Surviving to Thriving

SYM’s Year-end Campaign

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Week 1: Laying foundations to building upon them

In 2025, SYM has greeted clients in Breakfast Program, Drop-in and Case Management with “Good Morning” 8,260 times. With Outreach efforts added in, the number of greetings rises to 11,373. 

This simple greeting represents our mission to build relationships with each and every client. We believe that healthy relationships build a foundation of trust and familiarity that can lead a client to move from surviving to thriving. 

8,260 clients passing through our doors throughout the year means 8,260 times that SYM offers relationships, programs and services. Case management, activities / outings, healthy meals, and drop-in hang out time all offer ways that clients can engage with each other and SYM volunteers and staff. 

You can sustain this effort to move clients into the thriving space by contributing to SYM this December. 

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. - John 10:10 NIV

Week 2: Scarcity to abundance

Many clients that come to SYM need essential resources: socks, hand warmers, sleeping bags, a hot meal. SYM meets these needs with several foundational programs. 

The most basic is an outreach program called “Coffee Run”. This program started in fall of 2023 to meet the basic needs of those waking up outside in the University District. Small teams of staff and volunteers go out between 9-10am and serve hot coffee, oatmeal, and give out other resources. In 2025, SYM has served 994 cups of coffee on Coffee Run! Of course, with these cups of coffee comes a warm greeting. Coffee Run recipients can fall outside of SYM's client demographic, so we share additional appropriate resources as needed and available.

Within our youth and young adult community, Breakfast Program serves as a great touchpoint first thing in the morning. Clients need the sustenance of a warm and healthy breakfast as they recover from spending the night outside or in a tent and plan for the day coming up. Essential resources are available at Breakfast Program. 

Once those basic needs are met, and sometimes at the same time, SYM offers activities and outings to expand clients' experiences outside of surviving in the UD. Staff and volunteers have arranged outings to the Pumpkin Patch, Christmas Tree farm, Whirlyball, hikes and swimming in Lake Washington. We consider these experiences as essential. While clients work to experience more than the reality and feelings of scarcity to abundance, outings and activities not only create memories and deepen relationships with SYM volunteers and case managers but also help to develop and sustain a sense of self that may not be accessible when focusing on survival.

As all of SYM’s program participation numbers increase dramatically due to the changing landscape of Seattle homeless services, the Year-End campaign provides critical, sustaining support to these programs that meet basic needs of youth and young adults in the University District. Give today to keep these services available in 2026.

Week 3: Isolation to collaboration

week 4: A Client’s perspective

Week 5: The heart of sym

New Hours: SYM’s Drop-In Center is now open 10am-1pm, Monday-Friday

We serve unhoused youth and young adults from age 13 until their 27th birthday

Mission & Vision

To provide unhoused youth and young adults in Seattle’s University District with life-skills, resources, and relationships that bring hope and healing to their lives and the community.  

We are committed to:

Connecting through meaningful relationships. We honor the sacredness and uniqueness of the personal stories of unhoused young folks and seek to love them accordingly.

Partnering with our young people. We walk with them as they navigate the challenging structures of society. We use our resources and experience to help them achieve their goals and stability. We grieve with them when they fail and delight with them when they succeed. We provide opportunities for adventure that build community and self-esteem, practice basic skills, and expand their worldview.

Affirming their inherent worth. We communicate through our words and actions their worthiness of fulfillment and belonging. We recognize the importance of diversity of thought, life experience and identity, and champion diverse representation in our clientele and team.

SYM’s Impact
–To read more about our impact in the university district, click on the report below

Program video shot and edited by 2025 Program Intern, Will Forbes

History and continued aim

Over 1,043 young people are living on the streets of King County on any given night. For a number of reasons, every one of them tragic, young people brave the exposure and danger of the streets nightly, working hard to meet their needs in Seattle’s public spaces.

It is a common misconception that youth have the support and skills needed to find employment and housing, but for the majority of the young people we see, this is not the case. The underlying causes of youth homelessness include family conflict, learning disabilities, parental mental illness and/or substance abuse, neglect, and physical and sexual abuse. Many of these young people have never experienced healthy adult relationships.

Motivated by God’s love for all people, SYM’s aim since 1993 has been to build relationships with youth, teach them how to do life and affirm their inherent worth, so they can experience stability and healing.