Above: A location for The People's House, a proposed low-barrier homeless shelter at 113 Thurston Avenue NE, is seen in the center of the picture (green building), across the street from the Boardwalk Apartments in downtown Olympia.
Community
Voices About Proposed Shelter Location Are Heard
By
Janine Unsoeldwww.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com
Editor’s Note: While many people
who spoke Wednesday night were known to me, some did not say their names before
speaking, or just used their first name. Out of respect, I have reported that
introduction as stated and have identified them as they
identified themselves unless they voluntarily gave their names to me or said I could use their names.
About
150 people attended Wednesday night's public forum at Temple Beth Hatfiloh to learn
more about locating The People’s House, a proposed low-barrier homeless shelter
at 113 Thurston NE in downtown Olympia.
Downtown
Olympia suffers from a lack of accessible bathroom facilities and people using
make-shift night and day shelters in downtown business doorways, parks, at the
transit center, on the waterfront at Percival Landing and boardwalk, and the
library.
There
were 237 unsheltered homeless in 2013, according to the homeless point-in-time
count conducted last January by the city and county.
The
People’s House, proposed to be a low-barrier 40 bed facility, sees itself as an
entry point to other area services and a pathway to permanent housing, leading
to a community transformation.
After
showing a brief video about The People’s House on a big screen, which can also
be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=mb11cjXTwol,
Meg Martin, program director for The People’s House, explained the benefits of
an enhanced shelter with social services.
“When
people come into shelters between 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. at night, and have to
leave by 7:00 a.m., “there’s nothing we can do with them during that
time….People discard their clothes and belongings on the streets because they
have no access to laundry facilities.” The proposed day shelter will have
shower, bathroom, and laundry services.
One
Boardwalk resident said, “This is going to be
directly across from us. It’s a serious problem. People are breaking into our
buildings and cars – a good 120 (homeless) people are in our area. We hear
screaming and yelling. These 40 beds aren’t going to put a dent in our homeless
situation. There’s no reason to put something like that there…this is not how I
intended to spend my senior years….”
David,
who has managed buildings downtown for 12 years, says he has cleaned up more urine
and feces on the street and in doorways in this last year than he has in 12
years. “And we’ve just spent, what, $24 million on a new façade for the
Washington Center? We need restroom facilities.”
Tom Dorian, Don’s
Camera owner, said, “I don’t believe a 40 bed shelter is
going to come close to what we need…I’d really like to see a business plan. You
are about to spend $400,000 – that’s money that will be taken away from proven
programs. First you were talking about an evening shelter, now you’re talking
about a 24 hour shelter. Not once have you come to us, those who work and live
downtown, and asked where should we place this shelter? I’ve personally been
involved with Drexel House (a men’s shelter)…We all want to help the homeless,
the less advantaged, but you are providing enablement. (Let me explain) 1. Many
are mentally ill; 2. Many suffer from substance abuse; and 3. There are
individuals who do not want to adhere to the rules or regulations, be a part of
the community and show no respect. It’s proposed to be near the new Children’s
Museum, playground, the Boardwalk Apartments, and the Farmer’s Market, and you
want to be right in the middle of it. Talk to me up front instead of at the
tail end. I want to help you….”
Betty
Houser, a volunteer at Sidewalk, an Olympia homeless advocacy and support center,
said she lives in the South Capitol neighborhood. “We are in the midst of a
recession. People are hurting everywhere. It’s all over town…we all feel
vulnerable and we need to take care of the people and get them off the street….Especially
with the men, it’s so disheartening. We have to turn so many men away…and
there’s no place for couples at this point. If you’re willing to sleep
separately, you may find shelter but you won’t have each other to look out
for….”
Bill
Garson said he lives near the proposed location. “.…What is the real day use
population? Are churches willing to guarantee to keep this funding and these
professionals in place? BHR (Behavioral Health Resources) has a financial
problem. The $400,000 isn’t new money, it’s from another program…to not have a
full plan laid out doesn’t make a lot of sense. There are locations you’ve
refused to look at. Sometimes you have to compromise…we’re willing to help with
a location that makes sense to us….”
A
man said, “The reality is, people are in distress, and there have been some
implications that Interfaith Works doesn’t know what they’re doing, like this
one project is a far outlier…they’ve been successful in the past and they will
be in the future.”
