Local Nonprofit Health Center Prescribes Empathy for Confronting the Crisis of Homelessness

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The Way Station will provide hygiene facilities for those in need and up to 18 respite beds for people with no safe place to recuperate after a medical event. Photo courtesy Unity Care NW

Homelessness has been on the rise across the country since 2016. In places like Whatcom County, the lack of available housing makes homelessness an even more prevalent and visible issue. Most Washingtonians can relate to the sense that housing opportunities are becoming further and further out of reach. The economics of post-pandemic life and the high cost of living in our region have deepened financial worries for everyone. As inflation and interest rate changes threaten to worsen the housing market and exacerbate challenges for small business owners, economic tensions lead to stress that can result in conflict. Negative interactions between housed and unhoused people are particularly discouraging for anyone hoping we can come together as a community to end homelessness.

Organizations that work to provide services to people experiencing homelessness have unique insight into this public health crisis. Unity Care NW (UCNW), a local nonprofit community health center, provides comprehensive health care to people who may otherwise be unable to afford it. Their staff see firsthand, the negative health impacts of homelessness on their patients. Many have symptoms of trauma and are made sicker by their lack of access to basic hygiene facilities. With 15% of UCNW’s patients experiencing homelessness — compared to an average of 8% at other community health centers nationwide — UCNW resolved to demonstrate its conviction that everyone who can do something to combat homelessness must do something.

This launched a partnership for UCNW with PeaceHealth, Whatcom County, and Opportunity Council to better serve the health and hygiene needs of people experiencing homelessness in Whatcom County. The result of this collaboration, a new facility called The Way Station, will provide shower, laundry, and restroom facilities, as well as respite beds for people experiencing a medical event who have nowhere to recuperate. The Way Station will also connect clients to Unity Care NW’s mental health and substance use disorder treatment and Opportunity Council’s housing support services.

The facility will be housed in the county-owned building at 1500 N State Street. Renovations are scheduled to begin in early 2023, with hopes of opening in fall of 2023.

The County-owned building at 1500 N. State Street will be renovated in the new year to accommodate showers, laundry, and respite beds for people experiencing homelessness. Illustration courtesy Unity Care NW

Empathy is the Answer

While researching successful hygiene center models, The Way Station partners visited Urban Rest Stop in Seattle. A common theme in conversations with experts on the issue of homelessness has been the power of dignity to restore hope and create pathways out of homelessness. “The Urban Rest Stop has allowed me to clean up in order to help me get employment,” one client said in a testimonial. “They have treated me fairly and with dignity. Without these services, it would have been infinitely more difficult to improve my situation.” The Way Station will model the empathetic, trauma-informed approach that Unity Care NW has been using to effectively engage with patients and neighbors including those experiencing homelessness.

UCNW recently brought Ryan Dowd, the Executive Director of the second largest homeless shelter in America, to train its staff in using empathy-driven approaches to compassionately and effectively de-escalate situations and manage conflict. UCNW also partnered with the City of Bellingham, Bellingham Public Library, and the Mount Baker Theatre to offer this same training to more than 800 staff from local businesses and nonprofits. Empathy doesn’t mean excusing and accepting all of a person’s negative behaviors, it just asks that we approach others with awareness that their unique experience and biology impact their way of moving through the world. This can make all the difference for a person on the journey out of homelessness.

Complimentary Whatcom County Health Department and Opportunity Council programs will be co-located at the site to provide wrap-around services to help Way Station visitors out of homelessness. Illustration courtesy Unity Care NW

A person doesn’t need to be specially trained to help in the fight against homelessness and an organization doesn’t have to be focused on social services to contribute to addressing the housing crisis. Everyone one can do something to move the needle on homelessness. Unity Care NW is excited to deepen its own commitment to disrupting the cycle of homelessness. Partnering on The Way Station, with a trauma-informed and empathetic approach, will work to remove barriers to basic health and hygiene needs and help more people get into permanent housing.

To find out more about The Way Station or to get involved, please go to unitycarenw.org/health-and-hygiene.

