Our Mission
Seattle Homeless Outreach (SHO) serves neighborhoods within both Seattle and Tacoma where there is a great need for services.
SHO seeks to meet our clients where they are, without expectation or judgment, and provide basic survival supplies including food, water, sleeping bags, tents, clothing, and bus tickets. But more importantly, we provide a human connection to our homeless neighbors. SHO builds relationships with our homeless neighbors and with social service providers in the Seattle area so that we can connect people with services they need.
History
Incorporated in June 2017, SHO was formed out of our desire to continue the serve our neighbors experiencing homelessness. We bring together a diverse group of volunteers to address the needs of our most vulnerable neighbors.
In 2022, SHO expanded to include Tacoma homeless outreach services, where the need for services and support are just as great as Seattle.
What We Do
Homeless Outreach: SHO volunteers brings basic survival needs directly to our neighbors experiencing homelessness, without expectation or judgment. We provide food, drinking water, clothing, sleeping bags, tents, hygiene supplies, harm reduction supplies, batteries, bus tickets, and special request items when possible. We also spend time getting to know people and recommending social services as appropriate.
Pet Outreach: People dearly love their four-legged companions, but do not always have the resources to care for them. Through generous donations from the Seattle Humane Society Pet Food Bank, SHO provides pet food and pet supplies for our neighbors’ furry friends.
Harm Reduction: SHO believes in reducing the health, social, and economic consequences of drug abuse and sexually transmitted diseases by providing clean sharps and collection containers, and condoms. Harm reduction practices also help to reduce the impact on community health resources and reduces prevalence of HIV infections, hepatitis, and other communicable infections in the community.