Recently, Washington Families Fund and Sound Families grantees gathered to attend our recent training, "Increasing Earned Income for Homeless Families: Strategies for Being a Change Agent at Your Agency." The Tacoma Housing Authority graciously hosted. I had the privilege of facilitating, along with Mark Putnam from Building Changes and national employment for the homeless expert, John Rio, from Advocates for Human Potential. Twenty-five people from six counties (Pierce, King, Snohomish, Thurston, Clallam, and Whatcom) participated.

It was a long day, jam-packed with information, questions, and worksheets that participants used to track key ideas and post-training action steps. I was encouraged and inspired by the passion of the training participants and their desire to continuously improve their programs. I admit this was the type of training that creates more work for already taxed staff. My hope is that it will be worth it if clients are able to improve their quality of life by earning higher incomes and transitioning out of housing programs. I look forward to being involved and updated on the work of all the brave change agents I met at the training.

A few of the training's key messages were:

• Change agents live in the future, not the present; are fueled by passion, and inspire passion in others; have a strong ability to self-motivate; and must understand people.
• Supportive housing isn't supportive without employment programming.
• "Work is a priority" for clients - and that means organizations, staff, and budgets need to get behind this priority.
• Empower clients to discover their "pursuit of purpose" - we all have one and it is often closely tied to our vocation.
• The work of a change agent is challenging and rewarding!

If you are interested in learning more about this training, please This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . I'd love to talk to you.