About Unity Care NW

The mission of Unity Care NW (UCNW) is to increase the years of healthy life in the people and communities we serve. UCNW is a federally-qualified health center with sites in Bellingham and Ferndale. Established in 1982, the nonprofit organization provides medical, dental, behavioral health, and pharmacy services to over 22,000 Whatcom County residents who consider Unity Care NW their medical home. Services are available for all people regardless of their ability to pay.

WCLS Welcomes Alix Prior as the New Ferndale Library Manager

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LocalTalk Contributor

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Alix Prior Ferndale Library — Alix Prior. Photo courtesy Whatcom County Library System

Submitted by Whatcom County Library System

Alix Prior is the new manager of the Ferndale Library. She succeeds Sarah Koehler who retired earlier this summer after 25 years with the Whatcom County Library System. As manager of the 15,000-square-foot, city-owned library building, Prior works with a team of 24 staff members to deliver library services to the Ferndale community.

“Alix’s professional background and her personal affinity for library work make her well-suited for this position,” says Whatcom County Library System Executive Director Christine Perkins. “Her experience leading teams, overseeing facilities, managing projects, and providing direct services through a trauma-informed lens aligns with needs at the Ferndale Library and is sure to inform our strategic goal to serve everyone in our communities equitably. We’re thrilled to welcome her to the library system and hope Ferndale residents will drop by the library to say hello.”

Prior earned her undergraduate degree at Western Washington University and a master’s degree in social work from Portland State University. She held a variety of roles supporting programs that provide shelter to individuals and families in Portland, Ore. She also worked for four years as the director of SafeChoice, a domestic violence program in Vancouver, Wash. Prior moved to Ferndale in November 2021 and had been working as a housing programs coordinator with the Opportunity Council.

“I grew up going to the library,” she says. “And before starting as manager, I visited the Ferndale Library at least once a week with my son.” A fan of historical fiction, Prior’s favorite library services include the Libby app, children’s programs and pre-school learning kits.

She adds that library services play an integral role in meeting community needs and providing a safe haven. “Beyond reading and literature, the library provides access to information, technology and research,” she says. “The library has a significant role in community development. By bringing people together in a public space open to all, we create opportunities for families and individuals to learn and grow. And we strengthen the community with programs and other services.”

Prior looks forward to engaging with the Ferndale community. “I want to learn and to be active in community growth,” she says. “I want to hear what the community needs and to evaluate how the library can serve those needs.” Her community activities include serving on the board of Ferndale Community Services.

The Tiki Bar Is Open: Red Rum Serves Up Tropical-Style Refreshment

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Matt Benoit

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Red-Rum-Bellingham-Bar-Interior-2022 — To enter Bellingham's Red Rum tiki bar is to immediately forget the city's often dark and gloomy winter weather. Photo credit: Matt Benoit

It’s generally agreed upon that the first tiki bar — a palm frond-encrusted oasis where anyone can approach a bartender and ask for a drink with some fruit and as much rum as possible — was the product of a man born quite far from Polynesia.

Donn Beach, an eventual World War II veteran who grew up in Texas, opened the “Don the Beachcomber” bar in mid-1930s Hollywood. Beach made incredibly strong “Rhum Rhapsodies,” as he called his beverages, and these included the legendary “Zombie” — a fruity but incredibly strong drink containing three types of rum. When made with 151-proof rum, it can be served to someone by setting it on fire.

The popularity of tiki bars in America grew from California in the 1930s to a nationwide fad in the years after World War II. A mix of authentic and not-so-authentic influences from Hawaii, the South Pacific, and the Caribbean, the modern tiki bar offers patrons a place to kick back, relax, and pretend they’re on vacation.

In Bellingham, the tiki bar wasn’t an offering in a place filled with craft breweries until 2018, when Red Rum opened its doors at 113 East Magnolia Street. A classic tiki bar experience, it is undoubtedly the only Whatcom County watering hole featuring real pufferfish skeletons as lighting fixtures.

Red Rum serves up great takes on the heavy hitters of tiki bar culture – including this elaborate version of the Zombie with 151-proof rum. Don’t say we didn’t warn you. Photo credit: Matt Benoit

Bellingham resident Andy Kawamoto co-owns Red Rum with longtime friend, former bandmate, and current business partner Aaron Roeder. Kawamoto moved to Bellingham from Seattle in 1998 to attend Western Washington University. He never left, and for 15 years served as bartender at Railroad Avenue’s now-defunct Casa Que Pasa.

