The Associated Students Western Homeless

Outreach Club
Everyone deserves a place to call home.
Media Kit
Table of contents:
FAQ
Media Backgrounder
Feature Story Pitch

Team Members:
Angel Laycock

Lauren Prater

Rika Wong

Western Homeless Outreach Top 10 FAQs

1.

Who is Western Homeless Outreach?

Western Homeless Outreach or WHO is an Associated Students club created in 2007 as a collaboration
between two former campus clubs. The club is dedicated to assisting and reaching out to the homeless
population in Whatcom County. They currently have 20 active members.

2.

What kinds of events or opportunities does the club participate in?

Western Homeless Outreach hosts one major event every quarter called Be Our Guest as well as bake
sale fundraisers. The money made from bake sales is used to buy necessities like toothbrushes, socks and
soap that are then distributed by the club around downtown Bellingham. They also partner with other
clubs and organizations to distribute meals.

3.

What is Be Our Guest?

Be Our Guest is Western Homeless Outreachs biggest event and is held at the end of every quarter during
the academic year. Students with meal and plans and excess meals can donate them and guest in
homeless members of the community. The community members receive free bus rides from WTA and all
the students need to do is swipe them in at the door. The event is only held in the Viking Commons.

4.

How can I get involved in the club?

The club currently meets every Thursday at 4pm in Bond Hall. By attending, you can get updates on
events, join the email list and connect with club members.

5.

How does homelessness affect Whatcom County?

As of January 2013, there were 581 homeless persons identified in Whatcom County. 70 families
including children identified as being homeless. The median age of all homeless persons is 34 and 50% of
all persons are female. There has been a 34% in overall homelessness from 2008.

6.

How can I help if I cant join the club?

The clubs bake sales are always by donation, therefore whatever you can donate would be greatly
appreciated. The club plans to hold a clothing or canned food drive during the year as well. There are also
several organizations and places where you can donate your time to help the cause.

7.

What other organizations exist in Whatcom County?

The Opportunity Council has many resources on their website for fulfilling basic needs,
providing food and housing and child care. You can find that information here:
http://www.oppco.org/whatcom-homeless-service-center/.
The Lighthouse Mission in downtown Bellingham also offers housing for men and women.
You can find more information here: https://www.thelighthousemission.org/.
Lydia Place is another resource that provides shelter, clothing and life skills classes to
homeless families. Information can be found here: http://www.lydiaplace.org/.
The Bellingham Food Bank is always looking for volunteers throughout the year. You can
find hours and contact information here: http://www.bellinghamfoodbank.org/.

8.

Can I get service-learning credit for participating with the club?

You may be able to get service-learning credit for volunteering with the club during an event like
resource distribution, but in any case you would need to discuss the event or opportunity with your
instructor.

9.

I want to volunteer, but cant commit regularly, is that okay?

The club welcomes all volunteers, members or not, to participate in events or go out into the county and
volunteer themselves. The clubs weekly meetings are not mandatory and meeting recaps are sent out
weekly.

10.

Who can I contact for more information?

The president of the club, Olivia Cozzetto, can be contacted at whowwu@gmail.com. You can also connect
with the club via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Western-HomelessOutreach/246557772052323 or on OrgSync at https://orgsync.com/44529/chapter.

SUBJECT: Freshmen Takes On the Role of Presidency for WHO

ATTN: Artwork, Media Backgrounder

To: Caity Walthall and Katy Garza

Here you go and a binder filled with paperwork was all freshmen Olivia Cozzetto was left with as she took on
the role of presidency of the Associated Students club Western Homeless Outreach. Cozzetto had a simple
passion to help make someones day, but that passion led to a lot more responsibilities than she expected.

Now a senior, Cozzetto has guided and developed WHO through all the struggles and responsibilities that were
left with her as a naive freshman. Cozzetto saw herself as a helper and grew up in an environment that
emphasized the importance of helping and supporting others no matter who they or where they came from.

WHO is an Associated Students Club at Western Washington University that works toward helping out the
homeless community in Whatcom County through distributing food and clothing and educating students to steer
them away from the stereotypes around the homeless community. Cozzetto developed ideas to get more
involved within the homeless community like CAST (Coffee and Sandwiches on Tuesdays) where the club
would make sandwiches and distribute to the community. Cozzetto also has made improvements to the clubs
quarterly Be Our Guest event. This event gives Western students an opportunity to provide a meal for a
homeless member.

