By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

The Highland Park Action Committee and guests listened on Wednesday night to three women with unique perspectives on how to help people experiencing homelessness: Two advocates who work with them, and one woman who lost her home when she lost her job.

Also discussed: The recent decision not to provide Neighborhood Street Fund money to the roundabout that is seen as a solution to the Highland Park Way/Holden traffic trouble.

First, the panel, which you also can watch/listen to via our unedited video above:

HPAC chair Gunner Scott moderated the discussion, saying he had experienced homelessness in his youth and is still somewhat shocked to realize he is now, in his 40s, a homeowner. He asked for understanding and civility.

The panelists:

*Ruth Herold from the Elizabeth Gregory Home

*Alisa, a leader at Camp Second Chance (the encampment inside the entrance to the Myers Way Parcels) who has been unsheltered for months and is about to move into housing

*Dr. Polly Trout, founder of Patacara Community Services, which has been involved with encampments including Camp Second Chance

She was the first to answer the question posed to each, how they got involved with homelessness. Dr. Trout said that because of experience in her younger years, she had a lot of compassion for people who had had to take their problems to the streets. Two years ago, she retired from a nonprofit that was going in a more academic direction while she was interested in a “more holistic version of what it takes to heal from trauma.” Most people on the streets come from unsafe family environments, she said. “When tragedy strikes,” you can either grow from it or be destroyed by it, she observed, so she has been offering chaplain-type services to people in encampments.

Alisa said that she had been in the game industry and with her partner tried to develop a game that did not work out. She found herself without a paycheck and without family to turn to; both were dealing with PTSD from family problems, so they tried to live with friends and “it was working successfully for a while,” but the people with whom they were living couldn’t support them any longer, so this summer, they became fully unsheltered. Calling 211, they and their “98-pound dog” couldn’t find anywhere to go, complicated by the fact that her partner is transgender but not yet documented as a woman. At Camp Second Chance, which has volunteer 24-hour security, they feel safe, and it’s helping them get back on their feet. “And I’m pleased to say that on Tuesday, we’re moving to a place in the Central District … without Camp Second Chance, I don’t know where we’d be right now.”

Herold said she had been in the social-service world for more than a decade and a half. When she started in the field, it did not have inclusive practices, but now she has a lot of hope that there are people in communities who want to see things change. She works with a five-day-a-week drop-in day center and is hopeful of extending it to a sixth day. Until your needs are covered – in the hierarchy of needs – she says, you can’t make that leap out of homelessness. Shelters and encampments are noisy, with people who are sick, who are fighting, who are stealing each other’s things, and “people are exhausted. … We like to look at ourselves as providers with client-centered design.”

It’s a very small center, Herold said, but they have figured out how to meet needs – they have a sleeping room, for example, with mats for nine people “who are getting rest.” They teach people how to eat nutritiously, help them get health care; last year they served more than 640 people and this year that number will pass 700. “People really need to be seen,” as well as helped, she said. “The most important question we ask is, ‘What are your hopes and dreams?’ That’s a lot of what we’re about.” RICE – respect, inclusion, community, empathy – is the acronym for their core values, Herold said. They also have a transitional house that serves eight women.

Dr. Trout talked about some of the factors present in people experiencing homelessness, including drug use, but noted that it isn’t necessarily the cause of their homelessness, but often a result of the trauma caused by becoming unhoused.

Herold said chronic mental illness is also a common factor – and then there are “deer in the headlights” people who “never expected” to be in a situation where they would be without shelter. Domestic violence might lead to it, “people who lived in middle-class, upper-middle-class homes, and suddenly lose everything … and end up on the streets.”

“Having a health crisis is often a reason people end up homeless,” added Trout. It happened to her, and she was lucky to have a relative to turn to for temporary help.

Alisa then talked about Camp Second Chance, which splintered off from other encampments including Tent City 3, with some people who decided to start their own self-managed encampment, with campers having a say in its management. “They started it in April of this year, hosted at Riverton United Methodist Church in Tukwila” (as noted in our original report about the encampment’s July arrival in southeast West Seattle).

Each pays money for a share of the power to charge items such as cell phones and for propane to be used to heat the common room. There’s a “TV room,” a “computer room,” and campers just built a new security tent after the recent windstorm blew down the original one. Alisa is kitchen coordinator and deals with food donations – one camper has a job at a store and brings the “castoffs,”for example; another person works at a distribution center and brings leftover produce. “There’s quite a few folks who do work,” she said, mentioning another camp resident who worked at a day-care facility and was able to have her child get care there too, so she could save up and get into an apartment. “Everyone is doing something.”

Scott asked about barriers to housing.

Herold mentioned that people coming out of the criminal-justice system have trouble getting housing. They have a “landlord liaison program” that helps support people in that situation as they seek permanent housing and stability. “One of the things about housing lists … Section 8, SHA …those lists are really long, and it doesn’t matter if they are disabled, elders, whatever,” that doesn’t move you up. So many have to go into transitional housing that might have shared facilities. Then there are policies such as tiers of assessments – “that many more hoops you have to jump through.”

Trout added that there’s not nearly enough housing for the low-income and market-rate people who need it. She talked about trying to seek it herself, with a relatively low income, and facing “couch-surfing” again because she can’t find a 3-bedroom or even 2-bedroom for herself and her teenagers at the income level landlords are seeking.

Scott went back to the topic of substance abuse. What is it like for someone dealing with addiction/abuse, trying to get housed?

Herold said her transitional housing required at least 3 months of sobriety and that people are sober when they show up, “for the safety of all.” She said she supports giving people “chances and choices” but it’s “a tough nut to crack” – when people want to get help, they might not be able to get it immediately. For one person, they secured a promise of someplace to go in six weeks – “where am I supposed to go until then?” the person wondered.

