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 order, as we usually try to do, we’ve decided to bring forward events, or moments, that best express what Casey was going through. As a young woman living homeless, heavily addicted and working in the s ..read more

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/goodoldlistening/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/you_know_me_now_stories/ More stories can be found at https://www.youknowmenow.com ..read more

When I was a kid growing up, nobody talked about mental illness. At least openly that is. There were the hushed talks about so-and-so’s mom losing it and having to be committed to a psych-ward. Being taken away, put in a hospital somewhere. Or a friend’s Uncle who ‘went off the deep end’, now getting help with his break-down, whatever that meant. As a kid, it was all a mystery. Back then, if you or someone in your family was getting mental health help, of any kind, nobody talked about it. It was purposefully kept quiet in a tight circle of family and close friends. There was a big stigma aroun ..read more

We have the sincere pleasure of sharing with you a conversation I had with my dear friend Sinan Demirel. We talked about the issue of homelessness, first from a historical perspective, to better understand how we got to this crisis point, and then a bit about solutions needed from the community and our government.  Join in on the conversation on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/goodoldlistening/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/you_know_me_now_stories/ More stories can be found at https://www.youknowmenow.com ..read more

What does becoming a friend with someone experiencing homelessness look like? Getting to know and becoming friends with anyone, you begin to care about that person, about their well being. When your friend is struggling it pulls at you, you want to help. That’s what friends do. Often in these moments, the problem isn’t the ‘wanting to help’, it is in the ‘how to help’. That’s the very moment it gets complicated. Always. Giving help to anyone is a tricky thing. Giving help to someone that is homeless, at times feels a bit like swimming out to someone you love that is drowning. We hope you joi ..read more

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 to earn a living. She decided to take a waitressing job at a strip club, which led to dancing, and the fast money of the sex industry. Casey was 18 years old. Suddenly she had a nice house, a car she ..read more

Meet Courtney. A mother of three who has survived homelessness on Seattle streets. “When we first came to Seattle it was so freeing, so comfortable. It all felt right. I remember closing my eyes and breathing in the beauty of the Pacific Northwest, feeling happy. A sense of belonging filled me. Best of all we didn’t feel judged. People were saying, “No worries”. - Courtney We hope you join in on the conversation on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/goodoldlistening/ More stories can be found at https://www.youknowmenow.com/stories ..read more

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, “They should have made better choices.” But is it really that simple, to credit failure to bad choices being made? What if everyone IS trying to make the best choice possible at every opportunity, an ..read more

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 in one moment, perplexing and challenging in the next. And yet, these differences are often what makes a family vibrant, positive forces in the dynamic. The varying views are appreciated for what they ..read more

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 the homeless out from under freeways and bridges, it is addressing a symptom, the unsightliness of encampments. The fences are meant to make it go away. We, as a community, passively allow it to happe ..read more