Update: Talks continue over homeless shelter

Geeky Swedes Ballard

Update: Pastor Steve Grumm says the talks continue with SHARE to house the homeless shelter at Calvary Lutheran Church.

The SeattlePI.com reported Sunday night, which we originally linked from this post, that Our Redeemer’s Lutheran Church has decided not to host a nighttime SHARE homeless shelter at Calvary Lutheran Church. The PI said that decision was made after SHARE/WHEEL refused to conduct sex offender background checks on its members, which was demanded by many neighbors at an emotional public forum held in February. But Pastor Grumm tells My Ballard that no final decision has been made.

Geeky Swedes

The founders of My Ballard

116 thoughts to “Update: Talks continue over homeless shelter”

  2. See? They had something to hide. No sex offender checks = no shelter for you. Its common sense. If you detest Ballard, go back to Haight Asbury

  3. Thank you Geeky Swedes for letting us know.
    snufffilm…to not require responsibility, like in choosing an irresponsible handle, is like leaving this community to deal with the result. That's not acceptable.
    Sorry that you find that to be 'simple minded', but perhaps you're looking in the mirror?

  4. Mission Accomplished

    Now, to shut down the car campground and get rid of the rest of the Meth Heads in Bergen Park and 7 11. Keep it up folks. This is good vs evil

    Plain and simple

  10. I hate this dismal community of lily white douche bags. Why would I want to be around them? A bunch of semi educated and boring wastes of breath. You will live, you will die, and nothing you have done will matter in the end. You will not be remembered. You are void.

  11. lol…you have quite the argument there…dunno what to say…
    …you need a public intellectual?…lol
    I love a good laugh….rotflmao…

  12. My guess is that this “s” is really some kind of bot. Notice the limited vocab and lack of topical response to the content of posts. The GS need to implement an “ignore list” as found on many boards, so we don't even have to see such posts.

  16. What kind of handle is “snuff film” anyway? That says something about this person. Nasty. He says “Chopper only loves this community as long as everyone is employed, housed, normal, white, pays their taxes, watches the right amount of TV, brushes their teeth thrice daily, manicures their lawn, washes their car, has the right amount of pets of the correct kind, reads the right books that are socially acceptable, votes correctly, and for the love of god recycles.”

    Well, I love this communkity and I am all in favor of having Ballard populated by law-abiding taxpayers who recycle and mow their lawns. Methinks one of the vagrants living in RVs down by Bad Albert has wi-fi.

    I am pleased with this decision; Calvery Lutheran is right in the middle of a residential neighborhood. Since SHARE won't provide background checks for sex offenders, the a priori deduction is that they did have a plan to house sex offenders in our neighorhood. So, I would have to agree; yes, I want “normal” people living in this neighorhood, if normal means “not a sex offender.”

    BTW, “snuff film”, you are free to leave at any time.

  20. I went to the public forum last night and it was much better organized than previous ones held. They had an editor from 'Real Change' and the pastor there talking about his experiences with the homeless.
    I think everyone one agrees homelessness is becoming a greater problem, but in the end, no answers were given to solve the problem. There were overall comments thrown about like' change the system' 'change society' 'government doesn't work' and all that crap. But few agreed with the host that we needed to relax the criminal system and not incarcerate so many.
    A shelter doesn't really help in the long term, what people need are jobs. Somebody did point out that Ballard was mostly residential, and everyone here pretty much commutes somewhere else to work, so there aren't many jobs.
    People did raise concerns about safety, and the foodbank was also bought up.
    The hosts also pointed out that everyone picture the homeless as one stereotype, crazy drunks. But I did ask about criminal and sex offender checks, and all they said was that some were on a sex offenders list for stupid things and some criminal records were due to petty crimes. That to me means they don't subscribe to background checks, worrying!

    Overall it was a good meeting, and I recommend others with similar, or infact different views to attend the next one.

  21. Why can't some just comment without being vulgar? Brevity IS the soul of wit. The best commedians NEVER swear. Looks like some were hiding facts from us here. Now why would they do that? Are these people stuck for life in the position they put themselves in? Why is it “our problem”? Hasn't the “great society” been a wonderful thing? What do we want Ballard to resemble?

