You Know Me Now

As citizens of a community, whether you define that as your neighborhood, or your city, state, or, our American nation, what role, as citizens, do each of us play? This question is not in regards to our personal needs and wants, but rather to the collective health and welfare of all of us.  Today, do the words shared by President John F. Kennedy, 65 years ago, "ask not what your country can d...

On this episode we speak with Andrew Funk who is the president of the Homeless Entrepreneur based in Barcelona Spain. Website: https://www.homelessentrepreneur.org/ Homeless Entrepreneur’s mission is to promote economic empowerment and poverty reduction via work and active citizenship thanks to both public and private civic partnerships, so people living in social exclusion can improve their quali...

Nathans Website and Blog https://www.nathanvass.com/ His new book: https://www.nathanvass.com/book.html Nathan is a recognized Seattle-based author, filmmaker, photographer, artist, and….wait for it, a King County Metro bus driver. He is known widely for the connections he creates with riders when driving, he transforms commuting into community-building experiences. It’s a beautiful thing! He is a...

Homelessness, as everyone knows, is an extremely complicated emotional issue. Systemic societal barriers along with personal mental health issues can pull or push people into homelessness, and a dearth of affordable housing and needed services can keep them there. The complexity of this issue can be overwhelming and have people, literally walking on by, those struggling. There can exist a feeling...

On this episode we hear from Sabra Boyd. For those of you who don’t know Sabra, she is the Editor in Chief of REAL CHANGE, Seattle’s award winning street newspaper. Sabra is also an award winning independent journalist, public speaker, consultant, and web developer. She covers stories about exploitation in all its forms including healthcare, homelessness, trafficking, tech, prison, food, and beaut...

On this episode we are talking with Ryan Henry Ward. If you live in Seattle and you don’t know Ryan, there is a good chance you do know his artful murals seen all over town! Ryan’s murals, which are signed simply “henry”, have the power to bring out a smile, even on the grayest days. The scenes of his characters and the quiet story being told, leave you with a good feeling about living here in Sea...

A while back we interviewed Casey for a 3-part series titled The Skipping Rock. It was one of our most popular stories shared! If you missed it, we highly recommend that you take the time to listen to Casey's story. I believe it will shift your understanding and feelings about the sex industry. Casey was kind enough to come back into the studio for this 4th episode to have a follow up conversation...

In every city and town across America, our libraries are loved. I know I smile to myself every time I come through the entry doors of the main branch in downtown Seattle or any one of the other neighborhood branches. I think it’s connected to knowing ahead of time that I’m entering into a special place, similar to walking into a church, or a museum. Common to these spaces is that there are rules o...

On this episode we sit down with Ren and Adam, the co-founders of The Outsiders Inn. I met them 8 years ago. At that time Ren and Adam were living in the basement of a house where the owner, a Deacon in the church, let them be there for next to nothing. He also allowed them to care for friends struggling through homelessness. This included being okay with tents and several small shelters being bui...

Tracy and I met 9 years ago when she commented on the Facing Homelessness Facebook page. Her sharing was, you could say, a tour de force of emotional outpouring. Today I want to revisit that exchange because something important happened, something I believe is available to all of us and provides a path for moving forward when discussing difficult societal issues. Tracy’s comments on the Facebook p...

David knows first-hand the impacts of mass incarceration, after receiving a life sentence at the age 16. In his words, “being thrown away at 16 years old wasn’t the event. It was an exclamation point” on the consistent messaging he’s been receiving his whole life from systems that failed to see his humanity. He was released after serving 24 years, following legislative reform of juvenile sentencin...

David knows first-hand the impacts of mass incarceration, after receiving a life sentence at the age 16. In his words, “being thrown away at 16 years old wasn’t the event. It was an exclamation point” on the consistent messaging he’s been receiving his whole life from systems that failed to see his humanity. He was released after serving 24 years, following legislative reform of juvenile sentencin...

