EDITOR’S NOTE: For 27 years, Peninsula Daily News readers in Jefferson and Clallam counties have supported the “hand up, not a handout” Peninsula
Home Fund.
Today, we feature another in a series of articles on how the fund operates and who benefits from our readers’ generosity.
To donate online by credit card, click on https://secure.peninsuladailynews.com/homefund.
PORT ANGELES — What’s it like to be an addict with a little boy and homeless?
Chelsea Williams, who now holds down a job and lives in a house, knows the answer.
Although clean for just a few months, she knows this time she has the determination to kick her addiction to narcotics for good.
“One day, I just woke thinking, ‘I can’t live this way anymore,’ and I just knew I was done with drugs and that life. My son did not deserve to live that sort of life,” said Williams, 25.
Often homeless, her son would worry with her sometimes about money and where they’d sleep the next night: a bed? Someone’s couch or floor? A car?
She wanted to stop doing that to him.
She disliked asking others for help and had pushed away all who cared for her — family, friends and co-workers — and anyone else who stood in the way of her addiction, she said.
Ultimately, there was one family member Williams couldn’t let herself withdraw from: her little boy, Landon.
She said the 5-year-old had spent much of his life as an innocent bystander to his mother’s seedy and transient world.
She also knew firsthand what it felt like to live in a safe home: She was raised by foster parents who “were very loving and generous.”
She excelled in sports and played violin for 12 years. She even once played at Carnegie Hall.
Determined to break her addiction and provide a safe home for her son, she went to a clinic that helps people break free from chemical dependency. There, she began an out-patient program.
“When you first get into the program, you feel overwhelmed, thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve really messed up my life, and I have so much to do to change, I’m not sure if I can do it,’ ” she said.
But she acquired a counselor and got into the 12-step program through Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
“I got guidance and a plan, so I didn’t have to feel overwhelmed,” she said.
She also found a home in which she lives with other women in recovery.
“I didn’t have any money,” Williams said. “I was struggling. But they invited me to come in and stay that very night.”
A week after moving in, Williams said, “I was walking downtown with my son on our way to a meeting when he turned to me and said, ‘Mom, do you know where we get to go after this? We get to go home, because we have a house now.’
“I cannot tell you how that made me feel,” she said. “I felt like a whole person again.”
She took courses at Peninsula College and earned the credits needed to get a job as a dental assistant.
Then she got a job, but it came with a major obstacle: She needed medical scrubs to wear to work.
“I didn’t have the money,” she said. “I still don’t like asking for help, but I needed it to get the scrubs so I could take this job to provide for me and my son.”
She’d heard that Olympic Community Action Programs offers help in emergency situations.
She inquired, and her assigned case manager helped Williams through the Home Fund, providing her with $150 for the scrubs and $25 for personal hygiene items.
In addition to its services, OlyCAP — the No. 1 emergency-care agency on the Peninsula —manages the Peninsula Daily News’ Peninsula Home Fund, screening the applicants, carefully disbursing the funds and providing life-changing counseling and services to those who need a “hand up, not a handout.”
Williams doubts their lives would be on such an even keel today without the help of the community’s Home Fund.
“To have the help means everything,” she said. “Getting the help has opened a lot of doors to good things.
“And they just keep opening,” she added.
“I didn’t expect to get a job. I didn’t expect to get help with clothing.
“I didn’t expect a house to be living in with my son. I didn’t expect to find a family in this home.
“Now I feel this is my family here . . . If I didn’t have this house, who knows what life my son and I would be having?”
Peninsula’s safety net
The Peninsula Home Fund — a safety net for local residents when they suddenly face an emergency situation and can’t find help elsewhere — is seeking contributions for its annual holiday season fundraising campaign.
From Port Townsend to Forks, from Quilcene and Brinnon to Sequim and LaPush, money from the fund is used for hot meals for seniors; warm winter coats for kids; home repairs for a low-income family; needed prescription drugs; dental work; safe, drug-free temporary housing; eyeglasses — the list goes on and on.
■ Assistance, which usually averages less than $100, is also limited to one time in a 12-month period.
The average amount of help this year has been $70 per person.
■ All instances of help are designed to get an individual or family through a crisis — and back on the path to self-sufficiency.
Home Fund case managers often work with each individual or family to develop a plan to become financially stable — and avoid a recurrence of the emergency that prompted aid from the fund.
As needed, Peninsula Home Fund contributions are often used in conjunction with money from churches, service clubs and other donors, enabling OlyCAP to stretch the value of the contribution.
The goal again: “a hand up, not a handout.”