Red Rum was primarily the concept of Roeder, a descendent of historic locals Henry and Victor Roeder and former owner of downtown haunts like the 3B Tavern and Cap Hansen’s. As a true tiki enthusiast, Roeder pitched the idea of opening a tiki bar to Kawamoto, who then dove into the history and culture of such places.

“The more I researched, the more I really fell in love with the tiki culture,” Kawamoto says.

A Moai-like face greets patrons inside the tiki bar at 113 East Magnolia Street. Photo credit: Matt Benoit

The bar’s name, as you might suspect, is a reference to one of the most infamous scenes in Stanley Kubrick’s film “The Shining,” where ‘red rum’ is murder spelled backwards. The bar owners liked the name over others they considered because the bar’s interior has a red glow to it, and its primary spirit is rum.

“We had a bunch of other ideas to incorporate ‘red rum’ references into the bar, but we ran out of time before we opened and they got pushed to the backburner,” Kawamoto says. “Maybe we can revisit them some day.”

Real pufferfish skeletons serve as lighting fixtures inside the bar. Photo credit: Matt Benoit

Entering Red Rum is to be instantly transported from the reality of living somewhere that often sees too much rain and not enough sunlight (in winter, at least). Thatched hut booths, bamboo wall coverings, and plenty of tiki statues dot a low-lit landscape where food and rum flow freely to the tunes of vintage music.

Red Rum’s drink menu features all the heavy hitters of the tiki bar: Mai Tais, Zombies, Fogcutters, Painkillers, and Sidewinder’s Fangs join lesser-known but equally tasty concoctions like the Planet of the Apes and Chief Lapu Lapu.

House cocktails include lime margaritas, piña coladas, raspberry mojitos, strawberry-lime daiquiris, and their signature $5 tropical rum slushie, which contains white rum and a strawberry-guava flavor.

Opened in 2018, Red Rum offers patrons plenty of comfortable seating surrounded by bamboo, thatched hut and tiki statue decor. Photo credit: Matt Benoit

Kawamoto referenced many books while curating Red Rum’s drink menu and found the process incredibly fun.

“There are several recipes for each tiki cocktail, so it was a lot of making the same drink different ways and trying them and tweaking them and making them taste as balanced as possible,” he says. “We noticed that many of the classic recipes were either way too limey or way too sweet. A lot of the time it was like, ‘How is this even a recipe?!’”

Red Rum’s Mai Tai uses the 1944 recipe from Oakland’s famous Trader Vic’s, and their Zombie comes from 1945 instructions of San Francisco’s iconic Tonga Room.

To enter Bellingham’s Red Rum tiki bar is to immediately forget the city’s often dark and gloomy winter weather. Photo credit: Matt Benoit

Kawamoto is a particular fan of the classic Mai Tai but is also fond of Three Dots and a Dash (white and dark rum with passion fruit, lime, and orange) and Captain’s Grog (white and dark rum, Cointreau, with flavors of grapefruit, orange, lime, almond, and vanilla).

“I love the different flair that gives each drink personality and I love seeing people’s reactions when you set their drink in front of them,” he says. “Some reactions are priceless.”

Employees hand-squeeze the fruit juices used in the bar’s tiki drinks and house cocktails on a daily basis. Kawamoto calls it a labor of love, and one that hopefully adds to a tropical experience where customers leave feeling that their beverage is among the best cocktails they’ve ever tasted.

The food menu of Red Rum consists of appetizers and sandwiches. The former includes chicken wings, bacon-wrapped avocado pieces, coconut prawns, and chicharrones, while the latter includes Caribbean fish, Jamaican jerk chicken, and vegetarian options.

Red Rum is also known to occasionally feature live music, as well as Thursday night karaoke, for when you’ve had enough rum to make you believe your voice is just as good as Adele’s.

So, when you can’t hop on a plane and you’d like to forget the impending gloom of winter, a stop at Red Rum might be just what the witch doctor ordered.

