Mission:

 The Women’s Housing, Equality and Enhancement League (WHEEL) is a non-profit and non-hierarchical group of homeless and formerly homeless women working on ending homelessness for women.  WHEEL is all about empowerment and action.

WHEEL is the women-only, women-concerned sister organization to SHARE (Seattle Housing and Resource Effort).  Both WHEEL and SHARE provide self-managed shelters—including Tent Cities.

 WHEEL works to get women out of the places where they have been hiding, recognize each woman as an individual and involve women in the process of improving programs and creating new programs for their own needs.

WHEEL’s goals are to give voice and leadership to homeless women, to organize campaigns around increased services and safety for women, and to develop and support self-managed shelters.

Since 1993, WHEEL has initiated many campaigns that have improved the lives of all women.  Our efforts have included:

• Pushing for longer hours at shelters and drop-in centers
• Moving the entrance DESC from “Crack Alley” to Third Avenue
• Holding yearly Homeless Women’s Forums, community gatherings.
• Establishing new shelters, day programs, meal projects and housing for women…including the County Winter Women's Shelter, Meal of Fortune, and Dorothy Day House

Current Projects:

Women in Black silent witnessing vigils are held whenever a homeless person dies outside in King County.  After notification of a death, we stand the following Wednesday, from noon to 1 PM outside the Seattle Justice Center (at 5th and Cherry Streets).  In 2008, at least 50 people died outside or by violence; we have stood for more than 320 people since we started these vigils in the year 2000.  To get on our email notification list for vigils, please write wheelorg@yahoo.com 

Homeless Place of Remembrance, a public place to honor homeless people who have died.  We have worked with church and community leaders for the past five years, and are now working with designers toward siting this project at Victor Steinbrueck Park near Pike Place Market.  For more information about this project, please visit http://homelessproject.org/

Tent City3 is a self-managed camp of up to 100 homeless women, men, and couples, which rotates among churches/spaces mainly in Seattle which we co-sponsor with SHARE.

Tent City4 is a 100-person self-managed camp in suburban Seattle, mainly the Eastside which we co-sponsor with SHARE.

Shelter for Women:   For the past two years there has been a severe lack of shelter for homeless women.  Our current projects and campaigns include:  WHEEL’s Severe Weather Shelter for Women, open during the worst winter weather, and Organizing for Provision of More Shelter for Women

The Women’s Empowerment Center is a self-managed day organizing, arts and education center for women.

The Dorothy Day Group works for more housing, food, dignity, power and community among homeless women.  We currently have two projects:  Sandwichmaking and distributing sandwiches at Westlake Park, and producing and distributing our own newsletter, The Occasional Times.

WHEEL Schedule:

Women’s Empowerment Center
Sundays, 9:30 AM—1:30 PM
Hammond House (between 2^nd & 1st and Pine & Stewart, alley entrance)
Trainings, workshops, educational and fun activities and lunch!

The Occasional Times Newsletter
Mondays, 10 AM--noon
Writing and publication meetings rotate between Angeline's Day Center and the WHEEL Office.

Weekly Organizing Meeting
Mondays, 2 PM with refreshments
at the WHEEL Office (1902 Second)
Strategizing meetings for WHEEL —every homeless/formerly homeless woman  has a voice and vote.

Breakfast & Education Project
Thursdays, 8:30 AM—11:30 AM  October—mid-June
Antioch University (6^th & Battery)
A collaborative effort of WHEEL, the Sisters Project and Antioch, this project offers breakfast, workshops and activities.

Women in Black
Wednesdays, noon—1 PM as needed
Municipal Courthouse, 5^th & James
We notify people by phone/email when a death has occurred.

Homeless Women’s Forum
Community celebration/platform-raising held each November.

Women’s Housing, Equality and Enhancement League

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 2548
Seattle, WA 98111-2548

Street Address:
1902 Second Ave. (& Stewart)
2^nd Floor, Josephinum

Phone:   (206)  956-0334

Fax:       (206)  448-2389

Email:  wheelorg@yahoo.com