By Kirk Boxleitner
​Make peace with grief through ‘Death Over Drinks,’ meditation at Madrona | Port Townsend Leader


While death is an inevitable part of life, what members of the local Dying Matters Guild have observed is that many people fail to make peace with that moment of transition before it comes.
To that end, the Dying Matters Guild nonprofit collective has organized a pair of events for this weekend, Feb. 21-22. It is part of their stated mission of “allaying fears around death, and supporting end-of-life choices through education, conversation and connection to resources.”
The Guild has been offering similarly themed events and support services to the community since 2020, including a “green burial” event in the spring of last year. The weekend events feature self-described death doula Bree Rose from Seattle.
While a number of people might be familiar with doulas as non-medical professionals who provide emotional and practical support for women through health experiences related to birth, Rose noted that certain doulas can also address non-reproductive experiences, such as dying.
On Friday, Feb. 21, the Recovery Cafe in Port Townsend will be hosting “Death Over (Non-Alcoholic) Drinks,” while on Saturday, Feb. 22, the Madrona MindBody Institute at Fort Worden will be hosting a death meditation led by Rose.
While “Death Over Drinks” is normally hosted by Peace of Mind online during the third Thursday of the month, the Recovery Cafe event is in-person. The discussion topic is “What do you think, or know, about what happens as we die, and soon after?”
In addition to leading the death meditation on Feb. 22, Rose will deliver a brief presentation during “Death Over Drinks” on Feb. 21, covering what’s known about the process of dying, before Carrie Andrews facilitates a discussion at the Recovery Cafe.
Among Andrews’ aims are to normalize conversations about death to broaden the dialogue while improving people’s access to resources that can help them to deal with death.
Rose touted the value of grieving rituals in dealing with death, both for the person who’s dying and for their loved ones, especially when the answers to certain questions can be worked out in advance.
“Do you want a home funeral?” Rose said. “Do you want your loved ones by your bedside? Is there specific music you want to be played, to ease your passing?”
As part of her studies, Rose earned a degree in psychology. She touted the underpinnings of psychological wellness accessed by meditation exercises and rituals related to dying, which can serve to ease anxieties, lower blood pressure, induce calm. Those things open “the door to your subconscious, so you can understand yourself on a deeper level.”
Rose’s death meditation at the Madrona MindBody Institute will focus its participants’ attentions on feeling their own bodies, as well as being conscious of “who and what is around you at that moment.”
Rose added, “Rather than ritualizing death, U.S. culture denies it, creating a fear-based stigma that surrounds it, which hinders our ability to prepare for it or cope with it. You can’t avoid or prevent death, but you can exert some measure of control over how you might experience it, which includes the setting.”

https://www.ptleader.com/stories/olycap-conducts-annual-point-in-time-count-of-homeless-people,195090?

By Mallory Kruml

​Olympic Community Action Programs (OlyCAP) is concluding its annual Point in Time (PIT) count in Jefferson County to determine the number of people experiencing homelessness, both sheltered and unsheltered.

The nationwide count, which takes place every January, is conducted by agencies nationwide on the same night and is reported to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The PIT count guides federal funding to develop effective housing strategies. 

The 2024 count was published in December and showed Washington having the third largest homeless population, with 31,544 people experiencing homelessness. 

This year, the PIT count occurred on Jan. 30. OlyCAP will continue interviewing unhoused community members about their sleeping arrangements on Jan. 30 through Feb. 5 to allow for a more accurate count. 

“We go about and ask people where they slept that night,” said Peggy Webster, housing project manager at OlyCAP. “We ask certain questions that help us get data to know the ages, races and gender, and kind of how they got to be homeless. So, there’s an interview worksheet that you fill in as you interview each person.” 

OlyCAP will enter the worksheets into a database, which will later be compiled by HUD and shared in an annual report, Webster said. 

“It’s so hard for us to tell,” Webster said when asked if OlyCAP has noticed an increase in the homeless population during the count this year. “What has changed is that we are better organized and more on top of it. But, we won’t know the results until way down the road.” 

In tandem with the count, the joint Housing Fund Board of Jefferson County and Port Townsend, which distributes state funding to local homeless services like OlyCAP, hosted a conversation with unhoused individuals to gain insights into their needs. 

