Delridge homeless-housing proposal: Date set for 1st forum

| Delridge | DESC Delridge project | Development | West Seattle news

It wasn’t just celebration at Saturday’s Delridge Day festival, presented by the North Delridge Neighborhood Council – it was also about information, including one of the hottest current topics in the neighborhood, Downtown Emergency Service Center‘s proposal for 75 apartments in the 5400 block of Delridge Way SW to house homeless people living with mental illness (and in some cases, sustance abuse). One week earlier, we reported on Delridge neighborhood advocates’ tour of two DESC facilities in Columbia City and Cascade, and mentioned their plan for a town-hall-style forum. The date has now been announced: Tuesday, October 11th (evening, time TBA), at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. NDNC distributed flyers on Saturday in multiple languages. They also have launched a website with info about the forum; see it here.

Rainier Ave S not Delridge September 19, 2011 (10:02 am)

Rainier Ave South is already set up for this kind, there are already a slew of folks with problems over there. Why poison our neighborhood with this? It will forever devalue this area, its going to look like government housing all run down and ratty.

My son is all excited to skate at the skate park there but looks like that will have to stop. People with drug problems and mental illness is such a toxic situation. This really sucks.

LWC September 19, 2011 (10:27 am)

@Rainier… I’d encourage you to go to the forum. A number of Delridge neighbors recently toured other DESC locations, and came away with very favorable impressions, despite initially having hesitations similar to yours. That said, if you’re not convinced, make your voice heard at the forum!

KBear September 19, 2011 (10:48 am)

You know, there were a lot of people who weren’t too happy about the skate park being built, and the reasons they gave were very similar to the ignorant bigotry against the homeless with which people are opposing this project.

WSB September 19, 2011 (11:10 am)

For clarity’s sake: The skatepark was vigorously opposed when it was proposed for Myrtle Reservoir. There was a brief interlude in which it was maybe going to High Point, and then came the Delridge site, which did NOT draw opposition (we covered the meetings, the discussions, the formal votes, etc. etc.). Just to be clear for anyone who might interpret KBear’s comment as “Delridge opposes everything.” – TR

MIMO September 19, 2011 (12:57 pm)

Why the city chose Delridge area to build this?
Seattle city is sucks. the rich becomes richer, the poor becomes poorer. This is a good example.
We need to grow Delridge in good way for family.
We need good education, healthy, safety, good living.

Rainier Ave S not Delridge September 19, 2011 (1:07 pm)

Its not bigotry against the homeless. Lets just put it this way, I have an opinion and say on this because I pay my fair share of the taxes that the homeless, drug addicted, sex offender, prison inmates, etc., are living on. Sure we are paying less by putting them up rather than letting them run amuck but I should have a say in where they are put. Are there any of these houses on Mercer Island? Medina? I didn’t think so. You’re so bleeding heart, you’d put them next to your house, thats not me, sorry.

MyOpinion September 19, 2011 (1:20 pm)

This weekend was great for Delridge.We take pride in our parks, and care for our young children and families. It made me proud to live here. How do homeless drunks fit in? THEY DON’T! This neighborhood is changing and thriving. DESC you are taking away prime Real Estate from Delridge. Delridge is the WRONG location for DESC! Find another location with better resources for your people. Delridge is NOT the place for DESC. STOP DESC!

4thGenWestSide September 19, 2011 (1:40 pm)

I guess one positive thing will be that the values of all of properties along Delridge will surely go down in light of this being rammed down our throats, so the property taxes should come down as well, right?

That’s about the only positive thing I can think of. And I’m trying to think positive.

