Transform Burien helps local homeless by providing free laundry services

Local non-profit Transform Burien – with financial assistance from the City of Burien – is helping local homeless folks by providing free weekly laundry services every Wednesday afternoon. Organizers told The B-Town Blog that these laundry services – available every Wednesday from 2:30–5 p.m. – are open to anyone in Burien who is experiencing homelessness. Those in need are invited to come to Burien Laundry, located at 14300 1st Ave South next to Fred Meyer (map below) to receive the free services on any Wednesday afternoon. And all they have to do is show up, sign in (initials are acceptable). Volunteers help by inserting quarters directly into the machines, and individuals are responsible for doing their own laundry. When they are ready to dry their clothing they simply let the volunteer know, and quarters are inserted into the dryers. Laundry detergent, bleach, and dryer sheets are also available for people to use. The City of Burien is providing money and supplies. Transform Burien is providing the volunteers, letting the homelesss know about this service and facilitating it at Burien Laundry. “We chose to do the laundry on Wednesdays at this time because we serve one of our community meals directly before it,” Jennifer Cox said. “Our meal is served on Wednesday from 12-2 p.m., and on average we serve about 120 meals every Wednesday. Each Sunday our meal from 3-5 p.m. serves about 150-200 meals. The community meal serves the homeless in our area but also serves many other demographics and is open to anyone. Some of the people we see regularly include low income families, elderly, and kids from the skate park.” One of Transform Burien’s goals is to meet the needs of the community through practical, hands-on service. “We are excited that Laundry service has been added to the line up of services offered,” Jennifer added. Here’s more info about what Transform Burien offers in addition to free laundry: Community Meal:

• Sunday 3-5 (150-200 meals)
• Wednesday 12-2 (100-140 meals)

Clothing Bank:

• Sunday 3-5 (average of 50 people sign in, a family only needs sign in once regardless of how many people in the family)
• Wednesday 12-2

Food Bank:

• Open Sunday 3-5

King County Medical Van and Dental Van are also available on the first and third Wednesday of every month Volunteers also offer one-on-one resume help and job interview prep by appointment for anyone needing assistance. Transform Burien is partnered with multiple mental health and drug and alcohol treatment facilities, ministries and recovery programs. “Just this last Sunday, we placed another homeless man struggling with alcoholism into a local recovery program,” Jennifer said. “When people are ready to make a change and get help we work hard to find the best resources for that person.” In April, they are hoping to launch their first Art Night. At this event, any low income or homeless individuals will be welcome to attend a free art class lead by Jennifer and a local artist trained in “healing art practices.” Here are some photos showing some of the ways Transform Burien helps: For more information, visit http://transformburien.org. ]]>