“Everyone who is homeless is not an addict, but those who are face an extra barrier,” Herold said.

After the meeting was opened to Q&A, the first person to speak was a Myers Way resident who brought up a problem with Camp Second Chance upon their arrival and said it’s a “magnet” for other problem people. “How many have found homes?”

“Thirty to forty percent since we have been on Myers Way,” responded Alisa. “Six campers before myself and my partner, just since July.” She said that if the encampment – which is not authorized – does not find another location, they can go back to the Riverton location for three months starting in January. While she wasn’t there at the time of the original arrival, she said she regretted whatever had happened.

Next audience question: “I feel like there are a lot of good folks doing good work (but) I have friends who started their own space up on Aurora” – a place to hang out, “be human,” get things done – and they couldn’t find funding. “There are so many agencies and nonprofits doing this work, that it actually thins out the pie, there’s competition for these funds, a lot less collaboration … Where are you finding the challenges?”

Trout agreed there’s too much competition. She said she has criticized some of the major organizations in the field because they “become autocratic and have a lot of problems,” including accountability and feedback. Then as for the large traditional nonprofits, they had programs designed more than a century ago to serve adult male alcoholics, and they don’t know how to help families, people of color, trans people, etc. “The system is very messed up, for a lot of reasons.”

Herold said that there is now some accountability for organizations, “and us little guys are coming to the table too.” But you can’t rely on government funding, she said. Some organizations “have more jobs available than they have people to take the jobs.”

Other questions/comments from the audience including more observations on the difficulty of getting into housing, maybe $5,000 by the time that you have paid first/last month and a security deposit, plus an observation that it seems so dissonant that the city is wealthy and yet having such a homelessness problem.

Alisa mentioned Opportunity Village in Eugene, a community similar to Camp Second Chance, which asked permission to be on city land in exchange for maintenance of it as a park. They have since raised money to buy land and build a tiny-house village ‘that will be owned by their occupants,’ Emerald Village, as a step up from Opportunity Village. She said she is heartened to hear success stories from elsewhere.

Another attendee said “We know what to do, it’s just, how to make it happen?”

Then an attendee from South Park said he is supportive of a well-run camp like CSC and doesn’t see why such a wealthy area couldn’t build 5,000 housing units -“it takes all of us contacting our elected officials right now, saying build this housing – if they started getting that coordinated message from everyone in Seattle,” it would happen. “We have not roared loud enough” – yet, he said. “Of course we have the money. So get busy with your e-mailing and your phone calls (and to ask) ‘What do you need from me?’ …That’s really where the power is, in the hands of the people.”

Scott’s last question, “What should the city of Seattle be doing right now?”

“Building more housing – not pushing people around,” said Trout.

“Pushing people around, the sweeps we’ve been hearing about… giving us a specific place to be, whether that’s housing or land like Opportunity Village, don’t just crush us under the rug, come out and talk to us, I’m a person, my partner’s a person, everyone in the camp has the same rights as everyone else does,” said Alisa.

Herold said, “The more that we distance ourselves from ‘those people'” – she noted that an attendee had said “you people” – the more difficult it is to find solutions. She said rent control might help; also, “make public transportation cheaper according to people’s income … we distribute bus tickets but we have to pay for them, one third the cost, we’ve given out almost 12,000 bus tickets already this year” – even if you are disabled, it’s a dollar a ticket, and that’s “pretty discouraging.”

Seattle Police were represented at the start of the meeting by Operations Lt. Ron Smith, who oversees Community Police Team Officer Todd Wiebke, who has been dealing with issues related to unsheltered people. Lt. Smith explained that they are trying to keep lines of communication open.

HIGHLAND PARK WAY ROUNDABOUT PASSED OVER AGAIN: Scott mentioned that HP continues to pursue a solution for the HP Way/Holden problems, but the proposed $2 million roundabout was again not chosen for Neighborhood Street Fund money (here’s the draft list of projects that were chosen citywide). “Some of us are in dismay that the projects (chosen) don’t have anything to do with traffic on streets.” HPAC might seek state or federal dollars to make it happen. They point out that the intersection has been a problem since the early 1940s. They might even try to crowdfund a stoplight. “I was pretty despondent to find that out -how many more people have to die or be injured?” said Scott. “This is a main arterial that all of us are using -it’s one of the three main points to get out of West Seattle,” and the impending HALA-related upzoning of the Highland Park-Westwood Urban Village will only make it busier. “Something needs to be done.” They’re considering a letter campaign, some public-awareness actions, and hoping that Councilmember Lisa Herbold will come to HPAC for a “state of the neighborhood” update in January.

HPAC also will have elections for officers early next year. Don’t just say the city is a disaster and needs to be fixed, Scott said – come help fix it!

PUBLIC SAFETY SURVEY REMINDER: Southwest Precinct/Seattle University researcher Jennifer Burbridge was at HPAC to encourage people to fill out the Public Safety Survey that’s been open for a week and a half. 4,100 responses already are in, she said, more than half last year’s entire six-week total, and they are hopeful of a much higher total this year. You have until November 30th to respond at publicsafetysurvey.org.

HIGHLAND PARK IMPROVEMENT CLUB: HPIC president Rhonda Smith encouraged everyone to attend upcoming events including the first-Friday Corner Bar (with Rippin’ Chicken performing) on November 4th and then the HPIC Holiday Bazaar, with lots of handmade items (and an open bar!), and Family Movie Night on November 18th. In December, sip-and-paint comes to HPIC, with Bottles and Brushes, and the big New Year’s Eve party including the ever-festive Not-So-Silent-Night Parade and an early edition of Corner Bar.

Highland Park Action Committee won’t meet again until the New Year; watch for updates at hpacinfo.wordpress.com, or on Twitter at @HPACWS.