Friday May 15, 2020

“Congregations for the Homeless – Coping with the Pandemic!”

David Bowling

Executive Director Congregations for the Homeless (CFH)

Introduced by: Steve Roberts

Time: The Zoom session will open at 7:15am for members and guests to socialize . The meeting will start a 7:30am sharp, so please connect a few minutes before the meeting so we can all be together for the Inspirational Moment and Pledge.

Note: For security reasons the Zoom link will no longer be posted on the club website. You will receive an email with the Zoom link later this week. Please contact Club Administrator Kim Dreiblatt (clubadmin@bbrc.net or text 425-444-7906) if you are unable to find the email containing the link or would like to join us as a guest.

David will explain how the whole community has come together to serve the most vulnerable in our community.  They created a crisis management team to guide them through this as it was necessary to navigate huge changes in volunteer engagement, meals, cleaning and social distancing protocols, etc.  They have expanded many of CFH’s programs to meet the need.  “Zoom has become our friend.  The unknowns linger, but we keep moving forward.  One big question – How will COVID 19 impact the permanent shelter building project!”

About the Speaker

David Bowling is currently the Executive Director of CFH, with over 20 years of experience working in social and family services. He has a BA in Psychology from the University of Washington and a MA in Counseling and Psychology from The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. Prior to his present role role, David served as CFH’s Director of Shelter Services for nine years, which included overseeing and supervising agency shelter programs and creating a new outreach program. He graduated from Leadership Eastside, a two-year course on adaptive leadership, in 2016. Below are comments from David:

“I have always been drawn to people on the margins. When I was a young child my dad would often befriend hitch hikers and people on the streets, and although we were fairly poor, he would always share food and resources out of the little we had with these individuals who were even more in need than us.

When I started my Masters of Counseling Psychology I ended up applying for and getting a part time job at a local non-profit working with those experiencing homelessness. 13 plus year later I am still with Congregations for the Homeless because our partnership with the faith community has led to transformation for thousands of individuals experiencing homelessness, community members impacted by authentic engagement with this population, and my own personal growth and transformation. I see the power of loving respectful authentic relationship every day in the work I do.”