Olympia to Declare Homelessness a Public Health Emergency

Above: An encampment on the corner of State and Washington Streets, across from Intercity Transit, on a recent Saturday morning in downtown Olympia. On any given night in Olympia, approximately 130 people can be found sleeping in doorways and on the street within an 81 block area of downtown.

The main causes of homelessness are related to economic and family stability

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

The homelessness situation in Olympia has reached crisis proportions.

At its July 17 meeting, the Olympia City Council is expected to present on first and final reading an ordinance declaring homelessness as a public health emergency. 

Doing so will allow the city to move forward on financing and other efforts to tackle the issue.

The ordinance outlines how the experience of being unsheltered is traumatic and endangers public health. Individuals living out of doors are exposed to harmful weather conditions, communicable diseases such as hepatitis, tuberculosis, respiratory illnesses, malnutrition, and violence.

Medical conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and asthma are exacerbated because there is no safe place to properly store medications or syringes.

When a person’s health is continually compromised by unstable conditions, health care services are rarely effective. Inpatient hospitalization or residential drug treatment and mental health care rarely have lasting impacts when the person is returned to a homeless environment.

The cities of Seattle and Tacoma, Portland, Oregon and Los Angeles have already passed similar resolutions in order to provide expedited emergency services and shelters for unsheltered individuals, families and unaccompanied youth.

Above:  From a parking lot near Intercity Transit on Saturday morning, volunteers with Joyful Hands Ministries make pancakes and other breakfast items to serve street dependent individuals and others in need in downtown Olympia.

Street feed coordinator Dee Hampton said that close to 300 people were fed. “For this time of the month, that is about average. We have seen over the last year or so such an increase in our homeless population,” she said.

“My heart is always overwhelmed by how many of our families love to give donations to help us continue feeding them even though they give a dollar or 50 cents. They give what they have because they are so thankful we are there for them each week. That is a story that I want to share…the thankfulness and love we receive back from our homeless community,” said Hampton.

Olympia, Thurston County Statistics

Anna Schlect, City of Olympia housing program manager, discussed the most recent Thurston County Point in Time homeless census data with Little Hollywood. 

Each January, Thurston County conducts a “point-in-time” count to capture the number and characteristics of people living without a home. The census began in 2006.

The 2018 Thurston County Point in Time census conducted in January identified 835 homeless persons. 

The definition of homelessness includes people living in emergency shelters, transitional housing and substandard housing.

Of that number, 320 were unsheltered individuals, living out of doors, in cars, under bridges and highway overpasses and other places not meant for human habitation. This number marks a 56 percent increase from 2017.

According to a Point in Time homelessness related survey, the top four reasons for homelessness are job loss and unemployment, eviction and loss of housing, family rejection, and domestic violence.

Fifty-nine percent of those surveyed said they lived in Thurston County before becoming homeless.

Rent Increases

Not all people experiencing homelessness sleep outside. 

“Oftentimes, people blame homeless individuals as though it’s their personal failing that causes their homelessness,” said Schlect. 

“Looking at the data, homelessness rises and falls with the economy. It shows that homelessness rose to a high point in 2010, which was also the high point of the recession in Washington State, and that it started dropping with the recovery. But in the last couple of years, it started spiking up sharply again, in sync with rent increases.

“In a parallel study called the Assessment of Fair Housing, we did a survey of nearly 1,200 people. Of those who are renters, half said they experienced a rent increase of an average of $100 a month in the past year. So that’s a very significant pressure on low income households,” Schlect said.

Little Hollywood recently met an employed Olympia woman who is paying $925 a month for a poorly insulated, two bedroom apartment on Olympia’s westside. A stable and responsible tenant, she and her pets have enjoyed living there for five years.

Unexpectedly, her landlord recently raised the rent $575, for a total monthly rent of $1,500, starting August 1. She is unable to make that financial leap.

Reflective of the data, her story is not unique.

Next Steps

On July 18, the council’s Finance Committee will present an oral report on estimated costs and funding for the ordinance. That meeting will start at 5:30 p.m. and be held at Olympia City Hall, 601 4th Avenue East.

The ordinance would stay in effect until June 2021, at which time the city council would determine if conditions warrant keeping the public health emergency measures in place.

Little Hollywood often writes about homelessness issues, past Point in Time census events, and unsheltered, street dependent, houseless individuals. For more information, go to Little Hollywood and use the search button to type in key words.