The board hosted the meeting on Jan. 31 at the Winter Welcoming Center in Port Townsend. 

“We can’t have this conversation without listening to your experiences, the people who are actually experiencing being unhoused or unstable housed,” said Jefferson County Commissioner Heather Dudley-Nollette at the meeting. 

Participants were asked at the meeting to share what could have prevented their homelessness, how the Housing Fund Board could better assist them now and what would help them end their homelessness. 

Many highlighted the need for better communication about available resources, a greater emphasis on individualized support and access to essential services like showers and laundry. Several participants mentioned the importance of addressing and minimizing the stigmatization of homeless individuals. 

The insights shared will play a crucial role in the Housing Fund Board’s Five-Year Homeless Housing Plan, Dudley-Nollette said.

“We really want to build this plan with your input,” she said. 

The plan, aimed at improving housing affordability in the county, will be adopted in December. 

Leader readers named Dove House Recovery Café’s Jill Turnbull among the area’s best volunteers

For Jill Turnbull its about personal connections. 

She spent four years working at the Dove House Recovery Café at 939 Kearney St. in Port Townsend, but even before that Turnbull was no stranger to volunteering.
Turnbull, who won second place in the best volunteer category of this year’s Readers’ Choice awards for her work at the Recovery Café, worked three years at the Boiler Room on Water Street before it closed. 

“Before the pandemic, I was volunteering at five different places,” said Turnbull, who started volunteering in high school, and retired from nursing 15 years ago. “Now, I’m only working at one, but every day it’s open during the week, Tuesdays through Fridays.”

Turnbull was interested in volunteering at the Recovery Café as soon as she heard that Dove House planned to start it, and to hear her tell it, every day has been different for her.
​
“Some days have a wild energy,” said Turnbull, who does two of her days there signing folks into the café. “A lot of people want to talk, so I spend a lot of time listening.”

www.ptleader.com/stories/recovery-cafe-volunteer-i-spend-a-lot-of-time-listening,190032

Source: Briefs | Port Townsend Leader (ptleader.com)

​Leader Staff

Event to honor overdose victims, boost awareness
Several area organizations have teamed up to support International Overdose Awareness Day, which brings attention to issues surrounding substance use disorders (SUDs) and overdose deaths, and allows people to grieve. 

Organizations and agencies including OWL360, Jefferson County Public Health, Safe Harbor and Discovery Behavioral Health, Behavioral Health Consortium, Shop Kalma, Believe in Recovery, and Recovery Cafe are part of the free, all-ages community event from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 31, to raise awareness, reduce stigma and shame, and honor and celebrate the lives of loved ones lost to overdose. 

Overdose is the leading cause of death for people ages 18 to 45 in this country, with more than 100,000 deaths in the 12-month period ending in March 2024. “Many of us know one of the 100,000, some of us know more than one, and some of us may know dozens,” said Sonia Frojen of OWL360. “Among this group are our children, siblings, parents, grandparents, cousins, non-blood relatives, and friends.”

OWL360 was awarded a grant from the Olympic Community of Health to address and reduce stigma of those community members with a substance use disorder through community-wide education, youth/young adult engagement, and through policy and systems change. 
​
Events will be held on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at The Nest at 1119 Lawrence St., with 12 p.m. time for public sharing. A memorial walk to Recovery Café at 939 Kearney St. will follow at 1 p.m., with lunch at 2 p.m.  All ages are welcome.

The bard of Port Townsend | Port Townsend Leader (ptleader.com)

First came an email, next a voicemail, then more email, including forwards from other people who work at The Leader: Laura Martin, long- time resident of Port Townsend, had passed away. 
It was the kind of outreach that more generally follows a muckety muck, perhaps a city official or the CEO of a top employer — someone who played a role that had a big impact on the community.
The role Laura C. Martin, 73, played was herself, a talented, eccentric character who saw boundaries as blurry, if she saw them at all. It was the kind of outreach that says as much about Port Townsend as it does about Martin, who had lived here 42 years when she died June 6.

