‘November 1st is off’: Latest on the proposed White Center shelter
Continuing to follow up on King County’s proposal for an emergency shelter in White Center:
Last time we spoke with Sherry Hamilton from the Department of Housing and Community Services, she wasn’t able to say for sure whether the original November 1st goal of opening a shelter was still a possibility.
But today, she told WCN, the November 1st date is definitely OFF – there is no way they will have a space vetted and ready to open by then.
No new goal date at this point, though Hamilton stresses that there remains a sense of urgency as the fall/winter weather intensifies.
The Department of Permitting and Environmental Review is still looking at the county’s application for a “change of use” at the former Public Health building at 8th/108th, which many community members decry as unsuitable because, among other reasons, it’s close to schools and a park.
But Hamilton stresses that they are interested in other possibilities. She confirmed that a community working group met last night for the first time – we are told that the White Center Community Development Association is involved, among others – and that the county was heartened to hear “a desire to help” people experiencing homelessness. The group, she said, was working on a list of “concerns” as well as discussing other possible spaces.
Still no date for a second community meeting, she added, as she had told us last week.
Meantime, she said that the department plans to update its webpage about the shelter proposal – possibly as soon as the end of today.
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