Editor’s note: Juli Morser and Janie Starr are writing this series to put a face on the growing number of Islanders barely getting by — friends and neighbors who are living on the verge of losing their homes, getting laid off, going hungry, becoming homeless. Many, however, have also been helped by such community organizations as the Interfaith Council to Prevent Homelessness (IFCH), Vashon Youth & Family Services (VYFS), Vashon HouseHold (VHH) and the Vashon-Maury Community Food Bank — and as a result are now on the verge of buying a home, getting a job, going back to school. These stories represent our Island. Starr and Morser are honored to share them.

Janet Welt and I met at the Red Bike, on a rare sunny afternoon, and talked about how living on the verge has played out in her life. At 49, she considers herself a bridge builder and self-starter as well as “a doer and a mover.” Yet, as she describes it, “Once you get that Scarlet H on your chest, all your credibility is gone.” 

She knows: 15 years ago, a car accident left her physically damaged, severely depressed and unable to work. Within weeks she went from being a solidly middle-class, successful film publicist to being unemployed, maxed-out on medical insurance and homeless. 

After a brief time hunkering down on a house-barge without heat or electricity, then couch-surfing with family and friends, Janet moved into Seattle’s YWCA shelter. She lived there for a month and discovered that being homeless constituted full-time work, consuming her days with food stamp applications, job hunting and forays to the food bank. 

Still, she credits that experience with opening her eyes to a whole different world, with all kinds of surprising people — women with amazing humor and intelligence, as well as those who were disturbed and frightening. 

“The support, sharing and caring that happened really struck me,” she said. “Business people don’t support each other and bond like this. I knew I could learn some lessons.”

While living in sub-standard housing, Janet matriculated at Seattle Central Community College. She also worked, first as the student leadership administrative assistant and then as an art gallery’s assistant curator. She ran a free meal program at the Boom Town Café and became board president of the Homestead Community Land Trust. 

Her role as an affordable housing advocate led her to a conference on Vashon, where she met Jean Bosch, then director of Vashon HouseHold, and the person who told her about VHH’s first project, Charter House.

Two years ago, when urban life finally got her down, Janet began looking for a small vital community. “I wanted a neighborhood, with gathering places and a library nearby, where people check on each other when the big one hits.” She rediscovered Vashon and Charter House and signed a lease six months later. 

Janet was ready to move, with her service dog and best pal Dolly, but she couldn’t afford a van. She posted a note at Café Luna, asking for assistance. Wesley Rogers, IFCH volunteer coordinator, responded immediately and found someone to help — Sandy Oellein, an IFCH board member. 

“Sandy refused gas money, the cost of the ferry ticket … Her support was huge, not just the money, but the caring,” Janet said. Smiling, she added, “Next thing I knew, within less than a week, I was out selling (IFCH) raffle tickets, over 500 bucks worth. I got to meet people with such incredible generosity. It gave me a warm glow and was so fun I did it again this year.”

That glow continued as Janet jumped headlong into Vashon’s helping community, sometimes as a recipient, often as a volunteer.  

In addition to IFCH, she sings the praises of VYFS, which made it possible for her to continue with counseling when mental health services got slashed. Vashon Allied Arts provided her with a scholarship, so that she could take classes; she sees Kimberly Sheer, ARNP, at Vashon Women’s Health Care Center on a sliding scale, and she benefits from VHH’s affordable housing rent, which never exceeds 30 percent of her income.

Janet is a firm believer in reciprocity, which she demonstrated by completing VashonBePrepared’s arduous CERT training. When shopping the food bank, she returns whatever non-perishables she doesn’t use. She plans to volunteer at the food bank’s garden, and she was recently asked to coordinate a free Wednesday night dinner program. 

When I asked if she was making it, she looked at me hard. “Not really. Public assistance was just cut from $339 to $199.” She has a few part-time gigs — some focus groups, market research, artist blogs — but needs more paid work. 

“What I really want is to run an Island resource center, with a Help Needed/Help Wanted bulletin board, a computer and telephone, so that people could make connections right then and there. All I need is a tiny grant for a netbook, a small salary and a good location.”

Finally, I asked what advice she might give others living on the verge. “The silver lining for me is that I became a kinder, more compassionate person, way more tolerant and accepting. … My thing is to advocate and get people the services they need. 

“If you’re hurting, as hard as it is, get really resourceful. Get over any sort of false pride, or shame about needing a handout.”

And to those most likely to judge, such as a friend who gave her a hard time for using the food bank: “Always look a person in the eye, don’t brush them off like dirt, offer some kindness. You never know when someone you help will help you.

“Some of us are more broken than others, but we are all in this together.”

— Janie Starr, an Island activist with Sustainable Vashon and the Welcome Vashon Project, is highlighting the work of the Interfaith Council to Prevent Homelessness by engaging the community in an ongoing conversation about and with people struggling to get by.