  24. In the P-I article “Pastor Terry Mattson said neighbors initially resisted, due to worries about sex crimes, panhandling and a drop in their property values. But the shelter moved in anyway, and some neighbors now say things have been fine.”

    “”They keep an eye on my business,” said Harold Calkins, who runs a health club next door and often chats with the men while walking his dogs.”

    My impression is that the 20 people from the West Seattle shelter are being blamed for the bad behavior of others. In other words, they are being scape goated.

  25. I agree with you that people need jobs to help get out of homelessness, but many also need help first in order to keep a job. My brother created a non-profit that helps get psychiatric help to the homeless and through that has learned that mental illness is a huge cause of homelessness. Then there are homeless families – where will the children go while the parents work when childcare expenses would take up more than half their income if they're making a low wage? It's such an enormously complex problem. But yeah, access to jobs would help. If I were homeless I would want to stay downtown or somewhere in walking distance to where I could get work and have easier access to day shelters and help.

  26. Having been to a lot of neighborhood meetings on the subject, I don't think it's the guys from the shelter who people are concerned about as much as it is the lack of responsibility SHARE is willing to take. Outside individuals have offered to pay any fees out of their own pocket and come and volunteer to do the criminal and sex offender background checks themselves and SHARE has refused to let them. I'd say that it is not the men currently in the shelter who those of us who live near the Calvary building fear at this point – it is SHARE's unwillingness to be responsible. If they were in an industrial or financial area that was not near schools and located in a purely residential neighborhood their policies would work fine, but their refusal to even accept the background checks being donated to them makes me think their agenda is not appropriate for a family neighborhood. I feel bad for the men who are currently in the shelter, but not because the residents in our neighborhood expect responsibility from SHARE – but because SHARE will not bend on an important issue.

  27. I'm from the Lake City area, which has experienced a growing homelessness problem in the last 10 years, and I'ved been involved in organizations serving people who are homeless and organizations working to end homelessness. The Seattle Mennonite Church hired several community ministers to work with our homeless neighbors (and yes, as Craig Rennebohm said at the Ballard forum last night, they are our neighbors). Now 6 have been re-housed and the others know that most in their community do not regard them as aliens, or criminals determined to wreck the neighborhood, but as human beings who are all different from each other in the same way housed people are different from each other.

    I ask everyone who has a residence in a neighborhood: Have you ever been asked if someone could move in next door to you? Down the street from you? Probably not — they simply moved in, right? Did you know before they moved in whether they drank, or took drugs, or were violent to their wives or kids, or had a mental illness? They didn't tell you? Why didn't you insist on a criminal background check from your housed neighbors? If you read the newspapers, you must know that plenty of violent crimes are committed by housed people, and that substance abuse happens with housed people.

    Homeless people can't hide their problems. That's often the only reason why they seem different from the rest of us who do have houses. They must live with us watching them and criticizing and demonizing and telling them and the world that they are to blame for their situation. More and more of us know or have family members who are–or are ourselves–people who have lost their jobs and their homes. Where will those people go? Will they become part of the demonized homeless and will they have to produce criminal records to get shelter?

    This is shameful. Whatever religion or system of ethics we subscribe to would tell us it is shameful. If crimes occur, prosecute those who commit them. Don't persecute homeless people because you think simply being homeless is a crime.

  28. Great work everyone. From people who spoke to the Pastor (like myself) and people who attended the meeting I think we should really pat ourselves on the back. This was a bad plan from the beginning. By sticking together, spreading information and being outspoken, we stopped it. Yeah Team! Helping the homeless, especially those that are temporarily homeless, is a good thing, but that is not what this plan was about. So don't pay attention to anyone who starts with the name calling.

  29. Way to go team! We stuck together and fought off the most vulnerable people in society. That is no easy task. We have homes, money, lawyers, cars. And we were up against….homeless people! YAY! We are the champions Ballard folks. Good going. Pat our selves on the back for sure.

  31. “Why didn't you insist on a criminal background check from your housed neighbors?”

    Because in good neighborhoods the bank and/or landlord already did. My neighbors have paper trails. My neighbors can't hide behind false names. Oh, and another thing, my neighbors aren't 'housed' , they 'housed' themselves. Subtle but important distinction.

