Homeless youth and others list their needs, get some help
Angelique Brooks could not remember what she wanted for herself.
But she could recall so easily the requests she made for her son. The 5-year-old boy is learning how to read, and running out of educational toys. So she asked for help from Peace for the Streets by Kids from the Streets (PSKS).
On Saturday, she smiled at the seven boxes by her feet.
"Those are all for my son," she said.
For the past decade, the nonprofit group has organized holiday gift-giving events for homeless youth and people who are finding their way into housing after so many years on the street. About 100 people listed their "needs" and their "wants" this year. On Saturday, the PSKS office on Capitol Hill was crowded with those gifts, donated by corporations, congregations and ordinary citizens.
There were plenty of practical presents, from sleeping bags to sets of socks. One person asked for a month's supply of medication. Many of the "wants" were covered as well, from fishnet stockings to art supplies to iPod Shuffles. Each person got gift certificates to Target and McDonald's as stocking stuffers.
Brooks was first in line on Saturday, standing with a piece of roll-on luggage by her side. She had traveled more than two hours on the bus from Auburn to get there. She is living with her son in subsidized housing after several years on the street.
Her son has struggled with health problems. And Brooks said she was recently diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
But both are doing better now, she said. She even bought him a present recently. But then, she said, that was stolen.
The pile of presents was a relief.
"He has something to open tomorrow," said Brooks.
Months of work went into Saturday's event, from the taking of the requests to the tagging of each person's name on the box. And then there was the feast, organized largely by Mama Sara, a volunteer who started out as a client.
She was bent over the buffet Saturday afternoon, spreading leaves of lettuce around platters, just for the look of it. She laid out little red radishes in strategic spots.
"Nobody's going to eat them, but they look like Christmas balls," she said.
Mama Sara came to the group several years ago, somewhat wary. She was older than most of the clients there. She had been homeless for nearly two decades — a "textbook case," she says, of a girl who left foster care, foundered, and slipped into drug abuse and prostitution.
But she was inspired by the feel of the place and its executive director, Elaine Simons. She began to volunteer. And that first Christmas, she got the gifts she wanted: towels and kitchen utensils. It was a celebration of her new life, in her new apartment.
"I just felt like somebody cared, like somebody was listening to me," said Mama Sara, now 53. "Suddenly, I mattered."
Cara Solomon: 206-464-2024 or csolomon@seattletimes.com
Peace for the Streets by Kids from the Streets: The group serves Seattle-area homeless youth and young adults with programs in everything from arts to education with a focus on self-sufficiency. It can be reached at www.psks.org or 206-726-8500