The humanity of homelessness

Several Solid Ground staff members participated in the annual One Night Count of homeless people in King County described in this post. Guest contributor Ray Lumpp is a writer for AllTreatment.com, a website devoted to helping individuals and families facing addiction and mental health issues in Washington State.

In the early hours of January 25, 2013, over 900 volunteers for the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness (SKCCH) spread out across the city and county, searching for men, women and children sleeping outdoors without shelter. Since 1980, SKCCH and Operation Nightwatch have organized the One Night Count. Today, it remains the largest community-organized count in the United States.

In 2013, at least 2,736 men, women and children were found sleeping in cars, riding late-night buses, or curled up in blankets under bridges or in doorways during the three-hour street count – a 5% increase from last year’s total. This number is always assumed to be an underestimate: It is impossible to count everywhere, and many people take great care not to be visible.

Estimated number of people found on the streets or sleeping in cars in Seattle/King Co., ’06-’13 (chart by Ray Lumpp, ’13)

This year, one group of volunteers, including Councilmember Sally Clark, discovered the dead body of a 60-year-old woman near the terminus of I-90 – a sobering reminder of what’s at stake for homeless individuals.

While the One Night Count provides a basic census for tracing the problem of homelessness in King County, another volunteer-based group assembled by the City of Seattle sought to dig deeper. One evening in April 2009, the Homeless Needs Assessment group surveyed 297 homeless people and recorded demographic information for an additional 89 individuals, providing a crucial glimpse of life on the street.

Think of homelessness as a local problem: Most homeless people in Seattle have been living without shelter for over a year and 23% have been living without shelter for over six years. Nearly two thirds reported living in Seattle, and 19% elsewhere in Washington, when they became homeless. Although 91% of people living on the streets would like to find housing, people often wait two years or more for affordable housing options to open up.

Racial disproportionality of Seattle’s homeless population compared to the general population (chart by Ray Lumpp, ’13)

Compared to Seattle’s general population, there was a disproportionate number of African Americans (29%), Hispanic or Latinos (13%), and Native Americans (6%), which is similar to the disproportionate number of people with unmet addiction treatment needs. Limited access to information about homeless services is a continuing problem: 67% learned of available services through word of mouth or on the street, while only 10% reported learning of services from an agency or program. Coordinating an effective outreach effort among food banks, drop-in centers, and shelters may help increase access to services.

Food and hygiene programs are the most common services used by homeless people in Seattle. Seventy percent reported using a food bank in the last six months and 48% used meal programs. About half reported using hygiene centers, but only 37% reported staying in a shelter during the last six months. Most of these programs are run and supported by local volunteers, community groups, and ex-homeless people looking to give back and stay clean.

Another telling statistic is that 60% reported health conditions requiring professional care. Though the conditions may range from diabetes to alcoholism, many homeless people use emergency departments for their health needs instead of primary care physicians – wasting time, energy, and taxpayer dollars. In answer to this, DESC (Downtown Emergency Service Center) focuses on the needs of homeless chronic alcoholics who are the heaviest users of publicly-funded crisis services. Exploring other alternative housing models may also help shelter more people in the future.

Interestingly, people who received medical care accessed services at a higher rate. Respondents with recent hospitalization or mental health treatment made greater use of meal programs, hygiene centers, shelter, and other services than those not receiving medical care.

While homelessness continues to be a growing national problem, there are many ways you can create a positive change in your community. Volunteer with a shelter or housing program. (Solid Ground’s Broadview Shelter and Brettler Family Place at Sand Point Housing both have volunteer opportunities.) Donate clean clothes (especially shoes), books, toys, diapers, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, blankets, old cell phones, or even gift cards to Starbucks or a grocery store. (Broadview Shelter and Sand Point Housing both also have in-kind donation wish lists.)

You can also give money or gift cards to people experiencing homelessness on the street. Do not ignore them. If you have nothing else to give, simply smile and look into his or her eyes and let them know, even just by noticing them, that you recognize their humanity and that you care.