■ No money is deducted by the Peninsula Daily News for administration fees or any other overhead.
Every penny goes to OlyCAP.
The money goes to help the most vulnerable members of our community, from infants to families to seniors.
■ All contributions are IRS tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law for the year in which the check is written.
Your personal information is kept confidential.
PDN and OlyCAP do not rent, sell, give or otherwise share your address or other information with anyone or make any other use of it.
Out of money Dec. 31
Since its beginning in 1989, the fund has relied on the support of Jefferson and Clallam residents.
Individuals, couples, businesses, churches, organizations and school groups set a new record for contributions in 2014 — $271,981 — smashing the old record of $268,389 set Dec. 31, 2013.
As of Nov. 15, approximately $205,000 has been spent for Home Fund grants.
And as we move into winter, the toughest period of the year, most all of the remaining money — $75,000 — is expected to be spent before Dec. 31.
How to apply for a Home Fund grant
To apply for a Peninsula Home Fund grant, contact one of the three OlyCAP offices:
■ OlyCAP’s Port Angeles office is at 228 W. First St., Suite J (Armory Square Mall); 360-452-4726. For Port Angeles- and Sequim-area residents.
■ Its Port Townsend office is at 823 Commerce Loop; 360-385-2571. For Jefferson County residents.
■ The Forks office is at 421 Fifth Ave.; 360-374-6193. For West End residents.
Leave a message in the voice mail box at any of the three numbers, and a Home Fund caseworker will phone you back.
OlyCAP’s website: www.olycap.org; email: action@
olycap.org.
If you have any questions about the fund, phone Terry Ward, PDN publisher, at 360-417-3500. Or email tward@peninsuladailynews.com.
Contributions so far
We’ve gotten a running start on this year’s holiday season fundraising campaign.
A number of generous individuals and organizations have been donating money to the Peninsula Home Fund since the first of the year.
While most of the money is raised between Thanksgiving and Dec. 31, the fund itself never closes.
Donations of any amount are always welcome.
To donate online by credit card, please click on www.secure.peninsuladailynews.com/homefund.
Below is a list of donors whose contributions were processed between Dec. 3 and Dec. 9:
Thank you very much for making a difference in the lives — and futures — of your neighbors:
• Team Thomsen Realtors, Port Angeles. $250.
• Laurine and Jim Drennan, Port Angeles. $100.
• Beth Hutmacher and Joe Gondar, Port Townsend. $50.
• Bob and Leola Reeve, Sequim. $200.
• Chris and Myrna Juergens, Sequim. $100. To make life easier for those who need help.
• Barbara Buchanan, Port Angeles. $25. In honor of my loving husband, James Buchanan.
• Bob and Marcia Homer, Sequim. $100.
• Fredda and Ted Burton, Port Angeles. $100.
• Robert C. Zech, Port Angeles. $100.
• Mary Jane Schmidt, Port Townsend. $100. In memory of Mary and Bernard Andrews.
• Sally Milici, Beaver. $200. In memory of Dirk Milici.
• Linda and Mike Peters, Port Ludlow. $100. Thank you for helping the Doug Stork family last year.
• Carol Lee and Robin Moses, Carlsborg. $500.
• “The Other” M.P. Minor, Sequim. $100.
• Mr. and Mrs. R. Worley, Sequim. $5,000.
• Renate B. Melvey, Sequim. $50.
• Dr. John and Jeanne Skow, Port Angeles. $1,000.
• Don Claussen and Pat Beltz, Sequim. $50.
• Bruce and Gerri Ferguson, Port Angeles. $100. In memory of Jackie McCormick and Charlotte Ferguson.
• Wayne and Charlotte Duchow, Port Angeles. $100.
• Roy and Pat Jones, Port Angeles. $200.
• Green Crow Employee Foundation, Port Angeles. $2,000.
• Riley and Ann Bigler, Sequim. $100.
• J. Irene Sprague, Port Angeles. $100. In memory of Clinton W. Sprague.
• Chul and Kay You, Port Angeles. $300.
• Tom and Joyce LaMure, Sequim. $100.
• Howard Gipson, Port Angeles. $100.
• Dennis and Diane Isaac, Sequim. $40.
• Sonje Beal, Syracuse, Utah. $250. In memory of Craig Baughman, son of Bill Baughman of Sequim.
• Fred and Georgine Sullivan, Port Angeles. $100.
• John and Kim McBride, Sequim. $1,000. In memory of Anna and Anthony Godde, Marge Cox and Jack and Barbara Reynolds.
• LaVonne and Bill Mueller, Sequim. $250.
