In January our dream went up in flames. At 7:00am, I received a text: There has been a massive fire in Tacoma. Not knowing the details, my mind went to the kids in the shelter and the newly remodeled café/youth center. Thankfully, the building with staff and sheltered youth was not touched. The fire consumed the building that we dreamed of transforming into transitional housing for youth working to break free from the cycle of homelessness.

The dream for more housing is the dream of an entire community. It is a dream that kids will have an alternative to living on the streets, selling their bodies, and fighting to survive. Any given night the Coffee Oasis is able to house 23 young people in Kitsap and Pierce County. These 23 beds are like life boats holding youth above an ocean of dark despair and desperate choices. In the counties we serve, there are thousands of youth experiencing homelessness each year. Last year, we were home to 166 of those youth. The Coffee Oasis team talked youth back from making a suicidal jump, administered Narcan to a youth overdosing in our bathroom, and graciously cared for angry and hurting parents. Each youth matters and there are more waiting for a place to call home.

Jesus tells about a shepherd who leaves the flock to find the one sheep who is lost. In a world that prioritizes profit over people, the story of Jesus doesn’t make sense. Has the ministry of Jesus stopped making sense to you? Jesus is still looking for the lost. And this year we hope to make even more beds for hurting and lost sheep.

Will you help give youth who are lost a place to call home?

Would you consider giving a year-end gift to help provide hurting and homeless youth a safe place to call home at The Coffee Oasis? A gift of only $60 can provide a youth with one night of shelter.

Daniel Frederick
Executive Director