Olympia Mutual Aid Partners

08/27/2026

☕🍿 Want to Show Our Staff a Little Love?

After sharing about our recent Staff Appreciation Day, we had a couple of community members reach out and ask if there was anything they could donate for our team.

Our staff are honestly pretty easy to make happy. 😂 Caffeine and food at work go a LONG way around here!

OlyMAP staff spend their days meeting with participants, heading out on outreach, helping people navigate resources, responding to whatever comes through the door, keeping our programs running, and supporting one another through some very busy days.

Having a stocked snack shelf, a quick lunch option, or being able to grab a cold drink between appointments is one of those little things that can make a workday better.

If you would like to treat our team, some staff favorites are:

☕ Coffee or coffee gift cards
🥤 Energy drinks and sodas
🍫 Candy and chocolate
🍿 Chips and snack foods
🥜 Granola bars, protein bars, and other grab-and-go snacks
🥪 Quick lunch items that staff can easily grab and make during a busy day
🍪 Cookies or other treats
💙 Basically, anything that helps fuel a busy OlyMAP day!

We will be adding an Amazon Wish List below if you would like an easy way to have something sent directly to us.

But you definitely do not have to shop through Amazon. We love supporting local businesses too! Feel free to pick up snacks, drinks, quick lunch items, coffee, or other treats from a local business and drop them off at:

📍 701 Franklin St. SE, Olympia
🕤 Monday through Friday, 9:30 AM to 3 PM

Just let the staff member at the door know the items are a treat for the OlyMAP team.

It does not have to be anything big. A case of drinks, a box of snacks, some easy lunch options, or even a few treats for the break room are things our staff genuinely appreciate.

We spend a lot of time talking about the work our staff do for the community, so it means a lot when the community thinks about the people doing that work too. 💙

08/27/2026

Two other Overdose Awareness Events!

Join us on September 2nd with Franklin Street Harm Reduction for our Overdose Awareness Event!

Can I get a show of hands if you’re coming to either event?! Comment on this post if you’re going!

Spread the word! Invite your family invite your friends!

Let’s make our 10th annual event bigger, and better than ever!

It’s a beautiful day to save lives.

Mason County Overdose Awareness and Resource Page
Be a Better You Counseling
International Overdose Awareness Day
End Overdose
Battling Addiction
Addiction Recovery | AddictionRecovery.com
Northwest Indian Treatment Center
Washington Recovery Alliance
Evergreen Treatment Services
North Mason Regional Fire Authority

08/26/2026

Today, we celebrate Sarah Grover, Olympia Mutual Aid Partners. Why are you a CBW? "Growing up, there were a lot of ups and downs, and I feel that everybody needs to feel supported and have a chance to succeed." Thanks for sharing, Sarah! Join us again tomorrow to meet her colleague, Dani Litrell.

08/26/2026

Homeless Encampment Fires – What’s going on, services that OlyMAP provides, and what you can do to help

On Sunday night, a large fire broke out in a wooded area near Capitol Lake, between the ramp from the 101 to northbound I-5 and the Capitol Boulevard overpass. Despite the difficult terrain, Olympia Fire Department put out the fire after about 2 hours. No injuries have been reported. As reported by The Olympian and NewsTalk KFLD, the fire appears to have started at a homeless encampment, but per Tumwater Fire Chief Brian Hurley the cause is still under investigation.

NewsTalk KFLD, a radio station based in Pasco, WA, incorrectly reported that the fire occurred at the Jungle. Locals will know that the I-5/US 101 interchange where the fire occurred is across town from the Jungle. Unfortunately, the erroneous NewsTalk story was pushed to the popular NewsBreak app that comes pre-installed on many cell phones. To be absolutely clear, this fire did not occur at the Jungle.

In a separate incident, the Thurston Co. Scanner, News, & Weather Blog reported that Olympia Fire Department responded to flames and smoke seen at the Jungle on Monday, with concerns about a possible structure fire. Firefighters could not locate the fire. We were not on the ground at the time, but it seems likely that Jungle residents contained the fire themselves.

These recent events have spurred community concern and conversation about fires at local encampments, what causes them and what should be done in response to them. If you want to learn more about recent encampment fires, what services OlyMAP is providing to reduce fires and how you can help, check out our blog post here: https://www.olymap.org/post/homeless-encampment-fires!

What’s going on, services that OlyMAP provides, and what you can do to help.On Sunday night, a large fire broke out in a wooded area near Capitol Lake, between the ramp from the 101 to northbound I-5 and the Capitol Boulevard overpass. Despite the difficult terrain, Olympia Fire Department put out...

08/26/2026

☕ A Big Thank You to Olympic Crest Coffee Roasters!

For our Staff Appreciation Day on August 17, we took a few hours to step away from the day-to-day work and spend some time together as a team.

