Project Serve is hitting the streets of Snohomish County with a 100% community built trailer.
Jessica Dietsch is a Snohomish woman who was honored by Medical Teams International for her work serving the homeless throughout the pandemic.
“The Pandemic is what got me out of the streets with my camper," Dietsch said. "Everything was shut down so if you were homeless that’s where you stayed with no help.”
The family camper was packed up with donated baked goods and hot coffee was serviceable, but Jessica had bigger visions. Fortunately, she shared the idea on her Facebook page and the community rallied to make it a reality.
A rusty old horse trailer was transformed in to a thing of beauty. Jessica likens the transformation to the “street friends” she see’s each week. The rust and dents were merely cosmetic. With a little love and support the trailer is rolling again and that’s in thanks to many donors and volunteers.
“We even had a welder donate a ton of hours to make sure the trailer is safe,” she said.
The logo painted on the side of the new trailer was donated by Amigo Arts in Monroe. The wood paneling inside the trailer was repurposed from a neighbor's fence. Jessica’s father was the primary builder on the trailer that also features LED lighting for the darker months approaching.
“This isn’t my trailer, this is the community's trailer and I’m just driving it to care for our street friends” Dietsch said.
Jessica also wanted to highlight one of her volunteers, Amber.
“Her parole officer saw the last story on KING 5 and suggested to her that she reach out to me for her community service hours.”
Amber ultimately confessed to Dietsch that she had been homeless and lost custody of her children while living out of a car.
“She just kept showing up and was loving it because she could connect with homeless people in a way I couldn’t," Dietsch said. "She told them she was in their situation and they could make it out. That’s powerful”
Amber is now four years sober and says her experience has inspired her to become a drug and alcohol counselor.
Today, the all-new Project Service Community Trailer is hitting the streets for the first time and will serve coffee and a selection of home baked goods that are dropped off each week by the growing community of supporters who are eager to serve.
“That’s the best part of this whole thing. First the coffee camper now this trailer. It brings people together who can help other people” Dietsch said.