Staff Spotlight: Hannah Reilly

By Kara Witsoe, Volunteer Writer

We have several new faces at the Ballard Food Bank, and one of our goals has been to hire people who are fluent in some of the major languages of our community. In recent months, we have brought in several Spanish-speaking employees, including Hannah Reilly. Hannah spends her days ensuring that every client can access programs designed to promote stability and avoid homelessness. As a community resource specialist, she helps Spanish-speaking people apply for financial assistance and connect to additional food bank and community resources.

Hannah aids clients with often complex applications for housing and utilities discounts as well as state and federal programs like Medicare and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides extra food benefits for those in need. She also assists people who need more individual support navigate the food bank’s services. Her work is gratifying.

Community Resource Specialist Hannah

“Recently I was able to help a Spanish-speaking family who regularly shops at the food bank with rental and utility assistance applications and the Seattle Public Utilities’ discount program,” she said. “The financial assistance will cover their month’s rent.”

Hannah staffs the Community Resource Hub, which connects clients to a spectrum of services including tenants’ rights information, ID and license vouchers, medical and mental health services, job readiness training, and education and career opportunities. All food bank resources are available to speakers of every language.

Information and intake forms are translated into Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Portuguese, French, Arabic, and Persian/Farsi. Staff members and volunteers can assist non-English speakers with more in-depth needs through phone, video and computer translations. Foreign language skills are highly valued in job candidates and employees to ensure that resources are accessible to people from every country. With the help of employees like Hannah, the food bank is a welcoming spot for all its neighbors, regardless of the languages they speak.

Ballard Food Bank’s mission is to bring food and hope to neighbors in need. Your donations of funds and food allow us to provide more services to our ever-growing number of clients. We are grateful for the generosity of all our past and current supporters.