, Fe already knew and respected SPiN founder Vivian Rogers Decker. Fe worked at ECEAP preschool (Early Childhood Education Assistance Program), where she sought out and advocated for families facing financial struggles and homelessness. She dropped off resource materials for families at SPiN, and got a firsthand look at the good things SPiN was doing for Oak Harbor.

“I was homeless myself at one point in my life,” Fe says. “I was 20 years old, with no place to live. All I had was my Nissan, so that’s where I slept. I had too much pride to ask my family for help. So many of us don’t want to acknowledge that we’re just one financial blow away from the streets. For me, it helps that I can relate, personally.”

From those early days of SPiN, Fe saw the way every guest was treated with respect and dignity. She knew this was an organization she could support.

Two years ago, as COVID sent workers and students into isolation, Fe left her job at the preschool to be home with her kids. Like a lot of women – and she’s quick to note accurately that women in the workforce took the blow in disproportionate numbers – Fe refocused her attention on her family while she rode out the lockdowns and closures of the pandemic.

A recent part-time spot serving lunches to SPiN guests drew her back to the workforce. As a longtime friend and supporter of SPiN’s mission, Fe knew exactly what she was getting into, and she’s glad she did. And in an odd happy twist, for this person whose job is to serve, Fe feels the joy and gratitude coming back at her.

Fe Mischo gets as much from SPiN as she gives.

SPiN dinners return

Posted on February 26, 2022February 26, 2022

Persistence pays off, once again. It took a couple of years, but it was dogged persistence,it was relentless, and it was confident, knowing there will be good days ahead.

SPiN Executive Director Michele Chapman has announced that, on March 15, SPiN and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church will once again welcome guests for dinner.

St. Stephen's welcomes SPiN guests — Welcome home, friends. We’ve missed you.

Evening meals will be served from 4:30 – 5:30 PM on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays in the St. Stephen’s parish hall, 555 SE Regatta Drive in Oak Harbor.

Volunteers will be needed. Volunteer information is available by clicking here.

“It’s a win, right?”

Posted on February 18, 2022February 18, 2022

Michele Chapman made the introduction, with a twist. SPiN Cafe’s Executive Director, full of gratitude and admiration, presented David Thorson, saying: “You can’t be The Morning Person without being a morning person.”

It sounds obvious, but it’s still impressive. Not everyone can pull off what David Thorson does, with the enthusiasm David brings with him every morning. And he’s so matter of fact when he describes arriving at SPiN daily at 6AM. Listen close, and you’ll hear the smile in his voice.

No doubt, there’s a smile behind that mask.

“I unlock, prepare SPiN for guests to arrive, get the coffee going, breakfast and snacks ready.” And most important, David says, “I’m there to make SPiN Cafe comfortable and safe for our guests. Especially safe. That means sometimes I have to go over our code of conduct with them, and when I do, it’s all about safety.”

Compassion is Good Business

Posted on February 17, 2022February 17, 2022

The opening question comes in pretty soft.

Bryan and Carrie Stucky glance at each other in response, like they know their answers will be different.

The question, for the record, was, “How did you get involved supporting SPiN Cafe?”

As a business owner considering a run for City Council last year, Bryan needed to learn more about the people of our town and the issues they face. He’s a board member at North Whidbey Help House, where he sees the business side but is a bit removed from the services they provide. So he started asking questions, and he connected with SPiN Executive Director Michele Chapman, who was happy to help him expand his knowledge.

“It was mostly from a practical perspective,” Bryan says. “It was about business. My wife Carrie looks at it with, I’d say, more compassion.”

Across the table, Carrie smiles and shakes her head. She’s not so sure she has more compassion than Bryan. “But it makes me so sad to see the lack of kindness and understanding in our community about homelessness and poverty.”