Catholic Community Services (CCS) is grateful to the Boeing Employees Community Fund Puget Sound Chapter for a generous $50,000 grant supporting our Housing and Essential Needs (HEN) program. This funding allowed HEN to purchase a new cargo van, strengthening their impact in our community and delivering supplies and support to those who need them most.
The HEN program supports people in King County unable to work due to temporary or permanent disability. HEN provides rental and utility assistance, hygiene and cleaning supplies, ORCA Lift cards, and other essential resources. Currently, HEN serves more than 4,000 people including over 1,800 receiving rental assistance, providing critical support for our neighbors with disabilities.
The new van has already helped HEN staff distribute essential items to four program sites throughout King County, delivering hygiene supplies such as shampoo, soap, and deodorant, and cleaning supplies such as brooms, laundry detergent, and surface cleaners. The previous van used by HEN was aging and expensive to maintain, and the purchase of the new van has ensured HEN can effectively distribute essential items to people across the county without interruption.
In addition to regular supply distribution to program sites, the van will also deliver mattresses to individuals who are transitioning from homelessness into housing as well as larger items such as air conditioners, heaters, or air filters that support health needs. The van will also deliver essential needs bags directly to program participants that are unable to travel to program sites due to their disability.
The purchase of a new cargo van ensures that the HEN program, as well as Catholic Community Services as a whole, will be able to continue these vital services and programming for the foreseeable future.
“The new HEN van enables us to deliver critical essential needs to clients throughout King County, serving hundreds of clients every week! It also helps us respond quickly to evolving CCS client needs, like assisting in getting food to folks after SNAP was paused,” says Trisha Mathieu, division director for CCS King County.
This grant reflects the shared commitment of CCS and Boeing to building stronger, more connected communities through partnership and compassion. For more information about the Boeing Employees Community Fund, please visit their official website.
Learn more about HEN:
Katherine’s Story: Achieving Stable Housing through HEN | CCSWW
Michael’s Story: The Power of Perseverance and Positivity | CCSWW