Future Uncertain for State Capital Museum

Above: The historic Lord Mansion, located in the South Capitol neighborhood in Olympia, has served as the State Capital Museum since 1942. Staff of the Washington State Historical Society informed the public on Monday that it cannot afford to keep the mansion as the state Capital Museum due to financial reasons. The mansion is currently closed to the public.

By Janine Gates

www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

There is new uncertainty as to the future of the State Capital Museum at the historic Lord Mansion in Olympia.

At a public meeting at the mansion on Monday evening, Washington State Historical Society (WSHS) staff said that it cannot keep the mansion as a museum due to financial reasons. About 50 were in attendance, many of them from the South Capitol neighborhood association. 

The Lord Mansion, located in the historic South Capitol Neighborhood at 211 21^st Street, seven blocks south of the Capitol Building, was built in 1923 for banker Clarence J. Lord and his wife, Elizabeth. The building was designed by Olympia architect Joseph Wohleb. 

Lord was a powerful figure in the history of Washington State banking, served as Olympia's mayor in 1902-03, and was a staunch opponent of any attempt to move the state capital. After Lord's death in 1937, the mansion was donated to the state by Elizabeth Lord, to be used as a museum. It opened as such in 1942, and was closed in 2014.

Jennifer Kilmer, director of the Washington State Historical Society, told the group that the Lord Mansion will continue to be renovated and a leasing tenant will be sought whose mission profile fits well with their occupancy of the historic structure. The mansion is owned by the Society.

Kilmer was hired after the 2008 recession, and the Society's budget had just been cut 44 percent. Ever since, the Society has struggled to keep the museum open, and the Governor's budget writers have told her not to ask for more money because she will not get it.

Despite obtaining past capital project funding to upgrade wiring and plumbing, replace the roof, and make repairs, the Society can no longer afford to operate the mansion.

In consultation with the state Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, renovations include repairing and repainting the interior and installation of new carpeting. The renovations are ongoing. 

Kilmer said it would take several million dollars to bring the building to certified climate control standards for the storage and display of historic documents, pictures, and artifacts. Renting the mansion out, she said, would be the worst option, because the wear and tear would be significant. 

The Coach House, located behind the State Museum, will continue to be available for public rental.

“We heard the biggest concerns were the impact to traffic in the neighborhood, continued care and preservation of the historic structure (and surrounding landscaping), and the perceived absence of a local history center that will be created by this decision,” Erich R. Ebel, Washington State Historical Society marketing and communications director, told Little Hollywood on Tuesday. 

“Basically, we want someone in there who appreciates and cares for the building and whose business fits well with the neighborhood. The meeting (on Monday night) was the beginning of this community conversation, not the end…there will be additional information and outreach in the future,” said Ebel.

The Washington State Historical Society will use funding from the building’s lease to fund programs and displays on the Capitol Campus, either in the Legislative Building itself or another building nearby, such as the Pritchard Building.

Asked about future tenants, Ebel said the Society is not yet ready to begin the search for a new tenant as renovations are currently underway. The building is currently occupied by an employee who oversees the structure and handles public rental of the Coach House.

A change to the relevant Revised Code of Washington, substituting “Historic Lord Mansion,” for “State Capital Museum,” will be proposed for the next Legislative session to broaden the mansion's use beyond a museum. 

The Washington State Historical Society will continue to oversee maintenance of the structure and surrounding landscaping, including the native species garden named in honor of the late Delbert McBride, the museum's curator emeritus and an ethnobotanical expert of Cowlitz/Quinault descent. It features more than 30 species of native plants.

“The Washington State Historical Society takes its responsibility of being good stewards of state history very seriously,” said Ebel.

Above: As seen in May 2016, an inviting stone table and benches provide a place to rest and admire spectacular rhododendrons, native plants, and a pioneer herb garden at the historic Lord Mansion.

Editor’s Note, November 10: Clarifications made to this story, based on an email to Little Hollywood from Erich R. Ebel, Washington State Historical Society marketing and communications director: 

The meeting was in the mansion itself, not the Coach House. Also, the proposed legislation would change the name “State Capital Museum” to “Historic Lord Mansion.”

Also, Ebel comments: "There is a misconception that the mansion was donated explicitly for use as a museum. This is not the case. We’ve reviewed the transaction paperwork that was done at the time, and it only specifies that the mansion be used for the public good, possibly as a museum."

Little Hollywood appreciates the clarifications.