Red Rum is open Tuesday through Wednesday from 4 p.m. to midnight, and Thursday through Saturday from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m.

PeaceHealth Partners With Seattle Children’s to Launch New Healthcare Initiatives

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Kelley White

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Partnerships in healthcare can align and become highly beneficial to the most vulnerable among us, offering advanced care plans amid a strong and cooperative atmosphere. To improve the healthcare of newborn patients and the ability to treat premature newborns, PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center is entering an exciting collaboration with Seattle Children’s Hospital — along with massive preparations for the partnership in the childbirth center. Nurse Manager Gallit Eni, Pediatric Hospitalist and Medical Director for pediatrics Dr. Mara Kelley, and Pediatric Hospitalist and Associate Medical Director over newborn medicine Dr. Brooke Jardine sat down with WhatcomTalk to discuss PeaceHealth St. Joseph’s brand-new directive in union with Seattle Children’s Hospital.

“We are currently licensed to a special care nursery, but we’ve been operating as a modified special care nursery,” says Eni. “We have always taken care of patients of any gestation but those babies that are less than 34 weeks are transferred out to a higher level of care. Now, with the collaboration, we will have the ability to care for sicker babies.”

PeaceHealth St. Joseph’s labor and delivery unit has always had a solid connection with Seattle Children’s Hospital when it involves a patient with higher care needs. Now, they can put that partnership in writing while vastly improving the quality of life for community patients.

“We’ll be able to keep patients within our community and care for our patients at PeaceHealth,” Eni says. “We’re still not going to be able to keep all babies, but we’ll be able to care for them and transfer them if they’re less than 32 weeks. With this collaboration, we can care for babies 32 weeks and above, versus 34 weeks and above.”

To reach this goal, PeaceHealth St. Joseph’s has been extremely busy, planning each step of preparation with great detail and care.

“It’s been quite a ride,” says Eni. Preparing and caring for 32-week-old babies doesn’t just include the hard work of nursing and provider staff. “We’ve been collaborating with the whole hospital.”

The pharmacy provides different medications necessary for babies born a little earlier. Respiratory therapists help babies that may need more respiratory assistance. The nutrition unit assists babies that need a different type of help than is typically offered by other staff nutritionists. Even the obstetricians are part of the collaboration because they, of course, care for the mother of the newborn baby.

As pediatric hospitalists, Dr. Jardine and Dr. Kelley work to perfect a newborn’s care from every angle. Both are excited to bring the partnership with Seattle Children’s to life.

“We’ve had a strong pediatric presence for years at St. Joseph’s Medical Center with really committed doctors, amazing special care unit nurses, and respiratory therapists,” says Dr. Kelley. “We are always looking, as pediatricians, at how to optimize care in our community.”

The goal is to avoid families having to travel south for premature newborn care and to optimize what our local hospital can do. The partnership with Seattle Children’s Hospital does just that. “We are going to grow a level two special care nursery and afford our birth parents the opportunity to live in their community, care for their families at home, and also be really present for their babies during this time,” Dr. Kelley says.

There are two main components to the improved healthcare in this collaboration: neonatology with telehealth and telerounding. “By Department of Health regulations, we have to have a neonatologist to be able to achieve this new level of care,” says Dr. Kelley, “Neonatologist Dr. Hedstrom has been assigned to us and she spends a lot of time with us doing pathway development, with policy development, and also virtual and hands-on education.”

With the aid of a specially designed device, an on-call neonatologist for telehealth can join providers on a resuscitation or stabilization, treatment involving a newborn right after birth, and ensuring the safety and preparedness of a newborn until they require transportation.

“Telerounding will grant us the opportunity to go from bedside to bedside a couple times a week,” Dr. Kelley says. “We will be able to talk about how each baby is doing and make sure we have an interdisciplinary look at each baby’s healthcare needs.”

One of the most important aspects to improved newborn care is a critical examination of their nutritional needs in conjunction with other — still developing, yet critical — bodily functions.