David knows first-hand the impacts of mass incarceration, after receiving a life sentence at the age 16. In his words, “being thrown away at 16 years old wasn’t the event. It was an exclamation point” on the consistent messaging he’s been receiving his whole life from systems that failed to see his humanity. He was released after serving 24 years, following legislative reform of juvenile sentencin...

This is the 3rd and last part of an episode called The Skipping Rock. In this 3rd part of Casey’s story, we cover some of the most traumatic events of her life. She admits openly that due to the heavy drug use, trauma, and instability during this time, she has gaps in her memory, making it difficult to connect everything together. Rather than tell this chapter of Casey's life in a chronological or...

This is Part 2 of a 3 part episode called The Skipping Rock - We recommend you listen to Part 1 first, which will undoubtedly give greater meaning to the following Parts two and three. When we left Casey in the last episode, in Part One, she was making some big decisions in her life, wanting to not only leave the trauma and dysfunction of her childhood behind, but also coming to grips with having...

While it is not always apparent in the moment, our life choices, all of them, the big complicated ones down to the little daily decisions, create the direction and opportunities of our life, our future, for better or worse. When someone is successful we often admire them for their smarts, for having made all the right choices. And conversely, when people are struggling, we pass judgment, thinking,...

In this episode we are talking with Benny. He has lived homeless in the Fremont neighborhood, artfully stacking stones on the parking strip, in the same place, for the last 30 plus years. It seems, in every family there is a person who is living a bit differently from the rest of the family. You could say, zigging when the others are zagging. Their lifestyle or life-choices are thought provoking i...

When responding to complex societal issues, we are all familiar with the shortcomings of treating symptoms rather than causes.  Even so, despite knowing this, we also all know how easy it is to go down that path. When an issue is screaming at us, any issue, our knee-jerk reaction is to just make it go away, make it stop.   When the city of Seattle puts up chain link fencing to keep...

Blair helped James get into housing and have basic needs met, she helped reconnect him with family, and maybe, most of all, feel loved in the last few years of his life. And James, what he did for Blair was to change her life. He helped her take an off-ramp from the path she was on and in the process she found her voice and her purpose in life. Join in on the conversation on our Facebook page at h...

Personal relationships can be thought of as the foundational supports of a healthy community. By simply getting to know each other, being exposed to different life experiences and views, we broaden ourselves and deepen our ability to empathize within the community.  While we know this to be true, society appears to be increasingly slipping into polarized camps. We find ourselves in echo chamb...

On this episode we are talking with Rev. Rick Reynolds. He has spent most of his life stepping closer, getting to know those struggling. For nearly 40 years he worked at the nonprofit Operation Nightwatch, most of that time as the Executive Director, engaging in direct action for those in need. For those of you that don’t know Rick, he is one of those cornerstones in Seattle around advocacy for th...

You Know Me Now would like to raise funds for hotel stay while housing can be found. Y ou can Venmo funds to @YouKnowMeNow. Please list Daniel in your donation. No funds will be used by YKMN. If for whatever reason Daniel does not use all of the funds they will go to someone else struggling with homelessness and in need. If you have any questions you can call Rex 206-330-1142. The ‘WE NEED YOU NOW...

The idea, or act, of Mutual Aid has been around for a long time, for a very long time. Perhaps, in the simplest form, from the beginning of time. Mutual Aid is nothing more than people coming together, in community, to take care of each other, often addressing basic needs and human rights that are not being met. The barriers, or, the reason for needs not being met and/or rights not being afforded,...

For folks who don't know Tent City 3 is operated by the 501C(3) non profit called SHARE / WHEEL which stands for Seattle Housing and Resource Effort and its partner organization Women's Housing Equality and Enhancement League. Both organizations have deep roots in Seattle with their birth during the 1990 Goodwill games. The self managed community model that SHARE/WHEEL developed in the 1990’s is o...

On February 19 2023 Rex delivered a sermon during morning worship at the University Unitarian Church in Seattle. He focused on homelessness in Seattle and building relationships between people who sleep outside and people who are housed. Full video version is available on the episode page on https://www.youknowmenow.com/ Join in on the conversation on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/...