Homelessness is an ongoing problem in all areas of the world. What WHO and Cozzetto find to be just as
important as providing the homelessness the necessary food and clothing is breaking down the stereotypes
about the homeless community. Educating students that homeless people arent just lazy, smelly and aggressive
is very important because students can then understand why they should help the homeless. The top 5 reasons
for why people are homeless included: economic reasons, domestic violence, family break-up, lost job, and
mental illness. Most people have assumptions that homeless people are homeless because of problems
pertaining to alcohol and drug abuse. This reason was actually toward the bottom of the results with 21% of
respondents saying that alcohol and drug abuse is why they are homeless.

From Hockinson, Wash. Cozzetto had a lot of drive and desire to help others. It all started when she volunteered
with the Humanitarian Club at her high school where she helped others in her community. Joining that club was
the initial spark to her passion for helping others and striving for new experiences.

Her passion continued and never seemed to stop. After being the president for the Humanitarian Club, Cozzetto
saw bigger responsibilities that she felt she needed to take on. Once coming to Western she found her interest in
WHO along with majoring in Human Resources and interning for the Center for Independence in Bellingham.

This story is important because:

Alone Olivia created a lot of growth from where the club was before Olivia was president
Has a sincere passion to help others (not just the homeless)
Her passion makes her efforts to help WHO grow as a club much more effective because she has shown
that she cares
Readers (potential club members) can relate to Olivias passion
There is a serious problem with homelessness in Whatcom County that needs help

Potential Interview
Shanni Hupf (Activity Coordinator from 2013-2014)

Third year at WWU, Senior standing

Has great perspective on the internal environment of the club
Knows how their activities were organized
Was able to track the results they got from those activities
Double majoring in Spanish and Human Services
Phone: (206) 227-3091

Ron Buchinski (Executive Director of The Lighthouse Mission in Bellingham)

The Lighthouse Mission has a similar goal to WHO (Provide shelter, meals, and services to the needy
men, women, and children of Whatcom County)
Buchinski provide insight on how to help the homeless community in Whatcom County
Trusted and reliable source so readers can understand of how bad homelessness is in Whatcom County
WHO could get more exposure by communicating/working with The Lighthouse Mission
Phone: (360) 733-5120

Cozzetto has a passion and desire for a problem that not very many people understand to its full extent.
Homeless people are misunderstood by most but Cozzetto gets why they need help.
For more information about the WHOs current agenda please click on the following links to their website,
Facebook, and Twitter:

https://orgsync.com/44529/chapter
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Western-Homeless-Outreach/246557772052323?sk=info

https://twitter.com/WHOatWWU

I have attached the media backgrounder and artwork to this email. If you would like further information please
contact Olivia at whowwu@gmail.com.

Thank you.

Angel Laycock, Rika Wong, and Lauren Prater (JOUR. 380)

October 14, 2014

Western Homeless Outreach Media Backgrounder

Press Contact: Rika Wong
Rkwong92@gmail.com (206) 601-1526
Overview:
Western Homeless Outreach is a Western Washington University Associated Students club focused on
breaking through stereotypes and perceptions of homelessness to engage students in community service. The
clubs main effort is to break down the stigma of who is homeless and why. They begin with educating their
members and then utilize their knowledge by volunteering in the community. WHO welcomes all students and
encourages them to get involved in the greater Bellingham community. The club, which is in its seventh year,
formed as a collaboration between the former campus clubs S.H.O.T., Student Homeless Outreach Team, and
Y.H.O., Youth Homeless Outreach.
Current Status:
The club hosts one main event per quarter, Be Our Guest, during which students can give away their extra
dining hall meals to people in need. The event is typically held during the last week of fall, winter and spring
quarters. WHO is partially sponsored by the Whatcom Transportation Authority through which community
members are able to ride the bus for free to WWU for the purpose of the event. Students are encouraged to
donate all unused meals during the event and sit with the people theyve guested in. The event typically
sees roughly 100 students willing to donate unused meals and 70 community members in attendance.
WHO also holds periodic fundraising efforts, namely bake sales, to purchase basic necessities to be donated to
street-involved community members. Donations include toothbrushes, canned food, bottled water and soap
among other items. The fundraisers and distributions are not set on a regular schedule.
The club is considered a standalone, meaning they do not have any existing partnerships with other homeless
outreach or support efforts with the Bellingham or Whatcom County community.
Facts on Homelessness:
Bellingham:
22.6 percent of people in Bellingham were living below the poverty line as of 2012. i
The annual unemployment rate in Bellingham in 2013 was 6.9 percent. i