Tenant Tip: Community Resource Exchange, 4/22, 9am-3pm, Qwest Field

Individuals experiencing homelessness and those who have questions about housing search can attend the Community Resource Exchange Day of Hope & Help, Friday, April 22 from 9am-3pm at Qwest Field (800 Occidental Ave S, Seattle, WA 98134).

This free event is offered by United Way and will provide many resources all in one place, including health and dental checks, public benefits, legal assistance, services for veterans and other community resources. There will be information there about Solid Ground programs, including Tenant Services for individuals who want to know more about their rights as tenants and/or need help with housing search, and other information about renting. Also, staff from our Community Voice Mail program will be present to sign people up for free voice mailboxes.

Thanksgiving for Homeless People

A cool new event with a heartwarming back story is happening Nov. 10 to bring people together to support Thanksgiving for Homeless People. The event features bluegrass music, refreshments and comments from some very special guests. Proceeds will benefit Solid Ground and the outreach/meal work of the Mosiac Community Church and Bread of Life Mission, who will distribute turkey sandwich meals at the Mission following the event.

• What: Thanksgiving for Homeless People benefit
  
• When: November 10, 2010, 4:00-7:30pm
• Where: Labor Temple, 2800 1st Ave., Seattle
• Cost: Individual donations are $10.00 and canned food items.
• Hosted by: Tyler Accornero and Justin Simmons.
• Guest Speakers: Urban League Director James Kelly & Former Homeless Resident Don Augustin.
• Special Guest: Former Gov. Albert Rosellini.

Event co-host Tyler Accornero “grew up on food stamps for most of my young life,” he told Solid Ground in an email. “As i was growing up i made a promise to myself that if i ever made something of myself and became successful that i would help the part of the community that grew up like me or who were in harsher positions in life such as being homeless.

“Thanksgiving for The Homeless came about in the year 2009 when during Thanksgiving I delivered turkeys to local food banks in my Legislative District. I decided after thanksgiving of that year that i wanted to use my community involvement in the political arena and business world to make a bigger impact on the City of Seattle where i was born and help the city in the best way i knew i could, by the relationships I built over the past 7 years in the city.

“In June, I met with a good friend of mine Justin Simmons and we decided to organize and establish an annual event that would benefit the homeless and poor in which we could help the needy by raising money for shelters and also have a food drive for the local food banks on a holiday when there are currently 5,000 homeless on the streets each night in the city.

“When I was choosing a beneficiary for the event i started looking around at different non-profits in the area. Justin informed me that there was homeless advocate non-profit called Solid Ground. I looked more into the organization and found the community Solid Ground was building which will help more homeless families with their living situations. I decided that this would be the best suited  beneficiary for this newly established community event.”

The event is co-sponsored by:

• Church Council of Greater Seattle
• Metropolitan Democratic Club
• Sons of Italy Seattle Fedele Lodge
• Urban League of Seattle
• Mosaic Community Church
• Vietnamese Federation of the USA
• King County Labor Council
• Solid Ground
• People’s Place
• Bread of Life Mission
• Doug’s Quality Meats
• Big John’s PFI
• Delle Femmine Enterprises
• American Federation of Musicians Local 76
• and many more.

All financial proceeds benefit Solid Ground and all food items go to local food banks and missions.

In memoriam: ‘Through our deepest time of need’

When former Solid Ground King County Housing Stability Project client Patricia Birgen-Redwolf shared her story with us last winter, her situation was looking up, and she was excitedly moving forward with her life goals. Sadly, Patricia passed away in late July 2010 from complications following surgery related to her Multiple Sclerosis. We spoke with her former case manager at Vashon Youth & Family Services, Debbie Rieschl, who said that Patricia would have liked to see her story published so that it might help others.

Patricia Birgen-Redwolf

I am a single mom to autistic twin teenage boys. In addition to the stress of raising high-need teenagers, I myself struggle daily with the physical and emotional pain of Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis, hypothyroidism, a heart condition and health issues related to the MS. Although recently awarded SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance) from the 20+ years that I have been a small business owner, and the taxes paid into the system, that same system penalizes me financially with high medical co-pays due to the hours I still work – yet I need to continue to work in order to survive, regardless of my physicians’ requirement that I stop working. It has me in an endless cycle of declining health and stress.

