I spent the better part of the first 34 years I was alive, cycling in and out of institutions, homelessness, incarceration, and treatment centers. When I successfully started to navigate reentry, it was difficult to look at that time as anything but a failure. But my perspective has real value; I can use those experiences to help others.

It has become the norm to walk by people and see them nodded out on the sidewalk and just step over them. But I inherently understand what that suffering looks and feels like — and more importantly, I know that there is a solution on the other side of it, if you invest in people.

WELD this year will serve 750 to 1,000 people, throughout the organization. I can confidently say that the majority of that would not be possible without our partnership with REDF.

And just a shout out to the team at REDF. When I went to the 2023 Community Retreat, I would guess that 80% of the people in the room were probably leaders with lived experience. I love REDF’s investment in that.

At Weld, we really believe healed people, heal people. There’s not a better display of that than having a leader create profound solutions to profound problems. You can feel really siloed doing this work. You’ve got dual bottom lines. You’ve got a mission that matters more than the finances, but you’re not going to operate unless you have your house in order financially. And then you take the people we serve, who are coming back from some pretty catastrophic circumstances, and there’s an added layer of complexity.

The community and the collective at REDF reminds us we’re not alone. It has allowed us to tap into solutions from organizations that have been there and seen it before.

More on Weld Seattle.

Weld Seattle provides comprehensive support for people transitioning out of incarceration, addiction, and/or homelessness. Its programs are peer-led, created by and for the population they serve. Weld Seattle provides safe and sober transitional housing, job training and placement, and community engagement services throughout Seattle. Guided by a deep and informed understanding of the inherent barriers people reentering the community face — our shared experience is our most powerful tool in building trust and facilitating successful outcomes.

Weld Seattle has been involved in a number of REDF programs, including as a Growth Portfolio grantee, Accelerator alum, and REDF Impact Investing Fund (RIIF) borrower.