Our sister site, My Green Lake, attended the meeting and posted this report.

Now the coalition is proposing that multiple churches help the car campers. “We are taking a new direction this time and reaching out to multiple congregations in Ballard, asking them to take in one, maybe, two vehicles onto their land and offering a level of support to them based on the congregation’s ability or willingness to provide,” Darsie says.

The Ballard Homes for All Coalition is holding a community meeting on Thursday evening at 7 p.m. at the Crown Hill United Methodist Church (8500 14th Ave NW) to discuss this idea. Speakers at the meeting will be Jean Darsie, John Skans from Crown Hill Methodist Church and Sally Kinney from the Interfaith Task Force on Homelessness. For more information you can contact Darsie at nwcitizen@comcast.net.

The Homeless Neighbor is the third in a series of stories partnering Next Door Media sites with the nonprofit Common Language Project and students of University of Washington’s Entrepreneurial Journalism class. One of the authors of this story is Christian Caple, the editor of our newest neighborhood site U District Daily.

Continue reading “The Homeless Neighbor.”

Construction is expected to start in October, which isn’t the best time of year to get going on a project, “it’s a function of the financing” Friedhoff tells us.

Once built, the seven-story building will be staffed 24-hours a day by Compass, they will provide on-site case management, and the Reach Team from Evergreen Treatment Services will offer counseling and supportive services, according to the Daily Journal of Commerce (registration required.)

There is an early design guidance meeting scheduled for Feb. 8 at 6:30 p.m. in the Ballard High School library.

“I am glad that Our Redeemer’s stepped up and decided to require sex offender background checks, yet disappointed that SHARE wouldn’t take this one simple step to ensure the survival of the shelter,” said one neighbor who wished to remain anonymous. In a statement later this afternoon, our Redeemer’s added:

“Our Redeemer’s is deeply saddened that the process of seeking a more effective entry protocol has at times led to neighbors, church members, and homeless people taking apparently opposite sides, when in fact we are partners in creating safe, compassionate community for all. Most of us want a safe place for people who are homeless to sleep. Reasonable people may disagree on how to reach that goal. Our Redeemer’s asks that all of us involved in discussions about the Calvary campus shelter extend the presumption of good faith to one another and treat each other with respect.”

Our Redeemer’s says no date has been set for the shelter’s closure, and the timing may hinge on SHARE’s ability to find a new location. SHARE has been unavailable for comment.

In the meantime, SHARE says it’s not accepting any new residents at the Calvary Lutheran homeless shelter until a “new screening protocol” can be put into place. SHARE also said the screener who questioned the sex offender is no longer working with the organization.

According to the meeting minutes, 146 neighbors in Loyal Heights signed a petition that asked that SHARE begin screening for sex offenders or the shelter should be shut down or relocated. A survey of 78 neighbors found that 96% want a sex offender check. SHARE has refused to conduct sex offender checks as part of the new resident screening — relying instead on the DOC notifications — but they left open the possibility of revisiting the idea.

Neighbors said they want to hear back from SHARE and Our Redeemers by October 8th, but both said that date was too early to come to an agreement on a new entry screening protocol. We’ll keep you updated.

Earlier: “(We’re) more than deeply saddened,” said Our Redeemers

Neighborhood members of the task force set up to monitor the shelter reacted in an email this morning. “We have communicated to [Our Redeemer's Pastor] Steve Grumm our extreme disappointment, concern, and frankly, anger that this situation was allowed to occur,” they wrote. “We have demanded that rigorous screening for sex offenses be immediately implemented for each prospective shelter resident before he is allowed to use the shelter.”

Despite the neighborhood’s repeated requests, SHARE refused to conduct sex offender checks, even calling them “un-American.” Alan says that the discovery of this sex offender does not change their stance. “We’ve never had a problem,” he said. “It doesn’t change anything.” We spoke with one neighbor who lives near the church. “This is what we were concerned about,” he tells us. “They are no longer welcome in my neighborhood.”

The neighborhood task force said it will be meeting with Pastor Grumm soon to discuss how the screening will be implemented. We have contacted Pastor Grumm for a comment, and will post it as soon as we hear back.
(Thanks Shanedillon for your forum post!)

The Ballard Food Bank is within the 10-block zone, so SHARE members are restricted from going there. People are welcome to drop food off for the residents on any evening. “SHARE residents expressed appreciation for donations of food, clothing and 2 refrigerators,” the minutes read. “Overall, things are working out great,” a SHARE member said.