In late December of 2005 I found myself the victim of domestic violence when I left a relationship and ended up in the hospital with a concussion, fractured ribs, multiple contusions, and the police and victims advocates telling me I needed to move and move fast, as this man had eight prior felony convictions and (unbeknown to me) had been in prison four times, once for running a girlfriend over with her own car.

So, I ran. I came back to King County as that is where my support system is, friends – some whom I’ve known for up to 20 years.

I tried desperately to find an affordable home and within a week I found a house. Although it was outside my price range, it was available immediately, so I took it rather than having my boys and my ADA-assist dog remain homeless and living on friends’ couches and my car in the middle of winter. Also, I was deeply concerned as my autistic twins were beginning to have severe stress reactions due to the lack of stability of a home.

I paid the hefty deposit with loans from friends and first month’s rent from my own money, but when the rental agent came back to tell me that I had to pay an additional, HUGE deposit in order to move in because of the restraining order I had on the man who attempted to kill me (because he was still on the run from the police), I didn’t know what to do or where to turn. I couldn’t go back home, even though I had paid my rent through the end of the month because of the fear of this very dangerous man. I had laid down an electronic trail to make him believe I was in a different state altogether, and later when friends and I went down to move, this was indeed smart as he came to the house with a shotgun in his truck, and we had to get the police to protect me while I hid in my car up the road.

After many, many calls to resource networks, I finally discovered Solid Ground and the King County Housing Stability Project. I needed to get into my new house so I could get back to work and try to get life back to some semblance of normalcy. After nearly two weeks of constant high stress and homelessness while trying to heal from serious injuries, seek housing and calm my boys, my prayers and those of my friends were answered when Solid Ground approved my application. They paid the funds needed to help me secure stable safe housing in a neighborhood that is safe and somewhat difficult to find, even for locals.

I don’t know how I can ever repay what they gave as it wasn’t just about the money, it was also knowing that a community of strangers who did not know us or the details of our story cared enough to step in and ensure that a hardworking single mom with an enormous amount of stress and life struggle – and her two children – would have a safe place to call home. I will be forever deeply indebted and appreciative of this gift, and in all my works will continue my own personal mission to ‘pay it forward’ when I see others in need.

Thank you to all the invisible Angels out there who were responsible for ensuring that this program had the funding to help my family through our deepest time of need. Bless you all! ~Patricia

Note: Patricia’s boys are safe, living with family friends, and receiving ongoing support.

To find out if you or someone you know might qualify for assistance through the King County Housing Stability Project, please call the Community Information Line at 2.1.1 or 206.461.3200.

Rooms with a view at Brettler Family Place

Marpac Construction is rapidly framing up Solid Ground’s 52 new townhouses and apartments for formerly homeless families at Magnuson Park/Sand Point. The following slideshow includes the first ever images from inside the project, giving a more intimate view of the construction and a taste of the views residents will enjoy when they start moving in next summer. If you want to learn more or give your support to the project, please go to our website.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Flowering future

Ay Matey! The Pirates & Pipsqueaks Carnival returns to raise money for homeless kids

Pirates & Pipsqueaks Carnival 2010 poster

Join us on Sunday, August 22, 2010 from noon to 5pm for the 2nd annual Pirates & Pipsqueaks, an old fashioned carnival with old fashioned prices for kids of all ages! This fun event benefits services for homeless kids staying at Solid Ground’s Broadview Shelter.

Enjoy a lovely summer afternoon with the Seafair Pirates, the Seattle Derby Brats, carnival games and live music! The festivities will take place in the Solid Ground Headquarters Building parking lot at 1501 N 45th St, Seattle, WA 98103 in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood.
 
Vintage carnival games will include Dunk the Pirate, a Pirate Bounce House, Walk the Plank, Cupcake Walk, Pirate Wiffle Ball, Ducks in the Pond, Balloon Darts, Bottle Ring Toss, and lots more.
 