 Services for homeless in Bellingham:

The Sea Mar Community Health Clinic provides preventative, medical and dental care as well as
bus and shower passes, food vouchers and case management services to the homeless, including
migrants. ii
The Lighthouse Mission Ministries provides meals, counseling, extended housing for men and
special circumstance housing.iii
Agape House provides shelter, classes, hygiene facilities and long-term housing referral to
women and children. iv
Whatcom County:
As of January 2014, a total of 533 individuals were homeless in Whatcom County coming from 376
different households. v
There has been an overall 19 percent decrease in the number of homeless families with children since
2008, but a 17 percent increase since 2013 from 70 to 82 in Whatcom County. v
15.8 percent of people in Whatcom County were living below the poverty line as of 2012. v
Hope House is a multi-service center in Bellingham operated by The Catholic Housing Services of
Western Washington through the Catholic Community Services. Services include:
Sharing shopnew and used clothing and small housewares distribution
Above and beyond shopproviding supplies that cannot be purchased through food stamps
(personal hygiene items, diapers, school supplies etc.)
The pantryproviding emergency food supplies when the food banks are not open
Street Ministryvolunteers provide food, warm clothing and sleeping bags among other things
in areas where the homeless livevi
Washington:
During the 2012-2013 school year, Washington school districts reported a total of 30,609 homeless
students. vii
Club Officer/Member Bios:
Olivia Cozzetto:
Olivia is originally from Hockinson, WA and is the current president of WHO. She has held office since her
freshman year, 2010. She is currently a senior majoring in human services with a focus on working with the
elderly and the aging population. She became involved with WHO because she wanted to participate in a club
that provided service opportunities helping the Whatcom County community.
whowwu@gmail.com (360) 904-8587
Tai Moses:
Tai is from White Salmon, WA and is the current budget authority of WHO. He is in his sophomore year premajoring in kinesiology. He became involved in the club because it was for a good cause and his favorite
activity with the club has been to make food and distribute to the homeless members of Whatcom County.
tai.moses@hotmail.com (541) 965-2078

Chandlis (Shanni) Hupf:

Shanni held the office of activity coordinator during the 2013-2014 academic year and is currently in her
senior year double-majoring in Spanish and Human Services. She became involved with the club because she
wanted to help those in need, especially those with little to no support.
hupfc@students.wwu.edu (206) 227-3091
Boilerplate:
The Western Homeless Outreach is a Western Washington University Associated Students club, which was
established in 2007 to break down the stigma of homelessness and engage students in community service in
Whatcom County surrounding street-involved residents. The club has approximately 25 active members and
meets every Thursday at 4pm in Bond Hall 114.
For more information, visit www.facebook.com/WesternHomelessOutreach or twitter.com/WHOatWWU or
contact President Olivia Cozzetto at whowwu@gmail.com or (360) 904-8587.

"Databases, Tables & Calculators by Subject." Bureau of Labor Statistics Data. Accessed October 7, 2014.
http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LAUMT531338000000004?data_tool=XGtable.
ii

Healthcare for Homeless / Migrant & Seasonal Farm-Worker Outreach Sea Mar CHC - Other Community
and Social Services. Accessed October 7, 2014.
http://www.seamar.org/static_pages/community_healthcare.php.
iii

"Lighthouse Mission Ministries." The Lighthouse MissionOur Programs. Accessed October 8, 2014.
https://www.thelighthousemission.org/what-we-do/our-programs/.
iv

"Agape Home." The Lighthouse MissionOur Programs. Accessed October 8, 2014.

https://www.thelighthousemission.org/what-we-do/our-programs/#agape-home--women-and-childrenonly-.
v

"A Home for Everyone: Whatcom County Coalition to End Homelessness 2014 Annual Report." Whatcom
County Health Department. Accessed October 7,
2014.www.co.whatcom.wa.us/health/wchac/pdf/2014_homelsss_person_count_report.pdf.
vi

"Catholic Community Services of Western Washington: Hope House Multi-Service Center." Catholic
Community Services of Western Washington: Catholic Housing Services. Accessed October 8, 2014.
http://www.ccsww.org/site/PageServer?pagename=families_emergencyservices_hopehouse.
vii

"Homeless Education in Washington State." State of Washington Office of Superintendent Instruction.

Accessed October 7, 2014. http://www.k12.wa.us/HomelessED/default.aspx.