    Now if we wanted to live in a bad neighborhood I guess we could ask the banks and landlords to not run criminal back ground checks that but you know what, we don't want to live in a crime riddled s**t hole and we won't apologize for maintaining standards. I got a back ground check to get my mortgage. I got a back ground check when I rented in nice homes in nice neighborhoods. If I was homeless I would want the man sleeping in the bed next me to be checked and would happily submit to a background check myself. Same reason I have no problem getting searched getting on airplanes.

    But NOOOO, the homeless are a protected class, they are 'victims', they can't have their dignity violated for everyone's saftey, including their own. What we were thinking?

    SHARE/Wheel is little more than a political theater company, dragging its traveling freak show around Seattle. One of their leaders, Leo Rhodes, has been homeless for 20 years. Yes, 20 years; that's not homeless, that's a lifestyle choice and SHARE thinks we should accept it or they'll simply shove it down our throats. Well, we said no to irresponsible political theater. If they want to be free from the societal restraints civilized people around the world accept that's fine, but we also have the right to say not in our neighborhood.

  32. Sally, did you read “street_urchin's” comment just above yours? I would like to read your comments on THIS situation and not on the generic “homeless” label.

  33. This is why I moved here from Northern Idaho to Ballard. Feels like home. Keep it white, uptight, and out of sight everyone. Oh the love.

  34. The people in the neighborhood have every right to question, protest and oppose the activities at the church. It’s perfectly reasonable to raise the questions about what could be an ever-changing cast of characters living there.

  35. Millipeed, I think you have it right with the description of 'lifestyle'. So what if Ballard is not as fashionable in say 20 years, the young homeless of today would relocate to..Allentown or Medina!

  36. Please, save the 'you nazis' BS for your coffee shop hipster friends. Ballard does more to help the homeless than most communities in Seattle. We already have shelters, soup kitchens, a food bank. These groups listen to their neighbors and our concerns. SHARE simply refused, so adios.

  37. Sally, How many homeless did YOU personally “re house”, I'm sure you could make room for one or two in your place……just a thought….. also, where are the FAMILIES of these “homeless” individuals…..brings to mind “burned bridges”??

  38. Does anyone know if there are any current programs for the homeless or something active at Our Redeemers? Last Tuesday, early afternoon, I was walking home, pushing my two sleeping children in a red stroller. After a brief conversation with a man along the sidewalk (in front of Our Redeemers on 70th), I told him that I was running late and had to go. As I walked away, he started shouting at me, calling me a liar, saying that I was lying, that he didn't want to chat with me, then the liar stuff again. The shouting went on for about a full block until I was almost at 24th.

    Anyhow, when I walked by earlier, around 11:45ish, there was a small group of men in front of the ramp to the basement and people meeting inside.

    (and, to disclose, this is my new “Disqus” handle, I'm formerly AmyJ)

  39. Sally, you don't wake up one morning and find yourself homeless, the victim of bad luck. As Pastor Rich says, you have to work hard to become homeless. You first must make a lifetime of bad decisions, burn all ties to your family & friends, possibly have substance abuse problems & lack the ability to hold a job. The difference between homeless and those that have a home is not the flip of a coin, it that people that have a place to live have the ability to function in society, hold a job and pay rent/mortgage. I don't want homeless people living near me not because they are homeless but for all the things they did that made themselves homeless.

  40. So maybe you can invite a homeless registered sex offender or a runner from warrants or child support responsibilities into a spare room in your home to show the commitment needed as a moral compass for the rest of us.

  41. What interests me is the statement made “some were on a sex offender list for stupid things and some criminal records due to petty crime.” There are literally hundred of unregistered Class Three sex offenders in Seattle. Pretty much every criminal out there is going to say “I did something stupid” (like get caught) and commited “petty crimes”. Virtually no sex offender has any remorse about what they did, nor any inclination to change their behavior. Well, for the woman from lake City who said something like “you don't get to chose your neighbors etc.”…well, if they are sex offenders, at least you know where they live.

    I don;t think we need to house criminals and sex offenders in a residential neighborhood. I'm pleased with the decision.

  42. Well said.
    I just feel bad for the truly mentally ill and the children although there are 'looser users 'out there who use their kids as moral ransom.

