Imagine being working parents and due to an illness, job loss, or injury, losing hours at work and not being able to make rent. Not only do you lose your home, you lose all your belongings,  without the funds to put items into storage. It happens daily in the Seattle area and these homeless families are invisible to many of us. Homelessness continues to grow in Seattle due to rising housing costs, and the pandemic exacerbated already overloaded social services and limited affordable housing.

After living in shelters and working with a social worker, families work hard to secure housing and move into a space with no beds to sleep on, no table to sit at, and no cookware with which to prepare meals. With little extra money and maybe only a bus pass for transportation, moving donated furniture is difficult or impossible. In 2009, Treger Strasberg recognized this service gap and founded Humble Design, a nonprofit that is now in five cities, including Seattle. 
 
From Empty Houses to Welcoming Homes

Humble Design serves individuals and families emerging from homelessness – including many single moms and veterans – by transforming empty houses into welcoming homes using donated furniture and recycled household goods. Since 2009 we’ve created more than 3,000 humble homes for more than 8,000 individuals from 9 million pounds of donated and recycled furnishings. We take recycling and financial responsibility seriously. In 2022, of every dollar donated, .86 cents went to our program and we have a 4-star rating on Charity Navigator.  

Humble Design partners with local social services and domestic abuse organizations to identify families who can best benefit from our services. Families we serve have recently moved into a home they have worked hard to secure. Once our social services partner makes a referral, our team meets with the family to assess their needs and preferences and measure the rooms.

Next, our staff and volunteers source items from our warehouse of donated and recycled furnishings – selecting furniture, kitchenware, toys, bedding, and décor. Everything is packed into a truck by staff and volunteers. Next, we host a Day of Joy to move furnishings in and put together a humble home in a single day!

A Day of Joy is hosted by a team of 5 to 10 volunteers sponsored by a generous donor and is the ultimate teambuilding, heartwarming experience for you and your colleagues, family, and friends. It is how I became involved in Humble Design as a volunteer and later as Chair for Seattle’s Board.

When we welcome the family back into their humble home, lives are changed – children will sleep peacefully in their beds and families can cook and gather around a table. Joy is experienced by all involved.

Humble Design does more than provide beds and home furnishings – we set families on a course toward a hopeful future. When a family has a good night's sleep, they feel restored and rested for work and school, and they have a sense of dignity and pride. They share with us that this helps them strive to improve their lives and keep their new homes.

Nationwide HUD statistics show up to 50% of those who get housed each year return to homelessness within the year. Our follow-up data shows more than 96% of those who receive our services are still housed one year later. What we do is unique and stops the revolving door of homelessness.

Antica Farmacista

Armadillo and Co. rugs

Article Furniture

Ervet bedding

JAS Design Build

Northwest Harvest

Pottery Barn Kids

Prologis (warehouses)

Queen Anne Frame & Gift

Ridwell

Seattle Staged to Sell & Design

Serta/Simmons mattresses

Third & Wall Art Group

Thrive

U-Haul

Underdog Sports Leagues

UpWest

Wayfair

Women United Seattle

Zulily

We hope you are inspired and will consider a donation. Humble Design Seattle needs financial support to sustain our services in Seattle – funds are required for staffing, transportation, and warehouse costs. Your generosity will allow us to keep individuals, families, and veterans in King County in their homes and on a path toward long-term stability.

Please consider sponsoring a 2025 Day of Joy or a series, or donating at the level that is meaningful for you. If your organization provides grants, we’d be honored to be considered. I hope we get to meet at a Day of Joy soon!  
 
To learn more, go to www.humbledesign.org/seattle. To get in touch, email seattlechair@humbledesign.org. To donate, go to https://secure.givelively.org/donate/humble-design-inc/humble-design-seattle-capital-campaign. To view the Seattle impact report, go to www.humbledesign.org/seattle-2022-impact-report. To learn more about the Day of Joy, go to www.humbledesign.org/seattle-sponsored-day-of-joy.