PORT ANGELES — During September alone, Sequim Community Aid helped 20 families with rent or utility assistance, and half of them were new clients — a trend that’s expected to continue.
The organization helped 42 families since it received a $10,000 Peninsula Home Fund grant in July, helping it raise its maximum amount from $300 to $350 per family, said Kathy Suta, president of Sequim Community Aid.
“Using the month of September as our example, we received many more requests from new families we have not helped in the past,” Suta said. “We believe this trend will continue because of increased utility rates, the normal increase of use of electricity in the winter months ahead and the recent cutting of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) by the federal government.”
Sequim Community Aid was one of 15 nonprofits to receive a total of $90,000 in grants from Peninsula Home Fund’s 2024 fundraising cycle.
This year, the goal remains the same — to offer Peninsula residents an opportunity to help those in need.
Although it runs throughout the year, a special fundraising campaign is conducted annually from Thanksgiving through January through a partnership with the Olympic View Community Foundation.
Grant requests will be due in mid-February for the 2025 cycle, and winners will be announced in April.
Last year, the community donated a total of $130,945.91, and more than $2,900 was raised between Nov. 28 and Wednesday for next year’s grant awards.
Donations, along with the names of the donors — should they elect to have them published — will be presented in the Peninsula Daily News throughout the campaign.
Over the years, the Peninsula Home Fund has raised more than $5.05 million for those in need in Clallam and Jefferson counties. Some donate throughout the year while others provide one donation during the campaign months.
From children’s pennies to checks for thousands of dollars, each donation makes a difference, helping people from Port Townsend to Forks, from Quilcene and Brinnon to Sequim, Port Angeles, Joyce and La Push.
All contributions are fully federally tax-deductible for the year in which the check is written.
Those who wish to donate can mail checks to Peninsula Daily News, P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA, 98362, or to Olympic View Community Foundation, P.O. Box 3651, Sequim, WA, 98382.
An online option is available at https://ov-cf.org/peninsula-home-fund-donation.
Sequim Community Aid, which helps families who live within the Sequim School District boundaries, focused on rent and utilities with its Peninsula Home Fund grant. As a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization since 1947, it pays utility companies and landlords directly.
It helped a 63-year-old disabled woman who is living on Supplemental Security Income of $900 a month by paying her power bill.
The organization also paid $350 toward rent for a single mother with three boys who works 30 hours a week at a doctor’s office and attends college part time to become a registered nurse.
“The last few months had been especially financially hard for her since one of her sons got a serious infection and had to be hospitalized for a time, so she had to miss work,” Suta wrote in Sequim Community Aid’s grant report.
Another son broke his wrist and the oldest attended counseling services, Suta wrote.
“She also shared with us that some of her funding for school had been cut,” Suta wrote. “We were able to also help her by referring her to two other organizations that might be able to help her with funding for her college expenses.”
Another new client had lost her job and had been living on savings and credit cards, Suta said. The 55-year-old woman didn’t think she could get another job because she believes she has early onset Alzheimer’s disease.
“She said she has several markers for this disease and many family members have had it,” Suta wrote. “She is not thinking clearly, making poor decisions, and is very forgetful.”
Sequim Community Aid helped her by paying funds toward her rent and referred her to another agency for additional help with her rent. It also referred her to two local free medical clinics.
The organization helped another couple with $350 toward rent after a man was laid off due to medical issues. The family of four includes two teenagers, Suta said, and their income had dropped to $3,200 per month.
“Our assistance helped them get back on their feet,” she said.
“In the first six calendar months of 2025, we served 467 adults and children,” Suta said. “These services included paying deposits for rent and utilities, rental payments and utility bills, including electricity, water, propane, etc. We also do referrals to other social services that our clients might need.”
Suta said Sequim Community Aid will continue to use the Peninsula Home Fund grant to maintain its maximum assistance level at $350 for a total of at least 250 families by July 2026.
The organization served 16 new families in October and eight new families in November, Suta said.
“One of the big things is, we are seeing a big increase in new people asking for help,” she said. “We feel there’s going to be more people needing help. There are all these factors that are going to weigh in. We’re not seeing the worst of it yet, but we will be.
“A lot of people are living on the edge.”
That includes a disabled man with a dog and a cat whose income is a little more than $1,000 per month, and about $800 goes to rent, Suta said.
“He was going to have his power turned off,” Suta said. “He had gotten behind.”
Normally the organization pays the utility or landlord the past due balance, but Sequim Community Aid paid all of his utility bill, “so the next month he would be OK,” Suta said.
Sequim Community Aid can be reached at 360-681-3731 or by mail at P.O 1591, Sequim, WA 98382.
For the Peninsula Home Fund, the following is a donor list from Jan. 29 through Wednesday:
Name and amount
• Ken Larsen, Port Angeles, $250, in memory of Russell Alexander.
• Stephanie Ketchum Hilt, Port Angeles, $100, for Gregory Hilt.
• Stephanie Ketchum Hilt, Port Angeles, $100, for Gregory Hilt.
• Stephanie Ketchum Hilt, Port Angeles, $100, for Gregory Hilt.
• Stephanie Ketchum Hilt, Port Angeles, $100, for Gregory Hilt.
• Stephanie Ketchum Hilt, Port Angeles, $100, for Gregory Hilt.
• Stephanie Ketchum Hilt, Port Angeles, $100, for Gregory Hilt.
• Stephanie Ketchum Hilt, Port Angeles, $100, for Gregory Hilt.
• Stephanie Ketchum Hilt, Port Angeles, $100, for Gregory Hilt.
• Stephanie Ketchum Hilt, Port Angeles, $100, for Gregory Hilt.
• Stephanie Ketchum Hilt, Port Angeles, $100, for Gregory Hilt.
• Heather Irwin, MD, Port Angeles, $1,030.
Name only
• Nancy Bluestein-Johnson and Randy Johnson, Port Angeles.
• Pat Wisen, Sequim.
• Karen Hart, Port Angeles.
• Xi Iota Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi, Port Angeles.
• Robert Kuhn, Port Angeles.
• Lynne Brandl and Michael Barrett, Sequim, in memory of Art Herriman.
• Jill Blake, Sequim.
• Carrie Kalina, Sequim.
• Jim and Julie Emery, Port Angeles.
• Peter Ellis, Carlsborg.
• Ruth Jenkins, Port Angeles.
• Brad and Nancy Anseth, Sequim.
• Jan and E. Randy Tierney, Sequim.
• Sherrie Rogers, Port Angeles.
• Stephen Ricketts, Port Hadlock.
• 7 Cedars, Sequim.
• Julianne Targan, Port Angeles.
• Ed Bowlby, Sequim.
• Ruth Cameron, Sequim.
• David and Cindy Bower, Port Angeles, for Oscar and Donna Bower.
• Cinda and David Bower, Port Angeles, in memory of Marion, JoAnn and Nick Umbarger.
• Elaine and Gary Nelson, Port Townsend.
• Chuck and Martha Standley, Port Angeles.
Anonymous
• $60, Sequim.
• $100, Port Angeles.
• $50, Sequim.
• $50, Port Angeles.
• $500, Port Angeles.
• $1,000.
• $200, El Dorado Hills.
• $309, Port Angeles.
• $100, Sequim.
• $128.75, Sequim.
• $103, Port Angeles.
• $200, Port Angeles.
• $500, Port Townsend.
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Editor Brian McLean can be reached by email at brian.mclean@peninsuladailynews.com.
