WHEEL

WHEEL is on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/wheelforwomen/

WHEEL has its own website!  Please visit http://www.wheelforwomen.org/

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 on the steps of Seattle City Hall (at 4th & James Streets).  We've stood for more than 3,000 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 Remembrance Project,  public places to honor and remember homeless people who have died.  We've worked with church and community leaders since 2003, and established a "Tree of Life" sculpture and celebratory gathering place at Victor Steinbrueck Park near Pike Place Market in 2012.  Our Committee has also placed hundreds of "Leaves of Remembrance," with names, in sidewalks all over Seattle.  For more information about this project, please visit FallenLeaves.org or on Facebook at facebook.com/pages/Homeless-Remembrance-Project/184372257014

Shelter for Women:   There is a severe lack of shelter for homeless women, and WHEEL has grown to meet the need.  Our current projects and campaigns include:  facilitation and staffing of THREE low-barrier WHEEL Shelters on First Hill; sheltering well over 100 women a day/night.  Our shelters started in the year 2000 as a Severe Weather Shelter; our advocacy made that shelter year-round and permanent!  We also are Organizing for Provision of More Shelter for Women.

The Women’s Empowerment Center is a self-managed Sunday organizing, arts and education center for women,  Check out the WHEEL website for more info!

The Dorothy Day Group works for more housing, food, dignity, power and community among homeless women.  We sponsored two projects in the past:  Sandwichmaking and distributing sandwiches at local parks, and producing and distributing our own newsletter, The Occasional Times.  This group now does special projects only, but may be reborn soon!

Beloved Community: The Sisterhood of Homeless Women in Poetry is a beautifully-bound anthology of poetry by homeless and formerly homeless women collected by WHEEL over many years, published by Whit Press in 2007.

WHEEL Schedule:

Weekly Organizing Meetings

11 AM Mondays at the WHEEL First Presbyterian Shelter (715 Spring St)

Women in Black Vigils

Wednesdays, noon—1 PM as needed

Steps of Seattle City Hall (4th/James)

We notify people by email when we need to stand vigil.

Homeless Remembrance Project Committee

Second Wednesday of each month, 4 PM by Microsoft Teams.  We're a fun Committee of homeless women, faith community leaders, design professionals, social service providers, and others.  We need more Committee Members!  Reach out to wheelorg@yahoo.com for more info

Women’s Housing, Equality and Enhancement League

Mailing Address:  P. O. Box 2548

Seattle, WA 98111-2548

Street Address:  between 3rd & 2nd off Stewart, alley behind Josephinum

Phone:   (206)  956-0334

Email:  wheelorg@yahoo.com