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Teamsters distribute care packs to area’s unhoused residents

The following is from Teamsters Local 117:

TUKWILA (Feb. 24, 2023) – At the Teamsters Local 117 membership meeting on Feb. 16, union members and their families rolled up their sleeves and assembled more than 200 Teamsters Care Kits for neighbors in our communities who are currently unhoused. The packs include essential items that may be hard to come by for our region’s homeless residents – things like toiletries, wipes, snacks, hand warmers, and winter socks.

“It’s important that our community knows the Teamsters are there to support them,” said Matt Collins, a warehouse worker at the Fred Meyer distribution center in Puyallup who serves on the union’s executive board. “We’re getting together to build our own solidarity and the solidarity of the communities we live in. It’s empowering.”

Union members left the meeting with the commitment to distribute the care packs to people who are struggling to find stable housing and may be living on the streets. Many Teamster families participated in the community service action, including the spouses of Local 117 members and their children.

Union staff also donated food to the Miracle Temple, a tiny house village a short distance from the Union Hall on Interurban Avenue South in Tukwila. The village is a transitional housing facility and a project of the Low Income Housing Institute in partnership with the Miracle Temple congregation next door. The local regularly donates food and supplies to the facility’s residents.

“It’s really nice that the Teamsters are our neighbors and that they’re supporting the villagers here. We really appreciate it,” said Hugh Vaile, a new employee who works at the village. “I love working here. We’re always actively trying to get people housed into an apartment.”

John Scearcy, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters 117, spoke about the importance of community service.

“Part of our mission as Teamsters is to serve others and to build healthy, livable communities for all residents,” Scearcy said. “We live in one of the wealthiest regions of the world. No one in our communities should have to struggle to find and afford permanent housing. We call on civic, business, and community leaders to do more to address the crisis of homelessness. We all need to chip in and do our part.”

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