On a cold
wet day 85 years ago, Martin Johanson looked from
his office window to the street below
and
witnessed a scuffle in a bread line. He realized
then that it was simply not enough to feed the
homeless,
but that you must also restore their dignity and get
them out of the bread line.
The only
way to do that, he reasoned, was to give them a job.
With help from friends, he set up shop in a borrowed
basement on Main Street in Pioneer Square.
He named his new organization "The Millionair Club
Charity," because he said that helping
others made him feel like a millionaire, but he also
dropped the "e" so that no one would feel they
had to be wealthy to lend their support.
On the first Sunday in March of 1921, he opened the
doors. Since then, the Millionair Club has moved
to Western Avenue and has dispatched the homeless to
more than 870,000 day labor jobs in the
Puget Sound area and served over 9.7million meals.
Every day:
The Millionair Club dispatches homeless
workers to temporary jobs, allowing them to
earn some money for their basic needs and
take the first important step toward
self-reliance.
The Millionair Club kitchen provides
nutritious meals for its homeless workers,
giving them the energy they need to complete
their day’s work. Men and women who have
attained permanent employment are allowed to
receive meals here also, in an effort to
help them remain off the streets.
Millionair Club Resource Assistants
interview new applicants to the Millionair
Club Charity, enrolling them in the day
labor program, informing them of our other
services, connecting them with other service
agencies in the Puget Sound area, and
encouraging them to sign up for resume and
training courses.
Homeless workers use our Hygiene Center to
take showers and/or launder their work
clothes.
Orientation is held for newly homeless
individuals who are prepared to begin
working their way back to self-sufficiency
through the Millionair Club programs.
The Millionair Club, collaborates with the
Lions Club and volunteer eye doctors and
opticians, providing vision testing and
eyeglasses for those without medical coupons
or insurance.
We offer a hygiene center where workers
signed into the day labor program can take a
shower and wash their clothes.
Everything we do is aimed at supporting the working
homeless in getting back on their feet and becoming
part of their community again. We’ve done this for
85 years without any government money. The mission
that was established in 1921 continues to be the
cornerstone of this organization.
Serving the Working Homeless Since 1921
