Gabriella Fox Videos : Eastside Homelessness and Hunger on the Rise

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Eastside Homelessness and Hunger on the Rise

The National Bureau of Economic Research declared that the Great Recession ended in June 2009, but with unemployment in Washington state at almost nine percent, that is scant comfort to many local families. According to the Seattle King County Coalition to End Homelessness, as of January 2010, almost 573 people were homeless on the Eastside of Lake Washington (See: www.cehkc.org and www.homelessinfo.org In the past month, Renewal Food Bank of Bellevue has seen evidence that this number is increasing. More families than before are living in their cars, and the food bank, which previously provided food to almost 175 families per week, is now providing food to almost 250 families per week. This situation was highlighted during the Renewal Food Bank Fundraiser and Awareness Breakfast 2010, held on Sept. 23 at Bellevue Foursquare Church. It had speakers including Gale Thoensen, manager at Macy's, Officer Rob Wood of the Bellevue Police Department and reporter Bill Wixey of Q13 FOX News. Afterward, Gabriella Van Breda, exectuve director of the food bank agreed to a video interview and gave additional details about the problem and how the public can help. Transcript of Interview with Gabriella Van Breda Sean: Gaby, tell us, what sorts of services does Renewal Food Bank provide to the community, and to whom? Gabriella: We provide food, obviously, to those who have fallen on hard times, to people who've lost jobs, especially in this current economic climate, but we provide a lot ...

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