News & Stories

• We asked…we listened: PNA looks to the future with help from community survey

  In the fall, we asked the community to contribute to our strategic planning process, and we were blown away by the response. Over 900 people took the time to share their thoughts through our online survey and in-person focus groups. Thank you to everyone who participated! We incorporated your input as we developed the Phinney Neighborhood Association’s Strategic Priorities for the next three years (2019–2021). These priorities reflect the current values that we commit to placing at the forefront of our decision making. Read more

• Remembering what matters: A story of kindness in Greenwood

  It’s dark out, and you’re standing at the curb. Rain spatters off cars as headlights cast shining light in swathes along the road, and the bare trees crackle overhead. It’s that all too familiar scene of waiting for a bus, of standing in the night for someone to come get you. When they do, we know all too well what a difference it makes when the door opens and we’re greeted with a smile. A wave...“Come on in.” Nathan Vass drives a bus for Seattle Metro for the sheer joy of it, and has become something of a local celebrity for his attitude ... At the Greenwood Senior Center, Erika Merz leads The Gathering Place, an enrichment program for people with early stage memory loss (ESML). To borrow Nathan’s words, she is “a radiant ball of kind, considerate, controlled positive energy.” ... She recently directed a film about memory loss, titled "Living with Memory Loss, In Our Own Words." It features members of The Gathering Place speaking to their experiences and trials. However, more than anything it speaks to hope. To the benefits of patience, kindness, and an open mind. The process of creating the film, however, caused her a bit of a headache. Or it did, until Nathan came along. Read more

• The Yakima Herald: Nonprofit that helps Yakima, Selah seniors in their homes launches services

  By Tammy Ayer. "Rides to the grocery store and medical appointments are an important perk of membership in the Phinney Neighborhood Association Village. So is help around the house. But perhaps the most valuable aspect of membership in the nonprofit, which serves an area of Northwest Seattle, is the social factor — the personal connection with others that often diminishes as people grow older. Isolation is an even bigger danger for those who are homebound. The Phinney organization, which helps members stay in their homes by providing a variety of services, has a Friendly Visitors group of volunteers who call members or check in on them in person for conversation and other social interaction. “There’s one woman who’s 102. She can’t see but wants someone to read the Bible to her,” said Ed Medeiros, a founder of the Phinney Neighborhood organization. Ed and Susan Medeiros were in Yakima on Monday to help launch the Yakima & Selah Neighbors’ Network during an event at the Yakima Valley Museum." Read more