Kids can enter the Pirate Costume Contest and pose for photos with the Seafair Pirates. The Seattle Derby Brats will perform roller skating demos! See a real pirate ship, win fabulous prizes, enjoy live music, face painting, food and fun!
 
This exciting community event is sponsored by Not A Number Cards & Gifts, the Seafair Pirates, Seattle’s Child, Starbucks, Trophy Cupcakes, the Wallingford Chamber of Commerce, and the Wallingford Community Council. All proceeds will benefit services for homeless children at Broadview Shelter & Transitional Housing, a program of Solid Ground.

Can’t make the event but want to support Broadview kids? Click through Broadview’s webpage to make a secure online donation.
 
For more information about the event, contact Eileen Bidwell at eileenb@solid-ground.org or 206.299.2500.

A pirate walks the plank at the 2009 Pirates & Pipsqueaks event

Progress lagging in 10-year plan

“Midway through the city of Portland and Multnomah County’s 10-year plan to end homelessness, an impressive number of people have been housed through a coordinated, countywide effort,” writes Joanne Zuhl, staff writer on the Street Roots blog.

“Likewise, however, an impressive number of people have arrived newly homeless to the streets through a national disaster.

“Five years into the plan, which promotes ‘housing first’ with supportive permanent housing programs, more than 7,000 homeless households have moved from the streets into housing (in Portland). At the same time, the engines of recession are driving more people to the streets for the first time in their lives.”

The numbers might not match up exactly, but you could run a search and replace on Zuhl’s piece, substituting Seattle for Portland, and pretty much make the same case: For all the good we are doing as a community creating more housing first and permanent housing opportunities (and we are accomplishing a lot there), there are still more newly homeless folks than our established community services can accomodate. Increasingly, the new homeless are families.

The 10-year plans have been integral to Federal funding of homeless services. But Zuhl reports that the Fed’s approach is changing

“On June 21, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, which oversees the 10-year plan program, will unveil the new Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, which in process and policy supplants the 10-year plan concept. The new plan, set on a five-year agenda, will focus on not only ending chronic homelessness, but on a wider population, including veterans, families, youths and children, setting a ‘path to ending all types of homelessness.’ That’s a major expansion, from the federal viewpoint, on the 10-year agenda and one driven by accumulating statistics that the streets are filling up with families.”

Paul Carlson, regional coordinator for the Interagency Council on Homelessness based in Seattle, told Zuhl that he couldn’t comment on the specifics of the report until it was released, and that it was unclear what additional resources would be dedicated to address family and youth homelessness.

Hopefully, more than just shuffling the federal deck, the new plan will not only bring additional resources to bear, but also respond to the increasing number of newly homeless in need of additional emergency services.

Brettler Family Place update: outlines are taking shape!

The outlines are taking shape at Magnuson Park for 52 units of new affordable housing for formerly homeless families! Named Brettler Family Place in honor of the generous support of the Brettler Family Foundation, the housing is currently on target to open in about a year. Here are the latest photos:

Foundations show outlines of townhouses and the Community Center (middle).

Tamping down to prepare for pouring floors.

Men and mountains.

Townhouses to come!

Shaping the Community Center.

Looking west to current family housing units in former Naval buildings.

Dream big!!!

 

Laying the foundation for a better future

Cool: These photos were taken at the construction site of the new Brettler Family Place family housing that Solid Ground is building at Sand Point/Magnuson Park. For more information on the project, or to get involved, go to our Sand Point Capital Campaign webpage.

From the south side of the site looking north by northeast. The green building on the left is Santos Place, housing for single men and women, which is at the north end of the building site. You can also see the new sports fields at Magnuson Park and a sliver of Lake Washington.

 

This view looks east by southeast over the foundations to the new baseball field and wetlands. The restorative properties of the location are a major feature of the new housing, which will accept people out of emergency shelter and transitional housing, and give them the opportunity to stay even after they graduate from needing service-rich transitional housing.

  

 

Sand Point Construction Commences

Once more, with voice over!