​
​The bard of Port Townsend | Port Townsend Leader (ptleader.com)

A tribute to Laura Martin — The Jefferson County Beacon (jeffcobeacon.com)

By Charlie Bermant
Laura Martin was everywhere. There were the usual places, like the Farmers Market and Concerts on the Dock. She also turned up at smaller gatherings, especially when they had anything to do with music or dancing.
Laura, 73, died on Friday, June 7, after a night filled with song, stories, and dance. A neighbor discovered her body that morning, at which time she could not be revived.
There were two major community events in the days after her death, Pride Day and the Race to Alaska kickoff. While hundreds of people were present, locals sensed something missing as Laura wasn’t there.

​Read more A tribute to Laura Martin — The Jefferson County Beacon (jeffcobeacon.com)

By Kirk Boxleitner
Even before Jefferson County’s portion of the 2024 nationwide Point In Time count was completed, members of the Olympic Community Action Programs, or OlyCAP, were already taking stock of the early returns.
Each year, the count provides a snapshot of the number of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness at a single “point in time” in January.
OlyCAP Housing Coordinator Jim Funaro emphasized that while any official determinations would be premature prior to the count’s completion, he did notice a number of people he’d previously met as fellow volunteers are now among the unhoused.
“It feels like some folks who might have been considered middle-class before COVID could have run out of resources recently,” Funaro said. “There are a number of both broader and more local factors at work, from the economy as a whole, to personal incomes and the affordable housing market in particular.”
The Jan. 26 midday meal served by the Recovery Cafe of Jefferson County, just down the hill from the Port Townsend Food Bank, was attended by Funaro, Consolidated Homeless Grant Coordinator Kari Massey, and OlyCAP Youth and Community Engagement Coordinator Zachary Cawley-Clark.
An OlyCAP member for three years, Funaro estimated between 25-30 volunteers took part in conducting the count from Jan. 25-31. Those volunteers included Dove House Advocacy Services and Bayside Housing Services, as well as the REAL (Recovery, Empowerment, Advocacy, Linkage) and LEAD (Law Enforcement Assistance Diversion) teams.
“We’ve also got Discovery Behavioral Healthcare involved,” Funaro said. “Because we’re a rural county, we can’t just go to the clusters of services you’d find in a more urban community. We need to go out to where each of the various groups of unhoused folks might be. Fortunately, each of the organizations participating in the Point In Time count already interacts with those folks in different ways, so they can meet them where they are.”
Funaro noted that OlyCAP works with clients trying to obtain housing, while Dove House works with those who have experienced domestic violence, and LEAD works with those who have had dealings with the legal system.
“There are the folks who bed down at the American Legion Hall, while for others, the volunteers have to seek out their encampments,” Funaro said. “We have four different food banks throughout Jefferson County, from Brinnon and Quilcene to the Tri-Area and Port Townsend, but they have different distribution days during the week. That’s why we need a week to do our count, rather than a single day.”
Cawley-Clark, who’s been involved with OlyCAP for just a handful of months, was struck by how geographically widespread the problem of homelessness is, although he was significantly less surprised by how much of a stigma is associated with public assistance for younger generations, such as his own.
“No one should regard being counted in the Point In Time as an admission of weakness,” Cawley-Clark said. “Because of the stereotypes that are perpetuated about younger people not being as independent, many of us don’t want to admit when we need help. But by agreeing to be counted, those who are unhoused can help others, because obtaining an accurate count of the county’s homelessness can generate more funding for programs to address such problems.”
Cawley-Clark and Funaro agreed that, even if someone might believe they fall outside of the parameters for organizations such as OlyCAP, those people should nonetheless explore the assistance options available to them.
Funaro also expressed enthusiasm for further developing partnerships between organizations such as OlyCAP, Dove House and the Recovery Cafe, so that they might work together, not only to respond more effectively to issues related to homelessness, but also to help prevent many types of homelessness from occurring in the first place.
“I like it here,” Funaro said, as he enjoyed his lunch at the Recovery Cafe. “Here, you’ll find food, laughter, company and acceptance.”
Funaro’s initial impressions of this year’s count indicated that both younger and older people have been more susceptible to homelessness, with a number of younger folks turning to “couch-surfing” to keep a roof over their heads. He and Massey expressed their appreciation to volunteers and the community as a whole for their engagement.
Massey pointed out that the Jefferson County branch of the Olympic Peninsula YMCA and the state Department of Social and Health Services likewise seek to remedy issues related to housing insecurity. OlyCAP works with landlords to try to prevent late rent payments from sending tenants to the streets.
“We all live in a beautiful part of the country here, but too many of us are only a paycheck or two away from becoming homeless ourselves,” Massey said. “It could be a car wreck, or even just extra expenses. What the Point In Time count does is help us measure the demographics of this problem, which is bigger than just our community.”
The OlyCAP members were joined at their lunch table by Charles Little, who is all too familiar with these factors firsthand.
Little works in the construction industry, and previously lived in the area before moving away. Although he gained employment during his time away, Little lost his job after returning to the area. With a count of theft on his record, he admitted it’s been difficult to get hired since.
“Your past catches up with you,” said Little, whose trailer home was stolen, forcing him to sleep in his truck with his dog, whom he estimated eats “about a third of what I eat.”
“All walks of life can become homeless,” he said. “Nobody knows everyone’s backstories. What matters is what we’re willing to do to help each other out.”

