Help Joe with Finding Housing and His Job Search

On December 14, 2020, the Seattle Times posted an article  about the effect of COVID-19 on homelessness in Seattle, titled:  What it’s like to live outside in a pandemic: One Seattle man’s personal story. The article was primarily written by Joe Bernstein, who has been homeless in Seattle since 2012. Mr. Bernstein has been a freelance writer for many years, including his own My Seattle Parks Diary  blog, as well as for Seattle Weekly Magazine (see articles linked at the bottom of this page). As he details in his Seattle Times article, prior to his homelessness, Mr. Bernstein worked as an office temp worker for many years. When temp jobs dried up during the Great Recession, Mr. Bernstein’s employment did as well. At that time, Mr. Bernstein became homeless. When the effects of the global pandemic began shuttering the shelters and Mr. Bernstein’s indoor daytime options, Mr. Bernstein and many other homeless people in Seattle have been forced to spend almost every hour outside. Lacking shelter—especially during our famously rainy Seattle winters—has made it nearly impossible for Mr. Bernstein to search for jobs.  

I read Mr. Bernstein’s Seattle Times article on the day it was published and recognized Mr. Bernstein instantly as a man I frequently saw on the University of Washington campus while I was attending law school. I was moved by the struggles he faces on a day-to-day basis, and how much more challenging those struggles have been since the pandemic had hit. I reached out to Mr. Bernstein to see how I could help, and we decided to start this GoFundMe page. This page seeks to raise money for Mr. Bernstein to find indoor housing, which would keep him safe and dry this winter and allow him a better chance at job searching.

Below please find a statement by Mr. Bernstein:

I've been a writer for a long time, and responded to the COVID crisis by starting a blog about the lockdown’s effects on the homeless, “My Seattle Parks Diary.”  Among its few readers have been other journalists, who reacted in part by profiling me in The Seattle Times.  Watching these events in wonder, a friend told me I'd gotten good at being homeless, and it was time I tried something else.

In earlier years, I knew what to try:  get a job, and use it eventually to get housed.  But every piece of my work clothing that fell apart hurt that plan, and the theft of my laptop in 2017 killed it.  Also, while some jobs could be done while homeless, the temporary work I have the most experience with isn't one of them.  Finally, today, though the COVID stimulus money will pay for a laptop, there's nowhere to charge it; and the only work-compatible showers I've found, in gyms, have been closed for most of a year.

More recently, I've been thinking about going back to school, but that too is proving difficult.

So I'm asking your help today to try what they all say is best for homelessness: housing first.  That would enable me to pursue temp work again.  Temp work is a good fit for my situation because it offers the flexibility to finish the blog right, the opportunity to update my rusty skills, the possibility of work early in an economic recovery from the pandemic, and the smoothest path back to school.

But even if temp work didn’t pan out, the full amount might enable a proper job hunt, a relocation to a city with a less competitive market, or, at worst, a return to homelessness, but after the buildings reopen, with a new laptop and new clothes, to return to one of the earlier plans.

I'd very much like to work in an office again.  This may be a small dream, but it's one you can help with.

Your donation today will help Mr. Bernstein with the following costs:

·         Rent and utilities – goal of $800/mo. 

·         A laptop for ease in job searching - goal of $1,000

·         New work clothes, likely from a custom shop for shorter individuals - goal of $1,000

·         Payment for a year of public transportation to/from job interviews and work once acquired - goal of $1,000

·         Other costs related to finding housing and work


Mr. Bernstein’s Blog: My Seattle Parks Diary 
Seattle Weekly Articles by Joe Bernstein: Joe Bernstein Seattle Weekly and  http://www.seattleweekly.com/news/961533-129/washington-is-about-to-make-it" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Washington is About to Make it Harder for Thousands of People to Get Food Stamps 
Seattle Times Article: What Its Like to Live Outside During a Pandemic One Seattle Mans Personal Story 

Thank you in advance for your contributions. Any little bit will help make a difference.

Maia