On August 27th, Recovery Café partnered with WHEEL, a grassroots group of homeless and formerly homeless women, to dedicate twenty-one Leaves of Remembrance at Recovery Café in honor of those who have endured homelessness and died in King County. Café Members, staff and community members shared in a brief dedication service before the installation of twenty-one leaves on our sidewalk. Those gathered shared memories and stories of their lives, both of joy and of struggle, including two of the gentlemen memorialized who had died on the front steps of Recovery Café, still struggling with their addiction. The dedication ended with a reminder for us all to continue to give compassion and love to all persons, as we also continue to advocate to bring homelessness to an end.
The leaves at Recovery Café are a part of WHEEL’sHomeless Remembrance Project, which currently honors over 300 people in 17 different locations throughout Seattle. The Homeless Remembrance Project grew out of WHEEL and Women in Black silent vigils to remember homeless persons who had died and bear witness to the reality of homelessness in our community. You can read more of their individual stories at www.fallenleaves.org.