On Monday we woke up to drizzly Seattle weather with the promise of a bit of sunshine by the afternoon. We headed out early to the Central District to work with the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) at their Columbia Street property. LIHI develops, owns and operates housing for the benefit of low-income, homeless and formerly homeless people in Washington State; advocates for just housing policies at the local and national levels; and administers a range of supportive service programs to assist those we serve in maintaining stable housing and increasing their self-sufficiency. The Columbia Street property is a small group of apartments for families with children. The apartments are arranged so that their is a safe and secure area in the middle for the kids to play.

We were greeted in the morning by the LIHI staff with doughnuts and coffee (and pizza for lunch!) and an orientation to what LIHI does in the community. From there we set out on our assigned tasks. One group spent the day painting the laundry room while the other group first washed all the windows and then moved on to powerwash and clean the playground in the courtyard. It was a day of hard work, but we were happy with all that we were able to get done. Throughout the day we were able to talk to the staff to learn more about LIHI as well as with a resident and his child (and a puppy!) Thank you LIHI for all that you do!

When we left the site we made a stop at the local Goodwill Outlet and then headed back to the church for dinner. Dinner was spaghetti, salad and bread, simple yet delicious! Sound familiar all you PVs out there? After dishes we gathered for evening reflection an then off to sleep in our sleeping bags and air mattresses for a good nights sleep.

A few pictures (There are more coming, but we are having some technical difficulties uploading images at the moment. We hope to have it cleared up by tomorrow.)