“This is going to allow us to keep babies that are eight weeks premature, and a lot of the services those babies need we are already providing,” says Dr. Jardine. “The main things these babies potentially need are increased support for their nutrition, their temperature regulation, and their respiratory support. We have several new protocols, pathways, and plans of care. We’ve really looked into the nutritional needs for these babies in terms of calories and some of the other necessary nutrients they need to develop clear plans for their overall nourishment.”

Dr. Jardine also praises another recent development of PeaceHealth St. Joseph’s in relation to newborn nourishment: a donor breastmilk program. “We now have a donor breastmilk program where patients can receive donor breastmilk until parents can produce enough of their own breastmilk,” Dr. Jardine says. “This has been in place since January.”

When the collaboration goes live, patients can expect a new dimension to an already robust healthcare fellowship between PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center and Seattle Children’s Hospital, an outstanding achievement for the staff PeaceHealth St. Joseph in Bellingham.

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Health Department Urges Preventative Measures as Whatcom Sees Second Monkeypox Case

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LocalTalk Contributor

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Submitted by the Whatcom County Health Department

A person in their 20s has become the second Whatcom County resident with confirmed Monkeypox Virus (MPV). This person was not hospitalized and is isolating at home. We are working to identify anyone who may be a close contact of this person.

It is important that everyone follow basic precautions to reduce the risk of catching and spreading MPV. Anyone can get this virus through close contact, and it usually spreads through skin-to-skin contact. It can take up to three weeks from the date of exposure before someone develops symptoms, but in most cases symptoms develop within 7-14 days.

MPV Prevention Tips

Avoid close, skin-to-skin contact with people who have a rash, sores, or blisters.
Avoid sexual activity with multiple partners, or with partners who have sex with multiple people. Currently, most cases are transmitted by skin-to-skin contact during sex. Condoms may help reduce your exposure to MPV, however, condoms alone are likely not enough to prevent MPV.
Wear a high-quality mask like an N95 if you will be physically close to someone with MPV.
Do not touch the body fluids, bedsheets, or clothing of someone with MPV without protective equipment.

Whatcom County has enough MPV vaccine to meet current demand, as well as treatment drugs (TPOXX) that have been pre-positioned to treat anyone with MPV who is at high risk of severe disease. Close contacts of Whatcom County’s second case are being offered the vaccine, as well as others that meet the criteria for vaccination. Testing for MPV is now widely available through most commercial medical laboratories and can be ordered by any doctor.

“Anyone with unexplained rash or sores should seek medical evaluation, especially if they have had high risk or anonymous sexual encounters, ” said Dr. Greg Thompson, Co-Health Officer.

If additional cases are identified, we will update our MPV webpage at www.whatcomcounty.us/mpv. We will not send a message every time a new case is identified. We will send out additional messages about MPV if needed.

Additional Resources

Whatcom County: http://www.whatcomcounty.us/mpv
Washington State Department of Health: https://doh.wa.gov/monkeypox
CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/prevention/protect-yourself.html

Northwest Washington Fair Thanks Community and Announces 2023 Dates

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LocalTalk Contributor

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Submitted by the Northwest Washington Fair

“Thank you to our community partners, over 300 seasonal employees, countless volunteers, vendors, exhibitors and fairgoers for making the 2022 Northwest Washington Fair a success”, says Selena Burgess, Fair Manager. “A successful Fair allows us to continue to pursue our mission, which is to educate about agriculture, provide experiences with positive competition, provide diverse entertainment, social interactions and lasting memories.”

The 2022 Northwest Washington Fair brought people together over ten days this summer, with a 23% attendance increase from 2021. This year’s attendance shows continuous growth, however the measurement of success goes far beyond attendance numbers. Non-profit involvement, community members of all ages exhibiting their projects and overall guest experiences are all goals the Fair aims to meet.

We look forward to celebrating with you next summer, August 10-19, 2023.

For Northwest Washington Fair Association updates join the email list at https://www.nwwafair.com/email.aspx.

Voyage to Third Planet: A Hip, Far Out Bellingham Boutique

By

Anna Diehl

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third-planet-bellingham-storefront — Third Planet’s storefront features its address, “200 HOLLY,” written in tiles by the entrance. Photo credit: Anna Diehl

At the corner of Holly and Commercial Streets, Bellingham locals can find a gateway into another world. Third Planet is a boutique specializing in clothes, crystals, jewelry, pipes, and other eclectic gifts.