  43. Yes, and Share/Wheel isn't the least bit interested in the causes of homelessness, not the least bit responsible to this community. Not the least bit interested in in how to end the cycle of homelessness. This community has held firm, and I'm proud of it. I want Share/Wheel to learn better how to approach a community, they screwed this up, they are to blame, and they have been nothing but a disservice to the homeless and this community.
    Bye Bye, and take all these clueless haters with ya… We don't owe them anything.

  44. pretty irresponsible, I don't understand where you get that drivel, nor why you think it's even relevant…
    I don't care what color a sex offender is…Share/Wheel doesn't care what kind of criminals they force into our community. Fortunately, we do, thank you Ballard.

  45. There is one specific thing here that really needs to be highlighted. The neighbors asked for backround checks, and the shelter refused.

    Refusal meets refusal.

  46. Some may not want police background checks because they may have citations for nonviolent offenses such as sleeping outdoors (“vagrancy”), peeing outdoors, (“indecent exposure”), living in a vehicle parked more than 72 hours and other charges brought on by responding to basic human needs. The men in the SHARE shelter are human beings living in the solution, making an effort to lift themselves out of homelessness in the most hopeful, creative “bootstrap” way, relying on their own resources (i.e., working, organizing themselves) and sometimes struggling with debt or dependencies.
    They have had to live without plumbing, heat, and the food and water we take for granted; all we have to give up is our assumptions.

  48. Sally, your quote contains the main problem:

    “The Seattle Mennonite Church hired several community ministers to work with our homeless neighbors (and yes, as Craig Rennebohm said at the Ballard forum last night, they are our neighbors). “

    That wasn't happening. The plan was to let these people have a key and stay there at night with absolutely no supervision, there was no support offered or any plan to get them out of being homeless. This was a free hotel.

    I'm all for the food bank, and I live right near it. I would also be fine with a shelter that had some kind of supervision and rehabilitation component. But this had absolutely none of those things. The church wasn't even being used any more, so no one even notice if it was being damaged by the tenants.

    It was a bad plan and that's why so many of us were against it.

  50. I think the rationale was that it was offensive to the homeless to assume that they were sex offenders or otherwise criminals.
    I see their point, but I don't agree with it. If you're looking for favors from the community I think you should be a little more flexible in soothing their concerns, especially when the only exposure to homeless people have been having in Ballard lately is more of the drunks/mentally ill/druggies variety than the down on their luck and trying to get back type.

  51. Maybe I'm not remembering correctly, but when Trinity Church hosted Tent City I thought SHARE/WHEEL had all sorts of rules for occupancy there-no drugs, good behavior, etc. Seemed at the time that the Tent City had few if any problems, and worked ok. I lived not far from there, and it seemed allright. Criteria, rules, and expectations for tenants were in effect (if I recall correctly). Has SHARE/WHEEL gone completely downhill since then? I can't understand why they'd completely refuse any background checks-seems like a sure strategy to get kicked out of the neighborhood. Perhaps SHARE/WHEEL can no longer meet the needs of the homeless and the community it puts them in. Sad.

  53. I believe that Rich Lang didn't say you have to work hard to BE homeless, but you have to work hard once you ARE homeless. It's not easy to find food, shelter, medical care, and all the other things that most housed people take for granted.

    Losing a job is not a “lifetime of bad decisions.” Jobs are hard to find now, and when a job is lost, only the CEOs get golden parachutes. The rest of us usually get two weeks' notice. Could you pay for a place to live without a job? Mental or physical illness is not a “lifetime of bad decisions.” Without medical care, how would you manage that illness? How would you work?

    Ignore or criticize people who are homeless all you wish. Just don't expect everyone to agree with illogical comments.

  54. Mathew 25:40
    ‘And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.’ But hey all the Ballard churches I have visited are just social clubs anyway.

    Background checks are a problem because they take time and often the need is immediate.

  55. “Background checks are a problem because they take time and often the need is immediate.”

    A check for Level 3 offenders can be done in less than 24 hours.

  56. I dont know what pastor said what ; but if you want to end the homeless problem in Ballard.; Just ask these men and women to do some work for their soup kitchen handout such as picking up the “natural Ice” beer cans they throw around the neighbor on sat. mornings.
    How many do you think will show up?