We had a potluck picnic at a local park, ate lots of yummy food, played horseshoes, and simply hung out together for about three hours. It was a chance for our staff to relax, connect, laugh, and enjoy each other’s company outside of the work we do every day.

Olympic Crest Coffee Roasters helped make the day even more special by generously donating a coffee gift card for each of our 19 staff members.

This generous gesture was a meaningful way to make each of our staff members feel seen and appreciated.

Our staff spend their days meeting people where they are, navigating difficult situations, connecting participants with resources, providing outreach, keeping programs moving, and showing up for our community again and again. Much of that work happens quietly and behind the scenes.

Being able to hand each staff member something that was donated specifically to say “we see you and we appreciate what you do” was such a meaningful addition to the day.

And, let’s be real, coffee is pretty much a workplace essential around here. ☕😂

Thank you, Olympic Crest Coffee Roasters, for supporting the people behind OlyMAP’s work and helping us celebrate our team. Your generosity helped make our Staff Appreciation Day feel just a little more special. 💙

08/25/2026

🧥 Help Us Stock the OlyMAP Clothing Closet for Winter

Our clothing closet is open every day during walk-in hours, and on some days we serve up to 30 people who are looking for clothing and other basic needs.

As colder weather gets closer, we are especially looking for clean winter clothing in sizes Small through XL.

Most needed right now:

🧥 Warm coats and jackets
👕 Sweatshirts and long-sleeve shirts
👖 Warm pants
🧦 New socks
🧤 Gloves and winter accessories
👚 Other clean seasonal clothing in sizes S to XL

Please make sure all donated clothing is clean and ready to wear.

If you would like to help, you can shop from our Amazon Wish List and have items sent directly to us.

Prefer to shop local? We love that too. You can purchase items from a local business and drop them off at:

📍 701 Franklin St. SE, Olympia
🕤 Monday through Friday, 9:30 AM to 3 PM

A warm coat or clean sweatshirt may seem like a small thing, but when you are living outside, having something warm and dry to put on can make a very real difference.

Thank you for helping us keep our clothing closet stocked for the people who come through our doors every day. 💙

08/25/2026

💜 Overdose Awareness Day is coming up, and OlyMAP will be there.

Join us on Wednesday, September 2 from 11 AM to 4 PM at 704 Franklin St. SE in Olympia for a day centered on remembrance, connection, community care, and honoring the lives lost to overdose.

OlyMAP will have a table where you can:

👕 Create a memorial shirt for someone you have lost or want to honor
🪨 Decorate a memorial rock to take with you

There will be plenty happening throughout the day too:

🎵 Funky Boots will perform from 11 AM to noon at First Christian Church across the street, followed by an open mic from noon to 1 PM

🐕 Grateful Dogs will be providing dog nail trims from 11 AM to 4 PM

🍎 Snack bags will be available at First Christian Church, and donations of individually wrapped food and beverages are still welcome

📚 Olympia Timberland Library will also have a table at the event

🚗 Parking will be limited, so please carpool if you can. Limited street parking will be available on Franklin St., and additional parking will be available at Olympia Timberland Library.

Come spend some time with community, create something meaningful, listen to music, share a memory, or simply be present.

💜 We hope to see you there.

08/24/2026

Before we head out for outreach throughout Thurston County, first we have to pack! 📦

Our Site Support team gathers and packs the basic needs supplies we have available, loads everything up, and then heads out into the community to meet people where they are.

A lot happens behind the scenes before outreach even begins. Every packed bag, tote, and container helps us bring needed supplies directly to people living unsheltered throughout Thurston County.

08/24/2026

What Resource Do You Wish More People Knew About?

There are a LOT of resources in Thurston County, but sometimes the hardest part is simply knowing where to look.

We want to hear from you.

Is there a local resource, organization, free service, food program, employment program, class, support group, or community service that you think more people should know about?

Drop it in the comments and tell us what makes it helpful.

We may highlight some of the resources you share in future posts so more people in our community can learn about what is available.

Check out the South Sound Resource Guide, which is a great place to explore local resources all in one place.
https://docs.superhuman.com/-tech/south-sound-resource-guide

Sometimes one shared resource can be exactly what someone else needed to find.

08/24/2026

🌙 Sunday Night Check-In from OlyMAP

As the weekend winds down, we just want to remind our community that a new week also means another chance to take the next step.

Maybe that means checking in with Coordinated Entry, asking for help with housing resources, replacing an ID, connecting with benefits, finding food resources, or simply sitting down with someone to talk through what comes next.

Our Care Navigators are here to help you navigate those steps.

📍 701 Franklin St. SE, Olympia
🕤 Walk-In Hours: Monday through Friday, 9:30 AM to 3:00 PM
🚪 No appointment needed

You do not have to have everything figured out before you come in. Sometimes the first step is just walking through the door and starting the conversation.

We will be here this week. 💙