Our Mom, Faith Parker, was a member of the Horizon House community for 16 years, until her death at age 99. My sister, Connie Miller, and I were pleased to join residents at the August all-house meeting to let you know how much our mother loved Horizon House and how much your ongoing care and the Residents’ Assistance Fund meant to her and our family. A little history:
Faith Parker moved to Seattle in 1992 and lived on her own in an apartment on Capitol Hill. She was an artist and an independent, outgoing person who enjoyed a busy social life with friends and family. In 1996 she moved into Horizon house where she could be closer to her connections, many of whom lived here, and to her church, Plymouth Congregational.
Mom was in an Independent Living apartment for ten years, enjoying the shared activities and proximity to the many attractions in downtown Seattle that Horizon House offers. She also continued her lifelong love of community service by volunteering at a low-income housing development near the Pike Place Market, by working with Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), and by reading to residents in Supported Living and Memory Support.
In 2006, when Mom began to have serious difficulties with short-term memory and degenerative back problems, we realized that she needed to move into Supported Living. Health Services Officer Lauri Warfield-Larson and other Horizon House staff worked carefully with our family to develop a coordinated care plan that included support from the Residents’ Assistance Fund, which augmented ongoing financial and in-kind contributions from our family. Horizon House residents are fortunate in having a home that is always there for them, even when, through no fault of their own, they exhaust their resources.
We are so grateful to the Horizon House staff, including the Philanthropy team and generations of donors, for helping our mother remain connected to the community of friends that meant so much to her, and for your warm and complete care until her passing in 2012. Thank you for letting us tell our story and for allowing us to encourage you to contribute—in any amount—to the annual Partners in Caring drive, which supports Residents’ Assistance and many other important funds.