• Connie Engvall and Pat Schoen, Sequim. $300. In memory of Florence Engvall.
• Dick and Fran Niichel, Scottsdale, Ariz. $1,000.
Many thanks also to these donors (who requested that the amount of their donation be kept private):
• Judy Volkmann, Port Angeles. In memory of my Dan.
Richard and Gayle Larson, Sequim.
Kerry and Marilyn Perkins, Port Angeles. In memory of Jeannie Rawley.
Paul Hanway, Sequim.
Gary and Dianne Salyer, Sequim.
Rosemary Cockrill, Port Angeles.
Lucille Caughron, Sequim. In memory of Leonard Caughron.
Chuck and Marian McGilvra, Port Angeles. In honor of Jean Snyder.
Jeff and Barb Dixon, Port Angeles. In memory of family and friends.
Barbara VanderWerf, Sequim.
Ronald and Robin Sidwell, Port Angeles.
Dr. Roger Eichman, Nordland.
Mimi M. Bell, Sequim. In honor of Cynthia and Neal.
Millie Lyon, Port Angeles.
James R. and Elena S. Karr, Sequim.
Ron and Kathi Larsen, Sequim.
Jeanne Noyes, Port Townsend. In honor of absent friends, four-legged and two-legged.
Chris Minard, Carlsborg. In honor of family and friends.
Capt. Gunther Dohse, Chimacum.
Marilyn Whidden, Port Angeles. In memory of Charles Whidden.
Beth McGuffin, Sequim.
Klaus and Jan Hintermayr, Gardiner.
Kathleen Balducci, Port Angeles. In memory of Bal and our parents.
Carl Strunk, Port Angeles.
Norma Wiggins, Port Angeles. In honor of Terry Ward, for sharing his life story.
Barbara Comer, Port Angeles.
Ingrid Lehrer, Sequim.
Tom and Carol Sinton, Port Angeles. In memory of Melvin Sinton.
Barbara and John Cameron, Sequim.
Wesley and Lynda Stevens, Sequim.
Phil and Marian Meany, Port Townsend. In memory of Ian Groves.
Kelly and Terry Martin, Sequim.
Ron Hayes and Melinda Bryden, Port Townsend.
Rae and Bruce Leiper, Port Angeles.
Bruce and Judy Pape, Port Angeles. Thank you for providing this service for our community.
Bob and Sue Erzen, Sequim.
Quail Hollow Psychotherapy, PLLC, Sequim.
Drs. Judy and Joseph Price, Sequim.
Terry R. and Cherie C. Santos, Sequim. In honor of all active military.
Beverly R. Smola, Sequim. In memory of Tom Carlin.
Janiell McLaughlin, Port Angeles.
Sandra and Russell Hesselman, Port Angeles. In honor of Richard Scott Hesselman.
Joanne Eagan, Port Angeles. In memory of wonderful Christmases at the ranch.
Emery and Lila Winters, Port Angeles. In memory of our parents, Emery and Nancy Winters, and Maxine Willis and Troy Foutch.
Jon and Lillian Mowe, Port Angeles.
Ed and Carol Fjerstad, Sequim. In memory of Burnie and Carol Fjerstad and Mary Mosko.
Paul and Roberta W. Ryan, Sequim.
Susan Bertholl, Sequim. In memory of Doug and Lillian Babcock.
Janet Nickolaus, Port Angeles. In memory of James and Winnie Nickolaus.
Dr. Darlene and Michael Clemens, Port Angeles.
Dan and Vicki Pierson, Port Angeles.
Tom and Leann Barber, Port Angeles.
John and Dee McHenry, Port Angeles. In memory of Oma and Granny.
Wayne and Claudia Barrett, Port Angeles.
Michael Turner, Port Townsend.
Cynthia Johnson, Port Townsend.
Debi and Phil Saxton, Port Townsend. In loving memory of Don and Eileen Garling.
David Bednarski, Snohomish. In memory of Ron Bednarski.
Marie Botnen, Sequim. In memory of Nadene Botnen.
Jay and Alicia Crawford, Sequim. In memory of Lynne McGuire, dear friend.
Larry and Lynn Gosser, Port Angeles.
John P. Trowbridge, Sequim.
Ronald and Judy (Julia) Priest, Sequim. In memory of our Priest family and our friend Shirley Foss.
Rita Heywood, Sequim. In honor of Lloyd Davies.
Theresa Killgore and Richard Serkes, Port Angeles.
Dorothy Munkeby, Port Angeles. In memory of Julia and Albert Haller.
George and Sharon Huntingford, Chimacum. In memory of Janice and Pat Yarr.
