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Big love

by Hanna Fisher | March 3rd, 2021

How Seattle Veterinary Outreach provides vet and medical care for vulnerable community members

Veterinary care and healthcare are two essential components of wellness that can sometimes be difficult for people to obtain due to a lack of access and funds to pay for services.

A strong sense of empathy and relentless drive to assist these vulnerable populations in the Seattle area is directly reflected in the work of Seattle Veterinary Outreach. SVO envisions a future with more equity and opportunity for vulnerable pets and their people.
Read more in the Mar. 3-9, 2021 issue.
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Real Change
Mayor Durkan rejects federal funding for hotel shelters | City opening new permanent vaccine sites | City Council president’s chief of staff running for Council

by Chetanya Robinson | March 3rd, 2021

Mayor Durkan rejects federal funding for hotel shelters

Two Seattle City Councilmembers expressed outrage after Mayor Jenny Durkan’s office turned down an offer from President Joe Biden’s Federal Emergency Management Administration to pay for hotels to be converted to new shelters and house people living outdoors during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read more in the Mar. 3-9, 2021 issue.
- Read more about Mayor Durkan rejects federal funding for hotel shelters | City opening new permanent vaccine sites | City Council president’s chief of staff running for Council
Real Change
Driving while poor: No longer a risk? | Mercer Island: No unhoused people | Mariners CEO resigns after racist comments revealed

by Chetanya Robinson | February 24th, 2021

Driving while poor: No longer a risk?
Read more in the Feb. 24 - Mar. 2, 2021 issue.
- Read more about Driving while poor: No longer a risk? | Mercer Island: No unhoused people | Mariners CEO resigns after racist comments revealed
Real Change
Fight to support unhoused Native people meets unpredicted pandemic limits

by Yeh-Sun Lee | February 24th, 2021

Amid COVID-19 restrictions and cases, the Chief Seattle Club is expediting construction of two new equitable housing projects in King County to support unhoused Native people.

“We hope to bring back a sense of community for our urban Native folks. Being in the urban area, our community is truly fragmented, isolated from one another beyond what COVID-19 is doing now,” said Derrick Belgarde, Chief Seattle Club’s deputy director.
Read more in the Feb. 24 - Mar. 2, 2021 issue.
- Read more about Fight to support unhoused Native people meets unpredicted pandemic limits
Real Change
The communal QueenCare

by Lee Nacozy | February 17th, 2021

Monika Mathews speaks with humility and wisdom, seemingly all the time. When Real Change followed up after her store’s Feb. 11 opening of a second location to ask what it’s felt like to have a second store open, she said, “Oh my goodness. It really is epic. That location represents a resurgence of Black business in the Central District.

“And it represents generational opportunities. Not only young people in my family, but in the whole community.

“This is not about ‘me.’ It’s about ‘we.’
Read more in the Feb. 17-23, 2021 issue.
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Real Change
Distributing COVID-19 vaccine equitably | Mercer Island Council debates banning unhoused people

by Chetanya Robinson | February 17th, 2021

Distributing COVID-19 vaccine equitably

On Feb. 15, local leaders announced a new public-private Vaccine Equity Fund, with a goal of raising $15 million dollars to provide more COVID-19 vaccines to communities of color, and fix “inequitable” distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Read more in the Feb. 17-23, 2021 issue.
- Read more about Distributing COVID-19 vaccine equitably | Mercer Island Council debates banning unhoused people
Real Change
Pyro attacks harm Queen Anne camp residents

by Chetanya Robinson | February 17th, 2021

The first attack on the encampment allegedly occurred in the early hours of Jan. 4 among a group of tents on a parking lot owned by St. Paul’s Episcopal Parish in Queen Anne.

John, a veteran who uses a wheelchair and who lives in the small encampment, was across the street near Metropolitan Market when he saw someone dump gasoline on his tent and then watched it melt in the blaze. His wallet and phone were also destroyed in the fire.

“Why would you do that to us?” he said, recalling the incident. “I mean, we’re homeless.”
Read more in the Feb. 17-23, 2021 issue.
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Real Change
It’s Vendor Week 2021!

by Camilla Walter | February 17th, 2021

Dear Readers, Customers and Community Members,

Real Change invites you to join us in celebrating the hard work of the vendor community during Vendor Week, from Feb. 17 to 23.

Real Change is a street paper and a member of the International Network of Street Papers: a global community that includes over 100 papers in 35 countries around the world. Real Change is the leading street paper in North America, offering immediate, low-barrier employment to 600 people experiencing homelessness and poverty each year.
Read more in the Feb. 17-23, 2021 issue.
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Real Change
Injecting protection

by Lisa Hagen Glynn | February 10th, 2021

The COVID-19 vaccine rollout locally

Read more in the Feb. 10-16, 2021 issue.
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Real Change
Lawsuit against grocery worker hazard pay | Regional Homelessness Authority has a CEO at last | Homeless Authority lead will likely be paid $200,000-$250,000 per year

by Chetanya Robinson | February 10th, 2021

Lawsuit against grocery worker hazard pay

The Northwest Grocery Association and the Washington Food Industry Association are suing the City of Seattle and will seek a preliminary injunction to stop it from implementing a requirement — passed by City Council in late January — that large grocery chains pay their employees an extra $4 dollars per hour hazard pay for their work during the covid-19 pandemic. The requirement, passed under emergency legislation, is already in effect citywide.
Read more in the Feb. 10-16, 2021 issue.
- Read more about Lawsuit against grocery worker hazard pay | Regional Homelessness Authority has a CEO at last | Homeless Authority lead will likely be paid $200,000-$250,000 per year

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