“The store started almost nine years ago, in February of 2014,” says Manager Erika Millage. “I’m the only employee who’s been there since the beginning.”

Before it became a store, Third Planet began with a wholesale business distributing hand-carved statues from Bali, Indonesia.

“The business started 25 years ago,” Millage says. “The owner, Gabe, started as a wholesale importer from Bali. He wanted to find a way to give jobs to some of the individuals in that country who were less fortunate; to buy products from them so they would have more money and better jobs.”

Manager Erika Millage has been with Third Planet since the shop opened in 2014. Photo credit: Anna Diehl

Today, Bellingham shoppers can enjoy Third Planet’s bohemian charm at both its storefront and booths at community functions.

Third Planet Products

Third Planet offers a wide range of items with a countercultural mystique.

“We honestly have a little bit of everything,” says Millage. “We sell jewelry, crystals, clothes, a lot of gifts. We’ve got décor items, but by far, jewelry and crystals are our top departments.”

Other items include enamel pins, stickers, candles, incense, pride flags, and Bellingham flag merch (in association with nearby Northwest Corner Goods). Third Planet’s ecommerce site displays a limited selection of the items that are available in-store.

Third Planet’s crystals are among its most popular items. Photo credit: Anna Diehl

“The stone rings are extremely popular and the crystal grab bags have been a big hit,” Millage says.

Third Planet distributes one-of-a-kind merchandise from artisans far and near.

“We sell a lot of local stuff,” says Millage. “So we’ve been selling a lot of earrings by Art by Ciara; we sell a lot of earrings by the Goat’s Coat. We also sell a lot of candles from a company called the Queer Candle Co, and then a lot of the rings I’ve purchased from different vendors from trade shows. So a lot of the sterling silver, the stone set, are things that I’ve hand-picked.”

Community Involvement

Third Planet makes frequent appearances at local events, including the Bellingham Pride Festival.

Visitors to Third Planet can find quirky, colorful goods in every corner of the store. Photo credit: Anna Diehl

“I’m on several different committees of the Downtown Bellingham Partnership,” Millage says. “We participated in the Commercial Street Block Party, where several of the businesses on this block have gotten together and decided to throw some community events.”

Third Planet frequently supports local nonprofits. These include Kulshan Supported Employment, “where people with disabilities have come and trained at the store to see if working in a retail environment would be something that would work for them,” Millage says. Additionally, Millage donates to nonprofit silent auctions.

“Really, most people who reach out for a donation for an event, we participate in that,” says Millage. “And then we also always do the Lydia Place fashion show; we’ve been doing that, I think, for seven years.”

The store has increasingly gained recognition from media outlets, such as Bellingham Alive and Cascadia Weekly.

Third Planet’s storefront features a wider selection of items than are previewed online. Photo credit: Anna Diehl

“Third Planet has been very well received,” says Millage. “We’ve really strived to create an environment where everybody feels welcome, where everybody feels equal.” One of the things Millage is most proud of is that Third Planet has created an inclusive environment. “And then, during the shutdown and following the shutdown, in the throes of the pandemic, it was really wonderful to see how much the community supported us, as well.”

Being Down-to-Earth in Bellingham

Millage says the most rewarding part of running Third Planet is “the people. Helping people find what they’re looking for, helping artists reach customers because I know that’s a barrier for a lot of creators, and then just being a safe space is the thing I’m most excited about.”

Third Planet continues to grow in inventory and community support.

“My plans for the future are to be here for a very long time,” says Millage. “I love running the store. It’s a great staff — a lot of us have been working together for a really long time. The goal for me is to make sure everybody is having a really fulfilling life while also having a good work life, too.”

Readers can learn more about Third Planet on its website, which calls for artist submissions.

“I really love my job, and I feel very grateful that a place like this exists in Bellingham now,” Millage says. “I’ve lived here on and off since I was seven and I’m 36 now, so almost 30 years. This is the kind of place I would have liked to have seen when I was younger. It feels really great that it’s turned into such a community anchor of the downtown area.”