Turning homeless people away

Not Cool: Solid Ground has a great track record with the people we serve, supporting them in reaching their goals for stable housing, managing nutrition, and making a better life. But what about the folks we turn away?

In 2009, our Family Shelter program served 108 families (399 individuals) and turned away 5,839 requests for shelter. 804 requests were denied in July 2009 alone!

In 2009, our Broadview Emergency Shelter & Transitional Housing program turned away 5,658 requests for shelter from women and their kids, the majority of whom are fleeing from domestic violence.

Our Sand Point Family Housing does not track turnaways, but the other turnaway numbers could be combined to make this general statement:

In 2009, Solid Ground Housing programs were forced to turn away more than 10,000 requests for shelter.

We are careful to phrase this as “requests for shelter” were turned away, because we do not have the ability to verify if the requests are unduplicated. So, while it would not be accurate to say that 10,000 households were turned away, it would certainly be fair to say that however you analyze the number, it reflects WAY TOO MANY people for whom there is no room at the inn.

Solid Ground is just one provider of emergency shelter and transitional housing in our community. You can bet the various programs at the Y, CCS, DESC and everyone else is turning folks away at similar rates.

Clearly our community needs to find a way to do more to respond to the entrenched epidemic that is homelessness.

Vote to help Jackie give back to Sand Point Housing!

In our last groundviews agency newsletter, we spoke with former Sand Point Housing resident Jacquelyn Wilson, a single mom of two children, who now has a good job and a permanent place to live.

She told us, “I just can’t stress enough how important programs like this are to people like me. Sometimes life doesn’t give you a lot of choices. And things happen. And it’s not because you’re a bad person; it’s maybe because circumstances went bad. But if you’re given a chance, you can really succeed, and teach your kids a great lesson, you know?

“And it’s all walks of life that are in that building [Sand Point Family Housing], all walks of life  – and those that most need the help. And I’ll never forget any of my neighbors there – and I hope that they all succeed, and carry the experience that they had from this, and move forward – and become productive and part of society again.”

So when Jackie saw an opportunity to try to give back to Sand Point (beyond the enormous gift she made by sharing her personal story), she jumped at the chance. She found out that her bank, US Bank, is running a “Get Ahead in 2010” promotion through February 28, 2010. US Bank clients can post a short blurb describing what they would do with a $5,000 prize. Jackie signed up, writing that if she wins, she will donate the funds to Sand Point Housing. Help us help her win!

To vote for Jackie’s story:

1)  Go to
https://getaheadin2010.usbank.com/StoryGallery/

2)  Type or paste the words “Homeless Families in Washington” in the search window, and click on “Go.”

3)  VOTE! Her story will come up as “Homeless Families in Washington, Jacquelyn W., Seattle, WA”

You can vote once a day until the promotion ends on February 28, so bookmark the link and vote every day until then. Let’s help Jackie raise some funds for Sand Point Housing!

• To read the current and other issues of Solid Ground’s groundviews newsletter, go to www.solid-ground.org/AboutUs/Publications.
• For more information on Sand Point Housing, go to www.solid-ground.org/PROGRAMS/HOUSING/SANDPOINT contact Joshua Welch at 206.529.9450 or sandpoint@solid-ground.org.
• For information about Solid Ground’s plans to build more housing at Sand Point, go to www.solid-ground.org/GetInvolved/SandPointCC or contact Zanne Garland at 206.694.6862 or zanneg@solid-ground.org.

See what you have done!

Thanks to all the amazing folks who have donated to Solid Ground during our year-end giving campaign!

Despite the challenges of our nation’s ongoing economic woes, Solid Ground raised more money in 2009 than ever before. I think that is because in tough times people identify more closely with the needs of folks who are struggling to survive.  More of us know people who have faced mortgage default, hunger and even homelessness. And so, people have prioritized giving to services that meet the basic needs of people in crisis.

With your help we’ve kept thousands of folks who were facing dislocation in their homes. We’ve also helped thousands more get the long-term support and resources they need to thrive.

This video tells three short stories that represent the more than 35,000 people who came to Solid Ground this year. Thanks for being there to support them.