In the letter, neighbors explained they spoke with the King County Sheriff’s office about how they keep tabs on homeless sex offenders. “[Deputies] said the only way that SHARE would know if they have a registered sex offender staying with them is if they did a background check either by calling the King County Sex Offender Unit or by checking on their website,” the letter reads. “Due to the large number of small children and the presence of a daycare center nearby, we feel it’s imperative to ensure the safety of those children by obtaining these background checks.” We’ll let you know the results of the vote on Sunday.

We’re told the work crew will also be picking up trash under the Ballard Bridge in coming days, another popular homeless hangout.

One neighbor who’s been actively involved in these conversations says a representative from the neighborhood will be attending the May 7th vote to present their position. “I hope the congregation takes into account the neighborhood views and concerns,” he said. “We’ve been working in good faith and hope they will, too.” Another neighbor, who also asked that we not use his name, expressed his frustration that the decision will be in the hands of the Our Redeemer’s congregation. “I was formerly against this shelter -– now I am steadfastly against this shelter,” he said.

Timeline of major developments:
February 19: Homeless shelter moving into Calvary Lutheran
February 26: Emotions run high at packed community meeting
February 28: Church postpones homeless shelter move, forms task force
March 20: Food Bank closes up soup kitchen at Calvary Lutheran
April 22: SHARE refuses to submit to sex offender checks

According to the neighbor, members of the church are now working on an agreement with SHARE/WHEEL. He was pleased with the outcome of last week’s meeting and says, “from our point of view, they’re trying.” There are plans to hold another public meeting in the next few weeks.

Unfortunately for a non-profit like The Compass Center, that’s very difficult. “Due to the economic crisis, low income housing, just like any other housing, the financing for it right now is very difficult,” Friedhoff said. The organization wants to get financing lined up from start to finish before applying for a Master Use Permit. In the meantime, he’d like to make the land something that Ballard could use. “We would take the structure down and it would just be a vacant piece of property. We would put in grass or we would allow it to be used by some method that the Ballard community wanted it to be used.”

In a week, a city inspector will head out with Friedhoff to check out the property. The goal is to determine if the building fits the criteria to be torn down. “To make it habitable,” Friedhoff said, “It has be more than one half the replacement cost of the property.” He believes the place is beyond repair, helping their cause to tear it down without a Master Use Permit. But for now the green boarded up building sits and waits.

“Because we believe it is part of our mission to create partnerships with the community and to be a good neighbor, we have decided to postpone by four weeks the move-in date for the 20 men who will be sheltered in our Calvary building. During this time, we will work with SHARE to develop an agreement that defines accountability and safety. A task force has been formed to facilitate this process, including representatives from Our Redeemer’s, SHARE, and the neighborhood surrounding the shelter location.”

Grumm said the task force’s first meeting is Thursday, March 5th. Another community meeting will be held later in March. Grumm said the West Seattle Church of the Nazarene has agreed to delay the homeless shelter’s moving date, originally scheduled for today, for 7 days. “We feel a sense of urgency in completing an agreement with SHARE because we want these men to have safe shelter on these cold nights,” Grumm said.

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Grumm said he spoke to other churches that also host SHARE shelters, such as St. John’s Lutheran on Phinney Ridge, and the reviews have been very positive. Flyers have been distributed to neighbors in the area, and all are invited to a meeting at Calvary Lutheran on February 26th at 7 p.m. The group is expected to start moving in on February 28th. If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact Our Redeemer’s Church at 783-7900 or SHARE/WHEEL at 448-7889. (Thanks Ivan for letting us know about the flyer.)

We’ll let you know the pilot location as soon as it’s announced.

Adds Amy in comments: “I am an employee of the Compass Center and a resident of Ballard for 10 plus years. We never portrayed it as anything other than it is, a place for single homeless women to reside on a transitional basis (12-24 months) with counseling and support. We will demolish what is there now and build a new structure where people experiencing homelessness will reside and receive services. If any of you have any question as to how we help people develop community or what our projects do to property values, I encourage you to call us and tour our women’s program in the Cascade neighborhood, our Veterans program in Shoreline, our men’s program in Pioneer Square, our Family Program on 1st Hill, our day center in Belltown or any of our other 10 programs.”