Art and Happiness: A Retail Store and a Portal To Other Worlds

By

Steven Arbuckle

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Art-and-Happiness-cards — Local artists find what they need to make their products at Art & Happiness, as well as a place to sell them. Photo credit: Steven Arbuckle

Some of the best places to visit are those that mean different things to different people — or maybe different things to the same person as they move through their life. Bellingham’s Art and Happiness is one of those spots: a small, friendly retail shop that also happens to hold portals to magical dimensions.

Owner Elli Anderson grew up in Arlington, and her family moved to Wenatchee when she was about 13. There she met Taylor, the man who would later become her husband, but she knew she wouldn’t stay. “It was always my plan to move back to the coast, because I love everything green, and mountains and the ocean. This is just where my heart wants to be,” she says. After graduation, she and Taylor attended Western Washington University, where she fell in love with Bellingham.

Anderson studied psychology at Western, but art has always been a part of her life. “As soon as I learned how to write, I was making miniature books,” she says. “When I moved up here, I focused on psychology, because human psychology is fascinating, and humans are amazing. They’re weird and wonderful, and art expression really ties into that. Sometimes we get kind of caught up in saying ‘Who am I,’ or ‘What am I supposed to be,’ and art is a great way to focus on that self-expression.”

Along with the fantastic, crafters find a wide array of practical goods for sale at Art and Happiness. Photo credit: Steven Arbuckle

Anderson’s store — which is full of every art supply you can think of, and a few you didn’t know existed —hints that she doesn’t have a lot of rules for artistic expression. “I get people in here that say, ‘I’m not really an artist,’ and that always kind of takes me aback. We’re not born thinking we’re not artists, someone probably told you that you can’t draw, and that is not my style at all. There are so many different ways you can jump off, and art is about creating things that bring you joy, make you happy. When you’re creating art and you are in the moment, I refer to that as magic. You just can’t help but create magic.”

And shortly after the conversation turns to magic, Anderson drops the bombshell: “I don’t know if you know this: I’m a real-life fairy.”

Anderson started out as a caregiver for adults with developmental disabilities. During that time, she also took a job at the local craft store Stamp-A-Doodle, because she needed a little fun in her life. “And then I met a fairy at the Farmers Market, and I knew that this is what I was meant to do,” she says.

Fairy doors are among the projects that artists can create with a little help from Elli Anderson and company. Photo credit: Steven Arbuckle

From that point on, the world of the fairies became a part of her life. “I worked overnight as a caregiver, I worked at Stamp-A-Doodle as a cashier, and I did face painting and balloon animals at the Farmers Market,” Anderson says. As time went by, she struck out on her own, and began to import more and more of her fairy world into Bellingham.

“Kids would ask me questions all the time, and I started to tell stories,” Anderson says. “Eventually, I drew a fairy map that went with the stories I had been telling. I hired other fairies, had them find places on the ferry map they were from, and then they would get to tell stories to kids, too.”

When she got the opportunity to open her own shop, Anderson moved the fairies in with her to create a multi-layered adventure that can mean many different things to each visitor. Yes, it’s a great place to buy paints and papers, but it’s also full of intrigue and adventure.

One of the fairies on staff will gladly tell you that her favorite color is rainbow, as she camouflages herself among the stock. Photo credit: Steven Arbuckle

“There are nine hidden fairy doors all over the shop and a giant fairy castle which is actually a fairy mailbox. Kids can write letters, and a real-life fairy will write them back,” says Anderson. “And I will tell you, I am not the one that writes the letters back.”

A visit to the shop’s website reveals that the fairies are available to host kids’ parties, as well.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg: the website offers a full schedule of art classes for kids, and for kids of all ages. You’ll also find a monthly challenge that prompts artists to explore new media, craft kits to get projects rolling, and a blog to highlight media that artists might not be familiar with.

This rotating display is not only a fairy castle but also serves as a post office for communicating with the fairy world. Photo credit: Steven Arbuckle

In addition, when Stamp-A-Doodle closed its doors, Anderson bought the business and rolled it into her own. “We have a lot of local artists that want to put their stamp on their greeting cards they’re making and selling here,” she says. “But we also make stamps for banks, courthouses, and hospitals. We do notary stamps, address stamps, and logo stamps.”