Been There September 19, 2011 (1:50 pm)

@KBear – You could not be more WRONG in terms of how North Delridge approached the skatepark development at the Delridge Community Center/Park. As the WSB stated, there was NO opposition coming forth from North Delridge neighbors. The exact opposite happened at the Myrtle Reservoir on 35th where nearby neighbors went ape-sh_t in opposition to the skatepark that was initially proposed for that location.
–
The DESC’s proposal for using taxpayer dollars to build another of their facilities in North Delridge is not nearly as simple as you and others seem to want to paint it. In my mind, it is not a question of whether you care or don’t care about housing people with issues. Those who try to boil it down to such simplicity are ignorant, manipulative or both. The DESC proposal for Delridge Way is a complicated matter that I believe is fraught with problems that are unique to area of North Delridge where the DESC is trying to buy and develop property. Hopefully through the upcoming forums a lot of these problems will be flushed out so that everyone who doesn’t have a jerky knee will have a better understanding of what is at stake for North Delridge.

concernedinws September 19, 2011 (2:01 pm)

The reality is that we need to find someone who can help us put a stop to this. Yes, people with mental illness and drug addictions need help. So do the people who live in the Delridge neighborhood; they have worked long and hard to make it a good, clean, safe neighborhood and adding these folks to the mix will do NOTHING positive for the environment (IMHO). There are no drug treatment centers in the area, with the exception of the small groceries in the general vicinity, they will not have access to food, healthcare, addiction services, etc.
So how do we band together and keep this from happening in our neighborhood?? Will the neighborhood forum help us to address this issue?

rita smith September 19, 2011 (6:00 pm)

It’s a fact – domestic violence, drug addiction, and alcoholism to name just a few are all problems associated w/mental illness. In a neighborhood already plagued by crime, why make it worse? I can only hope the DESC reconsiders. I’m definitely not against finding housing for people who need help. The location just needs to make common sense.

Cakebake September 19, 2011 (6:07 pm)

Delridge is creepy enough at night
Nuff said

Cinertang September 19, 2011 (6:42 pm)

I wonder if the price of property has a lot to do with the location of the housing unit. If it does that would explain why its not being built some where else. I personally have been living near Delridge for 53 years and have watched it grow. I do not feel that this is good for the neighborhood. There are a lot of children living down here. I worry for their safety and mine.

Krystal September 19, 2011 (7:31 pm)

I’m so devastated for the Delridge Community with proposed new addition. This neighborhood is really doing everything they can to improve, and the skate park is such an example of making the neighborhood at better place. I have worked with the disabled and while I think it would be great to have help out there for those who TRULY cannot help themselves, I am not sure this entirely qualifies with their “help” for those with “addictive illness”. Let’s spend our money in better ways, Seattle. I doubt anyone would be as up in arms if this was a typical group home for disabled adults who needed support–these future tenants can seriously pose a threat to this neighborhood.

Delridge Neighbor September 23, 2011 (2:42 pm)

I work downtown for a housing project very similar to this one. We also use the “housing first” model and I can tell you first-hand that the people you are scared of, the ones who come to mind when the building is described as “housing for mentally ill homeless people,” are not necessarily the people who will be living in these units. People struggling with mental illness are not always the frightening, combative, “crazy” caricatures that come to mind built from TV images and the hand-full of people you come across on the streets. Yes, there also tend to be addiction issues, but programs like those within DESC (and like the one I work for) are specifically equipped to help these folks access services and programs to bring them out of homelessness and help them rebuild their lives. Those suffering from the most severe mental illness don’t often want to leave their units, much less the building. Stimulation is a challenge for people with mental illness, and being outside with a lot of people, noises and lights, can be scary for them, so it is very likely that they won’t even be a presence on Delridge.

I am a life-time Delridge resident, and I completely understand the fear and concern. I urge you to get to know these programs a bit better, and try to understand what this will really look like.

I also urge reporters to refrain from describing the building as housing “mentally ill homeless people” as it brings to mind only the scariest of stereotypes. These are not “homeless people;” they are people suffering from an illness who are experiencing homelessness.

What kind of a community are we creating if we cannot support those who need our help the most?

WSB September 23, 2011 (2:52 pm)

Well, fwiw, I use “homeless people” as an upgrade from what I consider the dehumanizing term most of the rest of the media uses, which is “the homeless,” leaving the “people” out of it entirely. – TR

Delridge Neighbor September 23, 2011 (3:48 pm)

I’m sorry WSB, I did mean to add in the above comment that your description in this story of the residents as “homeless people living with mental illness” was absolutely a step in the right direction. Much improved from “mentally ill homeless people,” and I think it sends the right message. My comment was meant to indicate past media reporting.

Sorry, comment time is over.