  57. I dont know what pastor said what ; but if you want to end the homeless problem in Ballard.; Just ask these men and women to do some work for their soup kitchen handout such as picking up the “natural Ice” beer cans they throw around the neighbor on sat. mornings.
    How many do you think will show up?

  58. Rich 'Jim Jones' Lang over at the People's Church?

    “Losing a job”

    You think these guys just got laid off? Leo Rhodes of SHARE has been living on the streets for 20 years. Not 20 hours. Not 20 days. Not 20 months. By his own admission, 20 years, and he's considered a leader at SHARE, apparently leading by example.

    Sorry, no one believes this sob story about how these guys just lost their jobs in this economy and how we're all just a few paychecks away from being homeless ourselves. These guys have been bumming around come rain or shine, good economy or bad.

    Now that's fine, they can do that, we live in a free country but we just let them know we're not a bunch of do-nothing hippies here in Ballard so they need to move along.

  59. Hey Jim, I realize this is sort-of off topic, but could you share some specifics as to why you felt that way? I live just one block directly south of that tent city…and aside from finding an odd beer can or two in my bushes, it really went pretty smoothly from my perspective. Just curious.

  61. The worst possible way to treat these men is to enable them. It's also incredible to assume that we must take such a risk as the enabling continues.
    Do these people have jobs? If so, why are they being transported all over the place?
    Seems counter-productive to getting someone on their feet…

  62. What happen at the third tent city at Our Redeemer? I didn't hear anything about it. Could it be possible that Share is paid by the head count of the homeless they serve? If so they don't care who comes in as long as its a number. Just a thought.

  63. I find it amusing when all of SHARE's defenders talk about how their sites are self-managed and have strict rules of conduct and will kick anyone out who doesn't follow the rules, yet when we as a community get together and do the same, suddenly we're fascists.

  64. “The worst possible way to treat these men is to enable them.” Do you have something concrete to back that assumption? Of course not.

    There is also the simple issue that registered sex offenders have a right to shelter also so what does it matter.

  65. I don't understand all the demonizing of SHARE. SHARE and WHEEL constitute King County's largest shelter network, with 15 indoor shelters and 2 Tent Cities. They've been in operation for almost 20 years and have a good reputation for well managed shelters with very low overhead.

    Over the past couple of decades SHARE and WHEEL have developed a system that works for screening applicants and managing any problems that might arise. Their rules of conduct are strict and violations are dealt with promptly and firmly.

    I've met a few of the paid staff and know them to be compassionate, no nonsense people. Most of the people involved are either homeless or formerly homeless and they know the problems involved and how to deal with them. They've become empowered to advocate for themselves through the process. Most importantly they have a good reputation which they strongly defend and have built a system that works.

    That being said, SHARE shelters are not for everyone because they do have a strict code of conduct which is enforced.

    To learn more see sharewheel(dot)org

  67. The Fat girl and the guy with the pitbull tried to burn dow the building that Starbucks is in. He lit his underwear on fire inside the bathroom garbage can. Then, they threatened the manager and barista. The police were called. This same man attacked someone in Bergen Park last weekend. Why is this not being reported. If that building went up in flames, we would have lost Romanza, Starbucks, The Ballard New and many others.

  68. The Fat girl and the guy with the pitbull tried to burn dow the building that Starbucks is in. He lit his underwear on fire inside the bathroom garbage can. Then, they threatened the manager and barista. The police were called. This same man attacked someone in Bergen Park last weekend. Why is this not being reported. If that building went up in flames, we would have lost Romanza, Starbucks, The Ballard New and many others.

  69. That pair has been trespassed by the police from 7 11, Safeway and many other shops for shoplifting and harassing customers. Now, they try to burn down a histroic Ballard building, which is the only business that put up with them. (Starbucks, which has a policy of allowing any nut to hang out all day every day as long as they have bought one coffee….)

    If I walked into Starbucks and committed felony Arson, I would be in Prison. How can this couple be allowed to act this way, day after day, month after month, when they are not even from Ballard?!!!!!

  70. Well, I'm sorry but..

    When we have transients setting Starbucks on fire then threatening to kill the manager and the police make no arrest, selling Crystal Meth and Heroin all day every day in Bergen Park and the Chai House to teens, sleeping on the frount of the library all day, harrasing people for change, cigarettes, food or anything else of value on Market street, verbally abusing woman and children on the sidewalks, how can you defend these people!