Gabi
Clayton said she has worked, lived and run homeless shelters in New York and
Mississippi. “We had rules. If they couldn’t follow them, they couldn’t stay….I
worked at Haven House (an Olympia co-educational, crisis residential shelter
for youth). I know it’s scary, but if you can get past the labels…and see our
neighbors….I would like to be at Boardwalk and would like to know the shelter
is my neighbor.”
Sammy
Harvell, program director at Stonewall Youth, a LGBTQQIA youth support
organization that has an office downtown, said, “Sure, I have feces on my
doorstep, we’re near a homeless camp, there’s people shooting up…but when I was
15 years old, I was in that same position. When I was 15 to 24 years old, I was
on and off the streets. I was one of those troublemakers….Percival Landing was
my favorite place to do drugs. If it wasn’t for our service providers, I
wouldn’t be here – CYS (Community Youth Services) got me into housing and I got
to work on other stuff. People stay in Olympia because this is their community.
This is where I belong. People trying to access services are people too….I
remember back in the day when I was getting kicked out because I was queer… (and
now I’m) here today talking about all the successes in my life. Having these
services changed my life….I see a solution in this. Give us a chance. How will
we know if we haven’t given it a try?”
Jessica
Archer of Concerned Olympians, a group that opposed The People’s House’s
proposed location on the Eastside neighborhood near St. Michael’s School and
Madison Elementary School, said it’s great to see people care. She feels the
downtown location is wrong as well. “We can find solutions that work…I don’t
know what the answer is. We have a 500% increase in heroin use in Olympia since
2006….”
Safiya
Crane said she has been a resident of Olympia for 30 years and is a Sidewalk
advocate. “…They want to be clean, they want to take showers. When the laundry
mat next to Ralph’s became something else, the only place to go is the laundry
mat near Division and Harrison on the Westside. Don’t take things like doing
your laundry for granted – it’s awesome….I can’t help but think this is due to
misperceptions and misunderstandings. Somebody has to give if we’re going to do
this. This is Olympia! Can this be happening? Olympia is better than this!
Can’t we work together?”
Dan
Rubin said he’s lived here since 1976. “It’s a tough issue. I share some of
your fears. I trust Interfaith Works’ experience….I have two suggestions: 1.
Get real specific about what can be measured as if you have 10 to 20 years of
funding. Will there be less feces and urine on the streets? I advise you to act
like the long-term is what you have to deal with….2. Bring police with you. It
would be much more effective to answer ‘What should you do if’ type of
questions. Faith has to be there that
criminal behavior will be intervened….We need to give this a try.”
Another
man said, “Why the poor, why the homeless? Why was Christ home and poorless?
Pope Francis, in Joy of the Gospel, said, “The poor and the homeless have much to
teach us…to lend our voice to their causes…but also to be their friends…to
possess a loving attention…. How beautiful are those cities who overcome,
trust…How attractive…” The man concluded by saying, “My prayer is that we have
that kind of integration in Olympia and our homeless will have a place to go in
Olympia, wherever that may be.”
A
woman said that she recently helped a man downtown near Furniture Works who
said he was 76 years old. “No one should be sitting out there, much less a 76
year old! I was going to take him home. He was sitting on a bench. I…gave him
food and water. When he became revived, he said, ‘I believe in the Lord!’ I was
like, great, this man has gone to places where he’s had to say that or he knows
there’s a God.’ Then he said, ‘You be sure to stay warm tonight because your
heart bleeds.’” She said she has since gone downtown many times to find him
again, but has been unsuccessful.
Another
woman said she was homeless in 1957 when she was 17 years old, and again six
years ago when the snow took out her house. “When I was 17, I worked for 25
cents an hour, and I made it. Now I’m in the Boardwalk Apartments. I’m not
against helping the homeless, I’m against the location. They’re druggies and rapists.
I don’t want them in my neighborhood. The homeless are pests.”
When
the previous speaker said the last sentence, another woman jumped up to get in
line to speak.
“Be
gentle with each other! The homeless have been called trash, pollution, as if
they were subhuman. If we’re going to have this conversation, they deserve
respect. They are powerless!”
Another
woman ended the evening by saying that she can’t think of a better location for
the shelter. As for being near the Boardwalk Apartments, she addressed the woman
who lives there (who recently spoke) saying, “You may disagree with me, but there’s
nothing like a grandmother to give love and warming.”
To
the organizers of the evening, she said, “What a job you do, I bow to you.”
For more information about The
People’s House, go to www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com and use the
search button using key words.
The People’s House is at
www.thepeopleshouseoly.org.
No comments:
Post a Comment