Larry Lang, Port Angeles. In memory of Nancy P. Lang.
Jerry and Judy Mann, Sequim.
Penny Ervin, Port Angeles. In memory of Doug and Carole Cudd.
Fred and Carol Royce, Port Angeles.
Olympic Electric Co. Inc., Port Angeles. In honor of Henry and Jane Burkhardt.
Wes and Puri Heacock, Port Angeles.
Ed Bedford, Port Angeles. In memory of Mom and Dad.
Bill and Sharon Alton, Port Angeles.
Gene and Jean Spargo, Sequim.
B. Louise Carson, Port Angeles.
Inge Magrs, Sequim.
Michele and Jeff Reynolds, Port Angeles. In memory of Ruth Cays Westmoreland.
Ms. Diane Wheeler, Port Angeles.
Rita Marston, Port Angeles. In memory of Don Marston.
Ellen and Barry Lerich, Nordland.
Gary and Shirley Haubold, Port Angeles.
Vivian Brown and Doug Patt, Sequim.
Barbara K. Miller, Port Angeles.
Susan Molin, Sequim.
Mark and Patty Hannah, Port Angeles.
Steve Torgesen and Connie Kinyon, Sequim.
Gary and Geri Braun, Port Angeles.
Ron and Marilyn Carlson, Sequim.
Hazel Blake, Sequim. In memory of Charles S. Blake.
Kathryn J. Hofer, Port Angeles. In memory of Dale Hofer, a loving husband, dad and grandpa.
Rose Crumb, Port Angeles. In memory of Red Crumb.
Marie L. Beam, Port Angeles.
John A. Austin, Port Townsend.
Nada Johnson, Port Angeles. In memory of Violet M. Johnson.
Bob Walthers and Nancy Johnson, Port Townsend.
Robert and Jacolyn Partridge, Port Angeles. In honor of loved ones, past and present.
Mary E. Robinson, Port Angeles. In memory of A.V. (Robbie) Robinson.
M.L. Mansfield, Sequim.
C. Joseph and Claudia Giraad, Port Angeles.
Donald Thompson, Port Angeles.
Jerry Macomber, Sequim. In memory of Bob Macomber.
Renaud and Cheryl Vaillancourt, Sequim.
Debra Knauss, Port Hadlock. In memory of Tina Johnson. Her strength was her faith in Jesus’s promises. Her gift was her love for us.
Larry and Darla Kalsbeek, Sequim. In memory of Kimberly Kalsbeek.
Don and Barbara Smith, Port Townsend.
Sheryl and Andy Slack, Port Angeles. In memory and in honor of Ken and Marge Hansen.
Irma Stennes, Port Angeles. In memory of Lions Denise Fletcher and Larry Kelly.
Al and Jane Bloomquist, Port Angeles.
Tom and Judie Sharpe, Port Angeles.
Veli Kallio, Joyce
A Cost-Less Mini Storage, Sequim.
Susan Cronshaw, Port Townsend. In memory of David Cronshaw.
Gene and Ann Trelstad, Port Angeles.
Fran and Keith Wollen, Port Angeles.
Gary R. Swenson, Port Angeles. Doing what I can for the Home Fund, a worthy cause.
Kathy and Jim Wesley, Port Angeles.
Bill and Sarah Tozier, Port Angeles. Peace and health to all this holiday season and throughout the new year.
Julie and Jim Haguewood, Port Angeles.
Roger and Kay Paynter, Port Angeles. In honor of Frank and Marie Paynter.
Cyndi L. Ross, Port Angeles. In memory of Phyllis Kedl.
Bob and Berit Cole, Sequim.
Ray and Jane Erickson, Port Hadlock.
Donald and Barbara Reidel, Port Angeles. In memory of our parents, Max and Sylvia Reidel, and Arthur and Armada Dixon.
Marc Reinertson, Port Angeles.
Stephen D. Murphy, Port Townsend.
David and Francie Louden, Port Angeles. To honor our wonderful, hard-working United States Postal Service carrier, Maureen. Thank you!
Mike and Patti Brandt, Sequim. In memory of Mildred Brame.
The Menias, Sequim. In honor of Theresa Simmons.
Bill and Joan Riedel, Sekiu. For Sharon Ryan, in memory of her years of community service.
Carol Philpott, Port Angeles. In memory of my husband, Bob Philpott
Joe and Renee Bleile, Sequim. In honor of all our Armed Forces. Thank you!
Linda Herring, Port Angeles. In honor of Ron L. Herring.
Olympic Springs, Inc., Carlsborg.
