March 9 was a big day at Seattle’s CenturyLink Field. In its huge below-field event center, some amazing connections were made in the midst of the Seattle homeless crisis. Human ones. Heart ones. Basic ones.

Our Community Resource Exchange is a one-day resource fair new socks, toiletries, haircuts, mammograms, dental. A place to charge your cell phone and get a state ID card and eat a hot meal while sitting in a chair instead of on the cold pavement. It’s the basics, but the basics are a big part of our work to end homelessness.

Community Resource Exchange Impact

You can already see how impactful this day was…and is every year. People come to one place to connect with neighbors. Our neighbors, whose circumstances have led them to where they are in the Seattle homeless crisis. Sleeping in tents beneath our daily commutes, the last people to deboard the bus at night, people waiting in line for dinner in a line that spans two blocks in Pioneer Square. They are welcomed to the Community Resource Exchange with hot coffee, a personal guide, and applause. Because they’re human and they deserve it. That’s what the Community Resource Exchange is all about.

What we hear most often at the Community Resource Exchange from our homeless guests: It’s so nice to be seen. It’s so nice to make eye contact with another person.

And really, how many of us Seattlites and King Countyers know what that isolation feels like? Occasional loneliness, sure. Self-worth-stripping, dignity-ignoring isolation? That’s the biggest thing the Resource Exchange combats.

Today’s hot items included:

To everyone who made it happen, donated items and offered services, a huge thank-you for your generosity! A special shoutout to Starbucks volunteers for making so much of the Community Resource Exchange possible.

Feeling a little inspired? Donate today to keep this event going and support our homelessness work year-round. Living outside is hard. The Seattle homeless crisis is a real issue. YOU can make a difference.