Evolution

Dear Friends,

Since our founding as the Central Area Motivation Program in 1964, we have been going through a process of freeing ourselves — from confronting employment discrimination and school desegregation; to providing essential services like food and energy assistance for our neighbors struggling to make ends meet; to advocating for equitable opportunity and our very well-being.

I am incredibly honored and grateful to have been part of our organizational journey the last 20 years. We have come full circle in our evolution. As we’ve claimed ownership of our building, we’ve also claimed ownership of who we’ve always been: by and for Black people. This is unapologetically our DNA.

Still, we recognize that the Black person’s fight for liberation is every person’s fight. Each of us is not free until all of us are free. Today, as Byrd Barr Place, we are expanding on our legacy of social service and racial justice through innovative programs and advocacy. We are seeking our collective freedom.

 

In community,

Andrea Caupain Sanderson
CEO

When we moved into our newly renovated space in August 2022, we felt a collective sense of relief and liberation. From our clients, to our staff, to our community partners, we felt that we had done the impossible — what we had been told we could not do. 

For 10 years, we persisted in negotiating with the City of Seattle to secure the deed to our building. We raised $12.8 million and moved through this renovation debt-free. And, we did it all while continuing to support our community through COVID-19 and the racial justice uprisings of 2020. 

It was an uphill climb, but we did it. We did the “impossible.” We planted deep, immovable roots in our neighborhood. We created a space that we own and cannot be moved from. A space to help each other get free. 

We are so excited to share it with you. 

The Central District has been the heart of the Black community in Seattle since the 1940s. This neighborhood is core to our community, our history, and our collective strength. Our organization started right here, during the civil rights movement, by Black community members, working together to support and lift our neighbors during the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression. 

We carry on what our ancestors began. The work is just as urgent. As more of us are pushed to other areas by gentrification, we serve as a permanent foothold for Black people and others whom society marginalizes. 

When you walk through our door, we hope you are grounded in this space and ancestral warmth. The ceilings are high, there is room to connect, and our staff are here to guide you to your next step. This is a place for you. Welcome home.

Our food bank, which we redesigned and reopened as the Market, is an example of responding to community. With bold lettering “Good Stuff Always” above rows of farm fresh produce and cultural staples, the Market offers a grocery shopping experience where clients can select the items they want and need. We also stock a variety of culturally relevant foods that our clients are used to preparing and eating at home. To care for our less-mobile neighbors, we’ve expanded our home delivery to ensure those who might be homebound or struggling with illness are well fed. We’ve made these choices to show respect for the dignity and self-determination of all our community.

Named after one of the organization’s founders Bishop John Hurst Adams, our community room is just inside our iconic three doors. It is a wide-open gathering space to come together, share knowledge and support each other. Both here in our physical space and online, we offer programming for our clients and community.

In the face of the pandemic and its impacts, we partnered with two experts to facilitate workshops on personal finance and mental health over the last two years. Being healthy both financially and mentally are two essential ways to build stability and self-sufficiency.

Every day since 1964, we’ve worked to create an equitable future for all Washingtonians, empowering people to live healthy, prosperous lives. In Seattle, Byrd Barr Place provides essential services — food, shelter, warmth, water and financial tools — to help those struggling to make ends meet.

In recent years, we expanded our Energy Assistance Program to provide air conditioning units that keep households cool in the summer and purifiers that clean the air to breathe. We also piloted a Water Assistance Program so individuals and families can maintain running water and wastewater services.

Since our early days, we have understood that direct service alone, while essential to the survival of individuals and families, cannot undo institutional racism. The other half of the equation is effective advocacy that leads to systemic change. To that end, Byrd Barr Place advocates for equity statewide through groundbreaking research and mobilizing communities to dismantle poverty and racism.

Black Well-being

We’re proud to have partnered with the Black Future Co-op Fund to produce a monumental report rooted in community wisdom: Black Well-being: Moving Toward Solutions Together. This builds on Byrd Barr Place’s 2015 report, and is a collective illustration of a more truthful narrative — one that takes into account a diversity of voices, experiences and approaches. It is intended as a tool for community engagement to support our collective organizing, inform policy, and direct resources into Black communities.

Black Family Assistance

We lifted up client experiences and contributed to Washington Department of Social and Human Services’ “Washington State Basic Income Feasibility Study,” demonstrating the profound impact of direct cash benefits on people’s economic stability and well-being. We also amplified client voices to inform Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) policy change, advocating for the WorkFirst plan to include $125 cash grants for households with children under three to help them afford basic needs like diapers.

Black Birth Equity

As part of the Birth Equity Project, we collaborated with the Washington Departments of Health; of Social and Human Services; and of Children, Youth & Family, as well as the Washington Health Care Authority to engage Black birthing families enrolled in WIC to share their insights about barriers to participation. Their feedback and ideas for improvements helped shape WIC policies and practices.

Black Homeownership

In partnership with the Center for Community Investment, City of Kent, City of Tacoma, Civic Commons, Homesight, Rainier Beach Action Coalition, United Way, Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle and Zillow, we’ve sought to strengthen the local community investment system through the Black Home Initiative. We are midway in this initiative to remove systemic barriers to Black homeownership and support 1,500 new homeowners.