White Center Now: The blog about White Center

By King County Councilmember Joe McDermott
and
Seattle City Councilmember Lisa Herbold
Special to White Center Now

There’s a lot of conflict and confusion around what to do about homelessness and how it can best be addressed. The debate has become polarizing for our region – let’s ensure it doesn’t become paralyzing. Many of our constituents express understandable frustration that people are camping in West Seattle, White Center, and elsewhere. There are also plenty of passionate voices who express compassion for people who experience homelessness.

But the biggest concerns seem to be in reaction to broken policies, not the people themselves. For the last few years, the City and County have heard from many residents that there are many people who are unsheltered in White Center. They ask that local government take necessary steps to ensure homelessness is a brief and one-time event.

We know we need resources to divert people from homelessness, resources to get people into housing quickly after becoming homeless, and resources to help re-stabilize families after experiencing homeless so they don’t become homeless again. For those living unsheltered, the need for low-barrier shelter is vital.

There are as many stories as there are people living unsheltered. No one is perfect, but many of the stereotypes of people who are homeless are simply that: stereotypes. As a community we must stop perpetuating the myth that people live unsheltered by choice. Most people we’ve talked to or heard about are not making a choice to live outside because they prefer it. Rather, it is because shelters are full, rental housing is unaffordable, and mental health and drug treatment services are unavailable. Those who are homeless are faced with a lack of real choices that can help people get and stay housed. And it falls to us, as a community, to provide them an opportunity for better choices.

It is incredibly disturbing to hear comments that repeat harmful stereotypes about the identity of people who are homeless, and the dangers that they pose to community safety. These comments have been made in response to not just the proposed shelter for White Center, but for those in other areas as well. This creates a sense of fear, and doesn’t allow us to have a productive conversation about how to address this situation.

The annual One Night Count last January confirmed more than 3,000 people living unsheltered, with over 100 of our neighbors counted sleeping outside in White Center in particular. There are very limited options for emergency shelter in this area, and new approaches and different policies might move some of these very same people to an indoor space. A current plan to open a shelter in White Center for people experiencing homelessness could fulfill the need for such a space.

The county’s Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) has proposed transforming a county-owned building, the site of the former Public Health clinic, into a temporary shelter for people experiencing homelessness. The original proposal included a 70-bed shelter facility that would be open from early evening through morning, to be located next to the White Center Food Bank. In response to community comments and the continuing engagement of a neighborhood workgroup, the proposal is being refined. We are especially supportive of efforts to work with clients to connect them with needed services, such as employment, health care, and permanent housing.

Long-term, this site is being considered as the future location of a community hub that can provide centralized access to needed services and permanent housing. However, it will be several years before such a development is realized. In the meantime, we have the opportunity to use this building, a public resource, to address one of the most pressing challenges facing our community.

We view this as an opportunity for collaboration and problem-solving between Seattle, King County, and the community. We appreciate that people have shared their perspectives on this strategy, from those with concerns to those expressing strong support. Working together, we must help people experiencing homelessness become more stable, because when they have some form of safe shelter, rather than sleeping outside in our neighborhoods, green belts, and on the sidewalk, they are able to secure housing more successfully. Providing low barrier shelter provides some improved stability for all. We have an obligation to act.

People are needlessly living unsheltered every day. We can and we must find more places where people can move out of the cold to a warm place where they can begin their journey to permanent housing. To those who say we must focus on long term solutions, we say we agree but no one should sleep outdoors, and we need solutions that will serve people today. Where can these people sleep this winter? And in the absence of a safe location, when we turn a blind eye to opportunities like the one in White Center, we risk making everyone’s situation worse — not better.

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Councilmember Joe McDermott represents King County District 8, which includes White Center. Councilmember Lisa Herbold represents Seattle District 1, which includes neighboring West Seattle and South Park.

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