Seattle architect Rex Holbein and I talked about his work and views on the issues surrounding homelessness. Rex founded the nonprofit Facing Homelessness in 2014 with its Window of Kindness in the University District of Seattle and the innovative BLOCK project of tiny homes. These projects still existed when I talked with him in late February 2024. Unfortunately, due to a lack of sustainable funding, Facing Homelessness closed its programs beginning in April. However, Holbein's podcast, "You Know Me Now," and the Circle of Ten projects he discusses in our interview continue. As Rex puts it, we have a "community crisis instead of a homelessness crisis." All of his work around homelessness has as its core the value of community building. We discussed the ethics involved with 'helping' people experiencing homelessness and the importance of being honest with ourselves about why we do (or don't do) work like his or mine--checking in on our personal agendas. As health or social care professionals, we have baked in professional norms of clear boundaries between us and our clients/patients. There are important benefits of these professional boundaries but there also are negative consequences. Rex mentioned how any person experiencing homelessness walking into most places of service knows they are "providing care to a person who is broken" and the unspoken idea of "I have, and you don't; therefore, I'm above" hovers around the interactions.

During a time of great turmoil in our country, along with a Supreme Court of the United States-sanctioned criminalization of homelessness, the kindness, humanity, and community-building of people like Rex Holbein are more important than ever.