Community is Key | Beacon Hill

Images by Colin Stanley Hovde. Words by Adriana Nodal-Tarafa.
April 15, 2020

On this particular day, I was not feeling social, but I still wanted to be part of the photoshoot process. I was also itching to be out of our place after a week of doing my public-facing day job at home in an improvised home office. So, I sat in the car, a bit voyeuristically, waving and smiling at folks we met, making my notes. At the same time, Colin chatted away six feet apart from folks, camera in hand, and the sound of people's laughter projected through the open car window. Our first stop, at Allena, Mac and Dawn's house in Beacon Hill, had me put my situation in perspective.

Allena, a founding member of the Seattle Erotic Art Festival, is battling cancer, and Dawn's sister is battling leukemia. They are used to the extreme social precautions of managing weakened immune systems. The way Allena put it was, "I don't complain about staying at home when it's life or death."  The three housemates' demeanor was far from dire, though. As soon as they came out of the house, their playful spirit made itself known through joking about poses and superhero wardrobe. For Allena, a silver lining of this time of physical distancing has been enjoying silly times with her housemates and reading actual books. 

“My community is varied and loving. It's not my neighborhood. It's larger than that. I'm very blessed.”

Dawn's partner, Mac, a Queer, Trans community activist, identified his sense of belonging beyond the neighborhood too. He appreciates the community's diversity and how people are ready to come to each other's aid. Mac mentioned that others' self-centeredness, beyond the Queer, Trans community, has caught him off guard. Especially in a time when our interconnectedness is undeniable. 

"It has surprised me that people are so willing to help one another, and it's also surprised me that some are so selfish and not willing to see or do things that help the greater good."

In another part of Beacon Hill, our visit with HanaSara revealed similar sentiments about collective life. She, too, wanted to take this chance for a photo to have some fun—and that she did. Play, although we may forget, is as basic a human need as any form of social bonding. We are grateful that she chose to show a realistic example of keeping a home exercise routine.  It's been such a challenge to keep ours constant, but it makes such a difference in our mental health right now.

"I've felt really taken care of by the people in my community. Beacon, and especially South Beacon, has a huge history of diversity and working together." 

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"I've been [...] amazed at the [number] of neighbors coordinating food drives and donations for the school free food pantry, or little libraries posted on the street with food and toiletries in [them]."

“I think this crisis has created a reframing of consciousness in many ways. What it means to be a true community, thinking about how to protect the most vulnerable among us; these are values that we let fall in many ways as a society, despite those crying out that it was hurting.”