SEQUIM — Summit House has begun providing services, enabling access to transitional housing and wrap-around social services to women and children experiencing homelessness, crisis or trauma.
“We’re excited to have a full house,” said Jacki Marquart, board president of Our Resilient Community Alliance (ORCA).
“We have six families with five children on-site and every single one of us is dedicated to making this endeavor a success,” she said.
Started early in July
Services began earlier this month from a house on the corner of Spruce Street and Fourth Avenue owned by Laraine Claire. Claire had been sheltering people in need when she decided to work in a more official capacity and partnered with ORCA. She now leases the house to ORCA.
“We’re so grateful to everyone for their generosity and we have had so many calls from people wanting to come and check us out that we thought this would be a great chance for everyone to stop by,” said Hailey McLaughlin, who handles ORCA’s programs and operations.
“Especially all the wonderful volunteers with Beautiful Day who helped us get the facility ready from our landlord.”
Community support
Summit House has found great support in the community, ORCA representatives said, with several families stopping by to donate items such as clothes, furniture and canned goods.
A local family generously donated the estate of a deceased parent.
“It’s the most amazing thing to see our participants enjoy the comforts of a nice and comfortable home,” ORCA Managing Director Manny Aybar said.
“It’s a constant reminder for us to be good stewards of the gifts we receive and to always to do better, work harder, strive higher.”
Aybar, a retired mental health professional and government human services administrator, said ORCA would like to offer more services within the city of Sequim.
“We’re the new kids on the block and we’re just glad to be part of the safety quilt this community offers to our neighbors in need,” he said. “We hope to grow so we can partner and assist other populations experiencing homelessness, crisis or trauma — primarily older adults and at-risk youth. We have dreams, however; manageable growth is my mantra.”
‘Warm and inviting’
Lisa Amoni, a Summit House participant, said, “We’re a warm and inviting group of women and children who enjoy being here and letting people know what a great place this is. I hope people will take the time to come and meet us and see the great things Hailey and Manny are doing for the community.”
ORCA/Summit House provides a scope of services serving women and children who are experiencing homelessness, crisis or trauma which include housing, courses and training in various social services (job skills, budgeting and finance, communication, faith/spirituality, etc.).
Our Resilient Community Alliance is a nonprofit whose programs “strive to be successfully progressive systems of seamless, accessible and effective services that promote prevention, intervention, recovery and resiliency for individuals and families in Sequim and Clallam County.”
For more information on ORCA or Summit House, see www.olympicorca.org.
RSVP with a text at 360-605-0723, contact ORCA via Facebook at www.facebook.com/olympicorca or through www.olympicorca.org.
