Ho-Ho-Hobo Wreaths Tell Stories

Above: Ahmad, 26, makes a wreath at the Ho-Ho-Hobo holiday wreath stand at the tent city on the corner of State Avenue and Franklin Street. 

Ho-Ho-Hobo Wreaths Now Available 

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Ho-Ho-Hobo is back! 

This year, the holiday wreath stand organized by Walker Stephens and other volunteers is located in a tent encampment on the corner of State Avenue and Franklin Street in downtown Olympia.

Wreaths are available for a sliding scale donation starting at $20. Each wreath, some classic, some funky, has a tag with the name of the person who made it. 

Stephens hung out near the stand and explained the concept: $5.00 goes immediately toward the person who made it, $5.00 goes toward the person who sells it, $5.00 goes toward Stephens’ gas and wreath-making supplies, and the rest goes into a community pot. 

At a meeting held weekly on Wednesdays, 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. at 115 Legion Way SW, everyone decides as a group what to do with the extra funds. The meeting is open to everyone regardless of previous involvement or housing status.

Each wreath tells a story. Sometimes, the person is there to tell it in their own voice.

Ahmad, 26, has been homeless for a few months. He has lived in Olympia since he was 11.

“I’m a slacker, a freeloader, but I do need help. I’ve had close calls and eye-opening situations,” he says, working on a wreath at the Ho-Ho-Hobo wreath making stand.

He allowed Little Hollywood to tell his story because he thought it would help others.

Spelling his name, Ahmad says his name is Muslim.

“I still have yet to find myself in a religion, but I believe in a Father/God/Mother  Nature. We are like gods and nature. I actually think there’s two – not just one.”

“I dabble, I use, I’m a smoker,” he volunteers in the next sentence, his voice soft.

“I was looking for a place to stay between the (Union Gospel) Mission and the Salvation Army...sometimes you don’t have the energy in the cold weather. It’s freezing. If you’re not prepared for it, it can take quite a bit of a toll on you. Someone died over there you know,” he said, pointing to the tent where a woman with health issues lived and died last Sunday.

Like many downtown residents, he discovered the tent encampment to be something of a haven. Like a city, it’s a community. While we spoke, people were coming and going, checking in with each other.

“This kind of stuff (the bustle of activity) is perfect because it shows you a way to hustle with the bare necessities. We can make music. We can use this parking lot for haircuts and things that could get people more income. It generates a lot of ideas. Everyone here has their story. Different walks of life in here, you’d get different responses. I haven’t been here that long….

When asked what happened, Ahmed said he got kicked out of the house by his mom in July. He had a tent, but he gave it away to someone he said needed it more than he did. Ahmad is staying with a friend.

“Then I got in trouble at Walmart for shoplifting. I tried to go back home but my mom and I didn’t agree. She’s at that stage in her life – she’s reaching a time limit, like, if you don’t get certain things done, that’s going to affect other things. The world has changed in the 26 years since I’ve been born, and we see things differently.

“She’s done some things that I’m not very familiar with – she works two jobs, she raised me by herself and I always saw her as a strong woman until I started getting in trouble with the law. She didn’t really know certain things that I was doing, and our communication was affected by it. 

“She never told me that she took out mortgages and loans for her house, so her house went into foreclosure and she’s looking at going out into the streets. This is what she’s experiencing. When the real estate owner took it under his name, we weren’t able to stay there any longer,” Ahmad said, his thoughts drifting away.

“She wants me to be the best I can be,” he added after a long pause.

Little Hollywood asked him if she knows where he is. He said yes, but he hasn’t spoken with her. He has spoken with his sister who brought him clothes.

“That’s what made me rethink where I’m at because they gave me a few things.”

Asked if he knows how to get services, he says he does. He said he is eating and has a place to stay at the camp.

“I just get bored. I’m able to work. I’m able-bodied…. I can pretty much do anything,” he said. 

I watched him choose cedar boughs and holly for the wreath and slowly wrap wire around them.

“You look like you are creative,” I said, and meant it.

“I’ve done landscaping - a little bit of everything. I like working with my hands. I want to go to school and get a degree in engineering, like mechanical engineering. I want to build machines. That would be cool,“ he smiled.

“I believe in fate and right now God or whoever is up there is making it work,” Ahmad said, continuing to make the wreath. “I usually don’t talk so much.” 

Above: Ahmad is almost finished with his wreath.

Holiday Wreath Supplies Needed

Ho-Ho-Hobo is accepting donations of markers, ribbons, materials for name tags, plastic ornaments and miscellaneous, beautiful and funky decorations for decorating wreaths. 

Supplies can be dropped off at the red Ho-Ho-Hobo booth in the tent city on the corner of State Avenue and Franklin Street. The booth is open from 10:00 a.m. until dark every day except Wednesdays. 

Other wreath vending locations are being planned by organizers. 

On Saturday, a Ho-Ho-Hobo booth did brisk business outside the Capitol Theater during the annual Duck-the-Malls holiday bazaar.

“We earned $450 today outside Duck the Malls - a record! That’s after paying out $180 to our sales team and the folks who made all those wreaths!” Stephens reported after the event.

As for the name Ho-Ho-Hobo, the name was created by and for the street community who make the holiday wreaths with love and humor.

Someone working on a wreath burst into laughter when Stephens added, “The only people who complain about the name are housed people.”  