Richard Brooks, Port Angeles.
Nancy Fowler, Port Townsend.
Bernice Cook, Port Angeles. In memory of Gordon B. Cook.
Argyle J. Baukol, Sequim. In honor of Ken and Fay.
D.E. Prince, Sequim.
George and Eiko Kennedy, Sequim.
Martha Mead, Sequim.
Steve and Rusk Sahnow, Sequim. In memory of Neil Culbertson, a wonderful friend, businessman and musician.
The Old Sidekicks Band, Sequim. In memory of W.L. Martin. You are always missed.
Pat Vautier, Port Angeles. In memory of Dan Vautier.
Joe Victor and Gloria Farmer, Sequim. In memory of Joseph P. Victor.
Charlie Byrd, Sequim. In memory of Karen Byrd.
Ronald Hight, Sequim.
Jay and Paula Richter, Port Angeles. In honor of veterans and active military.
Serena Mylchreest, Port Angeles.
Mark and Peg Burris, Port Angeles. In memory of Jeanne Jubb. A better friend there could never be. Rest easy in God’s arms. We will miss you until we are together again.
Ron and Karen Coles, Port Angeles. In memory of Irv Jensen.
Harriet Angulo, Port Angeles.
Many thanks also to these donors (who requested anonymity):
• Port Angeles, $100.
Sequim, $500.
Sequim, $25.
Port Townsend, $100. In memory of my husband.
Port Angeles, $100.
Port Hadlock, $20.
Sequim, $50.
Sequim, $100.
Port Angeles, $50. In honor of a friend from Montana.
Sequim, $100.
Port Angeles, $100.
Port Angeles, $400. In memory of Bal and Jack.
Sequim, $100.
Port Angeles, $200.
Sequim, $30.
Sequim, $350. Thank you for the great work you do to help others.
Port Angeles, $25. In honor of The Baha’i Faith.
Sequim, $100.
Port Angeles, $100.
Sequim, $100.
Port Ludlow, $100.
Port Angeles, $250. In honor of Valerie.
Sequim, $50.
Port Angeles, $1,100.
Sequim, $20.
Port Angeles, $2,000. In memory of Ernie and Eleanor Miller.
Sequim, $50.
Port Ludlow, $50.
Sequim, $50.
Sequim, $5,000.
Port Angeles, $100.
Sequim, $70.
Port Angeles, $40.
Port Angeles, $100. In memory of Annie Barrington, a tireless worker for those less fortunate.
Sequim, $50.
Sequim, $25.
Sequim, $1,000. In honor of John Brewer, former Peninsula Daily News publisher.
Port Angeles, $200.
Sequim, $50.
Port Angeles, $250. In memory of Marian Fisken Byse.
Port Angeles, $250.
Port Angeles, $100.
Port Angeles, $100. In memory of Nancy Lang.
Sequim, $750.
Sequim, $100.
Sequim, $50.
Sequim, $20
Port Angeles, $100.
Port Angeles, $200.
Port Angeles, $150.
Sequim, $50.
Port Angeles, $100.
Sequim, $50.
Port Angeles, $100.
Sequim, $100.
Port Angeles, $100.
Sequim, $100. In memory of friends who have left us too soon.
Sequim, $50.
Sequim, $50.
Sequim, $100.
Sequim, $500.
Port Angeles, $50.
Sequim, $200. In memory of Sam, Val and Lillian — all shining stars.
Port Angeles, $50.
Port Angeles, $100.
Chimacum, $100.
Sequim, $50.
Port Angeles, $100.
Port Angeles, $500.
Carlsborg, $150.
Port Angeles, $200.
Port Angeles, $250.
Sequim, $20.
Port Angeles, $100.
Sequim, $500.
Port Angeles, $20.
Port Townsend, $10.
Port Angeles, $100.
Sequim, $60.
Port Townsend, $100.
Forks, $100. In memory of Liz Brown.
Sequim, $50.
Sequim, $100. In honor of Jan and Bob Gross.
Port Angeles, $50.
Sequim, $100.
Sequim, $1,000.
Port Angeles, $100.
Sequim, $100. In honor of L. G. J. A. and N.
Sequim, $100.
Sequim, $100.
Sequim, $20.
Port Angeles, $100.
Port Angeles, $250.
Clallam Bay, $10.
EVEN THE BEST handwriting can be hard to decipher at times.
Please report any errors in this list to Terry Ward, 360-417-3500 (there’s voice mail if he’s away), or email him at tward@peninsula
dailynews.com.
We’ll rerun the listing correctly.
Our sincerest appreciation again to our donors.
