About
“Don’t we all deserve a place called home…”
The Willow Charitable Foundation was born out of the ongoing desire to make a marked difference on homelessness in our community through grant opportunities offered to local service organizations such as The Salvation Army and YWCA. Willow Foundation intends to ‘fill gaps’ in funding for areas typically more difficult to procure funding, i.e. emergency housing, staffing and consumables.
Our Board of Directors consists of:
Earl Rice, president
Mark Johnson, vice president
Wendie Johnson – secretary/treasurer
Kim Gordon
Mildred “Mitty” Pratt
Kristina Boewe, Executive Director
Following are some statistics about homelessness in our community:
Homelessness In Kitsap County - Washington State
Women
• January 2008 county-wide homeless count showed 285 homeless women.
• 17 percent of homeless women counted in January 2008 were homeless due to domestic violence.
Men
• January 2008 county-wide homeless count showed 430, or 60%, were homeless men.
Children & Youth (under age 18)
• January 2008 county-wide homeless count showed a total of 123 homeless youth.
• In 2008, four school districts in Kitsap County reported a total of 228 homeless children and youth, 36% in the South Kitsap District, 34% in North Kitsap, 17% in the Central Kitsap District, and 14% in the Bremerton District.
Households
• January 2008 county-wide homeless count showed 569 homeless households.
• 37 percent said inability to pay rent/mortgage caused their homelessness.
• 18 percent reported poor credit rating as their reason for being homeless.
General Kitsap homelessness data
• 62 percent reported mental health or addiction to alcohol or drugs.
• 24 percent reported untreated dental problems.
• 24 percent indicated permanent physical or medical disabilities.
• 14 percent were dually diagnosed.
• 21 percent lived in a vehicle or out of doors.
• 45 percent reported their source of income included Social Security, unemployment compensation, public assistance or L & I.
• During the January 2008 homeless count, 75 homeless families were living out of doors or in a vehicle
Community perspectives on Poverty among adults in Washington state
• Forty-five percent of Washingtonians say the economic conditions in their own community are only fair or poor.*
• One in four Washingtonians worry all or most of the time that their total family income will not be enough to meet their family’s expenses and bills.
• Seventy-six percent of Washingtonians say a family of four living in their own community would need $40,000 or more to make ends meet – far beyond the federal government’s poverty income threshold of $21,027.
• Eighty-six percent said they would like to do more to help people who are struggling; 60 percent say they would be willing to pay $50 more a year in taxes if it would go to programs in their community to help people struggling to make ends meet.
• Eighty-four percent of Washingtonians say they will vote this November, and most say their choices will be influenced by what elected officials are doing to help those struggling to make ends meet.
• More than half of Washingtonians report they are anxious about the economy both now and in the future.
*Northwest Area Foundation: Community Perspectives on Poverty; April 2008
Compiled by Sound Grants - Proposal Research and Development