For a previous story about the Ho-Ho-Hobo wreath stand, go to http://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com/2016/12/ho-ho-hobos-peoples-holiday-stand.html 

Above: Wreaths are available by donation at the Ho-Ho-Hobo wreath stand in the tent city at the corner of State Avenue and Franklin Street.

Ho-Ho-Hobo: The People’s Holiday Stand

Above: Tim and Charity were making wreathes at the Ho-Ho-Hobo wreath stand located near Old School Pizzeria in downtown Olympia on Thursday. Charity says this was her second wreath. “The first one took me an hour and a half but it was fun! This will be a tradition, even if we have a home,” she laughed.

By Janine Gates

http://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Ho-Ho-Hobo…no, that’s not a tastless joke…it’s the name of a fun, innovative wreath stand created by and for the street community, who make the beautiful holiday wreaths at the stand with love and humor in downtown Olympia.

Located in the parking lot of Old School Pizzeria at 108 Franklin Street between 4th Avenue and State Street, the wreath stand's hours are 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., everyday except Wednesdays, until Christmas. 

Wreath stand volunteer Walker Stephens and a crew of others serve hot drinks and help members of the street community make the wreaths out of natural and found materials.

Donations for the wreaths are accepted on a sliding scale, but Stephens recommends $30. For that amount, $5.00 immediately goes to the person who made the wreath, $5.00 goes toward the person who collects brush for the wreaths, $5.00 goes toward gas and supplies, $10 goes toward laundry, and $5.00 goes toward a grand prize and holiday party. All additional profits go back into the community.

The project is into its second season. Last year, the stand sold 400 wreaths, which put $2,000 directly into street people’s pockets. 

A woman named Charity was busy making a wreath, her second one. 

“My first one sold already!” she said, with a beautiful smile. Charity said she is from Spokane and has been homeless for four years. She’s been in Olympia since October.

“...Homelessness just kind of happened, and it stays that way without you realizing how long it’s been….”

Above: Sean McCartney made a wreath at the Ho-Ho-Hobos stand. He is homeless and is willing to do odd jobs such as putting up Christmas lights.

Sean McCartney also made a wreath and said he stayed at Salvation Army on Wednesday night. He was third to the last one in before the shelter said they had no more room. He said he felt lucky, and tried to give his bed away to an older gentleman who couldn’t get in, but the man wouldn’t take it.

McCartney says he has been clean and sober for over just over two years. He doesn’t have a telephone with minutes on it, but asked Little Hollywood to let readers know that he is looking for work and willing to do odd jobs such as putting up Christmas lights. He is raising funds so he can get to California to see his sister’s wedding in a couple weeks. He said interested folks can stop by the wreath stand on Saturday from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. to meet him and chat.

Asked how he got involved organizing this activity, Stephens said that wreaths are the tree spirits’ way to welcome vulnerable spirits into the warmth of the home.

“I’m housed now, but I haven’t always been. This is to empower unhoused community members to advocate for themselves. Providing this service offers a little extra bump,” said Stephens.

Stephens said that due to city ordinances that criminalize survival, camps face constant evictions and sweeps, leading to ruined equipment. He was incredulous when he heard that the City of Olympia recently asked for bids from firms for up to $250,000 to clean up the mess caused by these evictions and relocations.

“It’s a mess street folks are proud to clean up themselves given the opportunity. Last year, our real focus was collecting soiled wet blankets and jackets. Through wreath revenues, we provided transportation and money for the laundry mat,” said Stephens. He is doing that again this year.

New this year is a competition for best wreath maker. Anyone may vote once per day from now until Christmas, and the overall winner will receive $200. Downtown workers and residents are encouraged to stop by regularly, and check out the constantly revolving selection of wreaths. Some wreaths are particularly stunning.

The wreath stand is also excited to repeat last year’s successful Christmas party with pizza provided by Old School Pizzeria. The idea is the spirit of giving: it is a party thrown by the street community, for the larger community. 

Connie Phegley, owner of Old School Pizzeria, is also vice-chair of the downtown Olympia Parking & Business Improvement Area (PBIA) board. The PBIA is a self-taxing district of over 400 downtown businesses. She is supportive of the Ho-Ho-Hobo stand, and offered up two business parking spaces for the effort. 

Phegley was also present at Thursday evening's neighborhood meeting to discuss the temporary use permit for Interfaith Works to open a daytime warming shelter. The PBIA board thanked the City of Olympia for its financial support of Interfaith Works at a recent council meeting.

“Street dependency presents many difficult realities that our business community struggles to address. We are very encouraged by Interfaith Works creating, and the greater community supporting, a safe and clean space for people to go during the day in the cold winter months for shelter, warmth and access to bathrooms and social services,” the board wrote in a November 22 letter to Olympia city councilmembers.

The group is accepting donations of warm survival supplies, interesting brush, such as pine, twigs, and holly, terracotta pots, candles, wreath frames and craft materials, and old campaign signs, which are perfect for cutting up to be used as name tags for the wreaths.

“It is a joyous opportunity for our community to get together and know itself better,” said Stephens.

To be on Ho-Ho-Hobo all volunteer staff, go down to the booth and sign up!

Above: Walker Stephens, in green coat, and volunteers keep the Ho-Ho-Hobo wreath stand productive. It is located in the parking lot next to Old School Pizzeria on Franklin Street, and just behind Dumpster Values in downtown Olympia. Walker is grateful to Old School Pizzeria and Bar Francis, a coffee shop inside Dumpster Values, which is providing the stand with hot coffee at cost.