Somehow, Anderson manages to offer all of these services — and a larger-than-life atmosphere — while also keeping things down-to-Earth. “My business is me. Who you are is why people come into the shop,” she says. “I have a lot of knowledge, but I also love my customers. I love to create community with them, get to know them, and help them with their projects, because I want people to be successful in their endeavors. That’s really important to me.”

Downtown Bellingham Partnership and Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce Host Town Hall Meeting Focused on City Center’s Safety and Security

By

LocalTalk Contributor

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Submitted by Downtown Bellingham Partnership

The Downtown Bellingham Partnership (DBP), in partnership with the Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BRCC), invite the public and business community to a town hall meeting focusing on the city center’s safety and security.

The public meeting is scheduled Tuesday, September 20 at 5:00 pm at the Old City Hall in the Rotunda Room.

The town hall features a panel discussion about State of Washington laws enacted in 2021 resulting in change to law enforcement response, pursuit, and arrest authority. Local response agencies supporting mental health and substance use interventions and treatment alongside, or in replacement to law enforcement teams, will also be present. Panelists include 40^th District State Representative Alex Ramel, 42nd District Representative Alicia Rule, Bellingham Police Department Deputy Chief Don Almer, Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo, and Malora Christensen and Gail DeHoog from the Whatcom County Health Department’s Ground-Level Response and Coordinated Engagement program (GRACE).

The DBP and the BRCC organized the event to inform the public about what laws were changed, the local impact, how to response teams are developing operations.

“Our downtown community reports a substantial change in police response time, availability, and action since the laws changed last year. We also know property theft, among other crime, has risen in parallel,” says DBP Executive Director, Alice Clark. “We felt it was important to host a community check-in as we approach a full year of enactment. We hope this unique opportunity to hear about the rationale, current models to support change, and future options with stakeholders from government and police.”

“Public safety is vital to a successful community,” says BRCC President and CEO, Guy Occhiogrosso. “Throughout our region, we are seeing increased safety concerns, and it feels that many of those are based in our downtown area. A vibrant downtown is crucial for our community — we need our businesses, employees, customers, and visitors to feel safe and welcome.”

The event will run from 5–6:30 pm with doors opening at 4:30 pm and is free to the public.

More information related to the event Lens on Law Enforcement Reform & Legislature: Town Hall can be found on DBP’s website.

Bellingham Poet Lands Prize, Publishing Deal With National Poetry Series Win

By

LocalTalk Contributor

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Tennison Black — Photo credit: Andrea Michelle

Local poet, Tennison S. Black, was named a winner of the National Poetry Series for their poetry collection, Survival Strategies. The manuscript, selected by judge Adrienne Su, will be published by University of Georgia Press in the fall of 2023.

The National Poetry Series is a prominent literary awards program that sponsors the publication of five books of poetry each year. The manuscripts are selected by poets of national stature through a nationwide open competition.

Tennison S. Black has been named a winner of the National Poetry Series for its poetry collection ‘Survival Strategies.’ Photo credit: Andrea Michelle

Black graduated Western Washington University in 2015 and went on to attain her MFA in the state of her birth at Arizona State University. Survival Strategies reveals a poet grappling with her past as a sensitive person amid the rugged realities of life in the Sonoran desert of the Southwest but it is not without a nod to the Northwest as poems also explore her deep need for the ocean and all forms of water.

On the awards website, Pulitzer Prize winner, Natasha Trethewey, who served two terms as U.S. Poet Laureate said of the National Poetry Series, “Not only is it the most distinguished series, it is also the only one I know of that consistently identifies, at an early stage in their careers, the writers we are likely to be reading for a long time.”

Prior to the win, Black was best known in Bellingham as one of “the tea ladies,” as she is the former owner of Misfits Bliss, a tea company that could be found at the local farmer’s market from 2009-2012. She shuttered the business to complete her education and pursue her passion for writing.

In addition to the publishing contract, Black will receive $10,000.

For more information about Black’s work visit http://tennisonblack.com. And for more information about the National Poetry Series visit http://nationalpoetryseries.org.

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