https://www.ptleader.com/stories/point-in-time-count-meets-homelessness-firsthand,156100

Masks are encouraged for in-person attendees.

It will also be streamed live at https://trinityumcpt.org, where participants can find a link for the Candlelight Concerts Online and ways to donate.

The concert will be simulcast on KPTZ FM 91.9.

Admission is free, with a suggested donation $15 per person.

Half the proceeds will go to The Recovery Café, a non-profit program of Dove House Advocacy Services of Jefferson County located at 939 Kearney St. in Port Townsend.

The Recovery Café is a member the Recovery Café Network, a nationwide model of recovery peer support.

Some of its goals are to maintain an alcohol- and other drug-free environment, conduct recovery circles, and work to end oppression of racism and support human rights.

The Jameses will perform a “Mixed Bag” — a collection of songs which cover different eras and styles.
They have performed to a variety of audiences in concerts, festivals and private venues in the Northwest and internationally for more than 25 years.

Their broad musical styles range from the traditional, to 1940s through 1980s.
Their music has influences from folk, blues, jazz, maritime and includes originals. They will be accompanied by Bruce Cannavaro on bass.

Mike James is a retired educator/counselor who grew up in Michigan and moved to Seattle in 1983.
Val James, whose mother sang with Bing Crosby on the radio and in films, recently released a CD, “Just Makin’ It Up,” which includes all original tunes.

https://www.peninsuladailynews.com/entertainment/mike-and-val-james-highlight-candlelight-concerts-series/

The Recovery Café   is a great place for a warm lunch from Tuesday to Friday, 12-2:00 pm. The lunches use many donated ingredients from local farms and the Food Bank gardens. One favorite recipe that uses a wide variety of vegetables from the gardens is the Any Vegetable Tart. (below)  It’s good one to make if you need to use some of those vegetables you aren’t quite sure what to do with.

Karen King  is the Recovery Café staff member who manages the kitchen. She works to build strong teams of volunteers for each day. Some of the volunteers are regulars, some are more ad hoc. Karen and the teams plan menus weekly, based on the donated produce from the Food Bank gardens as well as other contributions that Karen acquires from a wide variety of sources.

One kitchen volunteer and professional baker, Carol, comes in on Mondays when the café is closed. She bakes bread, cookies, cupcakes, or muffins for the week’s meals. Often, as we cook a meal, we have brainstorm how to make a recipe taste even better, like adding ginger or more salt, or garlic, something to give it more zing. All the volunteers are talented and valued.

The recipe below shows you the original recipe, which was written to serve eight people, but at the café we often serve 45 to 50 meals, so Karen has included instructions for how to increase the recipe from the original eight servings to as many as fifty.

The Café is a program of the Dove House Advocacy Services.  It is a full member of the Recovery Café Network, a nationwide model of recovery peer support. The Café welcomes anyone who is in recovery from something. Besides a meal there are Circles for members to join to get support, yoga, a monthly open mic and other community activities. Join us for a meal!

More here www.foodbankgrowers.org/recovery-cafe-and-food-bank-growers