The idea that any of us are one or two emergencies away from being in a place of dependency can be hard to fathom. It’s easy to assume that a good job, a college degree or a network of support buffers us from serious vulnerability.
Just like the following testimonial that was recently shared with us, many of the families and individuals who come to FamilyWorks never envisioned that they would need to access a food bank or emergency referral services. FamilyWorks is honored to be the safety net for families as they weather the difficult storms in their lives.
“My wife and I were both from Montana, but after she got her Master’s degree in nursing she wanted to move to Seattle. She figured she could make better money here so we talked it over and I said yeah. I figured it was almost time for me to retire anyway.
“If it had not been for the food bank, I don’t know what we would have done.”
I left my Native American drum and dance group and my volunteer work where I received grants for teaching drumming and dancing from a local museum. Unfortunately, soon after we moved and got settled in Seattle my wife got sick and could not work anymore.
I don’t remember exactly who 
I talked to but someone told me that I could go and get food at FamilyWorks. So I went down and I started getting food. If it had not been for the food bank, I don’t know what we would have done. We are still dependent upon the food bank.
This is something that I never thought would happen to me. We both had good incomes before, but between the move to Seattle and my wife’s disability we exhausted our savings. While we live on a low income budget now we’re able to get by because of what FamilyWorks offers us. I am really grateful for FamilyWorks and all the people who donate to the food bank here.”