UCEF Winter 2025 Newsletter
(sent December 2025)
A Message From the Board
Everyone deserves a home. This simple yet powerful belief drives everything we do at UCEF. Fulfilling our mission – to help people in Northeast Seattle stay in their homes and off the streets – has been even more of a challenge this year, with economic uncertainties,high prices, and pervasive threats to safety net programs leaving more people in need of financial assistance. In these difficult times, UCEF has been a steady resource, and for this we have you to thank.
The Board met monthly this year to strategize ways to strengthen UCEF. We recently updated our website to make it easier for those who are seeking help as well as our supporters to understand how we operate and the impact we have. We are looking for a volunteer to collaborate with us on the website’s design and presentation to make it more accessible and compelling. If you are interested in this volunteer role, please contact us at director@ucef-seattle.org.
Looking ahead, please save the date for our 3rd Annual Benefit Concert, to be held at 2:00 pm on Saturday, March 14, 2026. The concert will take place at Haller Lake Methodist Church, 13055 1st Ave. NE in Seattle. It will feature performances by local choirs and a solo by our very own Jo Gustafson!
As always, we are thankful for you. Know that your donations, whatever the amount, make a big difference in the lives of those weserve. Please keep UCEF, and our clients, in your thoughts as winter approaches. Thank you again for your continued support!
Cheryl Milloy, UCEF Board Member
Our $250 Makes a Difference
“Hi Jo, Thank you all so much for the help with my rent. I am so happy that programs like this are around to help in the time of need. God bless you all” Daniel – Sept. 2025.
“Thank you for all your help. I managed to secure a partƟme job and may have a second lined up so hopefully I can financially stabilize. I appreciate the assistance while I was finding my footing.” Sam – Sept. 2025.
“Working with UCEF has been such a blessing for both our residents and our small family business. We know every resident by name and their histories, which enables us to refer those who are truly in need and will make good use of the funds. This ranges from young people who are learning to navigate life to older folk struggling with chronic illness or reduced benefits. In some cases, the assistance opens the door to legitimately needed, longer-term assistance. More often than not, those who receive these blessings remain housed with us long-term or leave in good standing. There's no better feeling when, as a village, we are able to help people who are in need and they make something out of it. Some truly amazing stories: 1) the disenfranchised young man who worked his way up into working for Tesla as a maintenance technician, 2) a kind soul who endured domestic violence and was a wreck but now thriving (he works P/T for us as a handyman now; he's all smiles these days), 3) an older gentlemen struggling with kidney failure but has remain housed with us for over 10 years. UCEF was an integral part of each of those stories. On behalf of our past and current residents, thank you so much to your wonderful community for being an integral part in supporting disadvantaged communities!” Sincerely, Eddie Tsay, Pondview Property Management. October, 2025.
“Hello Jo, I wanted to give you our hearƞelt thank you from all of us at Polaris at Lake City. As you know we are a large low-incomecommunity of 260 apartment homes. Your donations and services that you provide to our community members are so vital tokeeping the community together. Times are especially hard now, not knowing what the next day or week will bring. Medical worries, Housing worries, and of course, the utilities that come with those homes! The United Churches Emergency Funds, Support, and Care is what many in our community members rely on to make ends meet. Thank you so much for ALL of the MANY different things your organization does to support the community and keep us strong. We are honored to partner with you! Thanks again Jo!!” Megan Nokes, Community Manager. November, 2025
From the Director’s Desk
As we enter the holiday season and end of 2025, it is easy to fall into a spirit of darkness, matching our shorter days. But, as difficult as these times are for everyone, I want to offer some gratitudes in the hope that the ripple effect will spread a bit of lightness for the coming year.
First, I'm grateful for our board president, Ray Moser, who has brought new focus to our board. With his guidance and encouragement, we've brought grants in from Windermere, the Lions Club and the Tulalip Tribe. We've made improvements to our webpage, simplified the process for those in need of help, and continue to look at ways to better steward our money. Given the ever-increasing demand, we work with landlords/managers in the Seattle area who serve our zip codes, thus building better partnerships in the community. (Note the testimonials above from both clients and owners/property managers).
I'm also grateful to St. Vincent de Paul and Salvation Army for the work they do to help our clients and for matching our funds most of the time. Clients like Joleen - a single mom with 3 kids. She was working 2 jobs to make ends meet. She was laid off her government job due to the shutdown (expects to go back to work at the time of this printing), and then lost her job at Starbucks when they closed her store. Together with the other agencies, we were able to help with her rent and she should be fine again next month.
Finally, and most importantly, I'm grateful to all of you for your support. We could not do this without you. It really does take a village and together we are making a difference -one family at a time. On behalf of all of us at UCEF- Happy Holidays!
Jo
Children and Homelessness
The threat of becoming homeless is overwhelming for any adult —but for a child, the consequences can last a lifetime. Research makes this clear: stable housing is one of the most powerful predictors of a child’s health, development, and future success. When children experience housing insecurity, the effects ripple across every part of their lives. They face higher risks of chronic illnesses, developmental delays, anxiety and depression, and academic struggles that can persist for years. Without intervention,these early hardships can shape the course of their entire future.
One young boy who experienced homelessness put it into words no data point can capture: “Sometimes we had to share a bed, and other times we slept in a big room at a homeless shelter. It was always scary. I wore the same clothes every day because Mom said we couldn’t carry too much while we walked around looking for food and a place to sleep. The shelters were so cold and the blankets so thin, but it was better than the nights we slept outside. I cried when Mommy told me we finally had a place to live.”
Today, more than 4,280 children in Seattle are homeless— and that number is rising. Each of those children is carrying a burden no child should have to bear.
This is why your support of UCEF matters so deeply. Your generosity provides families with emergency financial assistance that can prevent homelessness before it begins. Everytime you help keep a family housed, you are protecting children from the life-altering consequences of homelessness and giving them the stability they need to thrive. Together, we can ensure more children grow upwith a safe place to sleep, to learn, and to dream. Thank you for standing with them — and with us.
Laurel Ailie, UCEF Board Member