We are building a movement to end poverty
We provide spiritual and material support to a traumatized and exploited community, run large programs such as Harbor Roots Farm, and aim to become a co-op hub.
Who We Are
We are a group of chaplains who seek to build a freedom church of the poor by building relationships and standing with the poor of Grays Harbor County. We believe the people most affected by poverty should have the actual power and control over organizations, land, and resources—as a collective.
Our Work
Our Story
In 2013, the Rev. Cedar (Sarah) Monroe came back home to the Harbor. After being trained in street chaplaincy in Boston, they began to go out and visit with people in the back alleys and underpasses of downtown Aberdeen with a backpack full of sandwiches—in and out of homelessness themself during the time they launched Chaplains on the Harbor. Gathering a small team of church and street volunteers, Chaplains began to host regular community meals in Aberdeen.
Our Values
Leadership
We will build the leadership of people who have experienced poverty, homelessness, incarceration, and addiction, giving them not just a seat at the table and a voice, but also actual power in building this organization and our work.
Survival
In our projects of survival, we will meet people where they are at, without judgment, supporting people who struggle with addiction or experience mental or physical disabilities. We are committed to respecting people for who they are, across lines of gender, race, disability, and sexuality.
Race
We are opposed to white supremacy. We are committed to working across the lines of difference that have historically divided poor and working people, particularly across lines of race.
Means of Production
We are committed to shifting control of land and the means of production into the hands of poor and working communities. We want to heal land and people together.
Cooperative Hub
We aim to become a cooperative hub. The goal of each enterprise and cooperative will be to return power over land and the means of production to the people most affected by poverty and disenfranchisement and to increase people’s access to land, food, housing, education, and healing.
First Nations
We acknowledge the ancestral claim of First Nations to this land and commit to partnering however possible in this region to support that claim.
News
David’s Testimonial
"Chaplains on the Harbor gave me a place to stay, food, and showers before I went to treatment, and a job and support after treatment where I am learning farming, business, peer support, recovery coach, and outreach skills. Today I am a Farm Manager-in-training, and I...
2022 Fall Appeal
Dear Friends, Chaplains on the Harbor thanks you for your continued support and prayers through the many transitions happening in the organization. With your help we continue to serve our most vulnerable neighbors in Grays Harbor County through feeding programs,...
Diocese of Olympia chaplains rally behind homeless campers facing eviction from riverfront
A group of Episcopal chaplains who for several years have ministered to homeless individuals in the coastal communities of Grays Harbor County, Washington, are standing in support of about a hundred people who face eviction from a riverbank encampment in Aberdeen. The...