American scholar William Arthur Ward said: "The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails." Despite financially challenging times, committed realists from across the state are diligently adjusting the sails to try and keep pace with the growing need for service-enriched housing. Since January of this year, eight development teams from diverse regions of Washington have been attending two-day sessions of the Supportive Housing Institute (SHI) to learn how to create permanent supportive housing in their communities.

Cheri Fleck and Ann Simpson of Clallam County

The teams participating in the 2009 Institute are a study in geographical and social contrast, representing Pierce, Clallam, Clark, Cowlitz, Yakima, and Chelan-Douglas

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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

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