    I would like all food banks, free lunches and every other thing out of Ballard, before on of these nuts burns a building down or murders someone. Is that too much to ask?

    The food bank may have a lilly image, but it is a political and financial scam. Wake up! The thing attracts nuts every week and you can watch them leave on buses after they go to the food bank. These people do not live in Ballard. This is a fact! Watch them all leave on the 44 bus every Wednesday and Thursday after harrassing the locals and trashing Bergen Park.

  71. Fear needs a demon to thrive nwcitizen. Americans are frightened and therefore they see demons everywhere. They worry they may be seeing the foundations they have been raised to trust crumble. The formula sold to them for success is not working as they were promised. Young people have never seen hard times and too many boomers have made bad choices and not planned well for the future and depended on the wealth created by their parents. It’s interesting to talk with old people, WWII generation types, and teenagers who have grown up with a 50% plus divorce rate and increasing poverty for 20 years. They seem to be the two groups that are not freaking out. What they have in common is few expectations and a limited entitlement mentality.

  72. We still have the food bank twice a week and two soup kitchens running. THese food bank types, you will see leaving Ballard on the 44 bus each week. They are not from Ballard, and not screened in any way.

  73. “The formula sold to them for success is not working as they were promised. “

    Yawn….still working fine for plenty of people. Sorry, but your silly little revolution you want won't be televised.

    ” 50% plus divorce rate and increasing poverty for 20 years”

    Wow, and d'ya think the two stats be related?

  74. That would be the largest 'enabler' network. And no, if they don't prepare to contribute to a community, they don't help anyone, including those they protest (too much, I fear) to be helping. I've supported rational, long term, alternatives to homelessness. This shuffling around of transients, the blatant in your face tactics, the blame games that constantly arise, (pointing squarely at the 'rich') is just disgusting. Knock it off, please.
    Tell your f*t a** mayor to construct low income housing, to require that an investment be required for occupation…it seems so simple….yet so damn far.

  75. “I don't understand all the demonizing of SHARE”

    Maybe it has something to do with the trail of lawsuits that follow their traveling circus.

  76. I have only to witness the continuing result of the current entitlement mindset. Enabling is not helping.
    ever heard of 'teach a man to fish?'…oh…probably not…
    And yes, they have the right to shelter, but we have the right to know where and who it is. Period.
    “Share” wouldn't share…or care, as we are aware. Now they're out there.
    And, still, you protest too much, that's one hell of an agenda to support.

  80. Everyone here needs to be aware and very clear on this fact: SHARE currently operates two tent cities. Tent City 3 in the Seattle area and Tent City 4 on the Eastside. Tent City 3 does not conduct i.d/warrant/sex offender checks. Tent City 4 DOES DO WARRANT/I.D./SEX OFFENDER CHECKS. The checks are done FOR FREE BY THE KING COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE.
    SHARE does not want to do the checks because they know they have sex offenders living in their Seattle shelters.
    Feel free to contact the KCSO and verify that they are doing the checks and then ask yourself if they can do them at one of their shelters/tent cities why do they refuse to do them at all of them?
    When the City of Shoreline hosted Tent City 3 a few months back, they thought that SHARE was running the checks on that camp, because they knew they were required on the Eastside for Tent City 4. When the Shoreline police found out that Tent City 3 did not do the same checks, they wanted it to be included in the permit that the checks be done . SHARE REFUSED. They said they would not do them.
    If there is nothing to hide, then why not just do the checks? What's good for one should be good for all.
    There are 80+ police/incident reports related to Tent City 4 on the Eastside. SHARE has plenty they want to hide and conceal from the public and sadly the local main stream media does not pick up and report on this.
    SHARE is run by Scott Morrow (although technically he is now just a consultant as a way to get around a legal consent decree he entered and violated with the City of Seattle) He also is the man that started and runs Nickelsville. Residents of all the SHARE shelters/tent city/nickelsville move from camp, to shelters, etc. It's a very tangled web of lies and deceipt that they weave.
    In these tough economic times we need our scarce financial resources to go to legitimate organizations with proven track records of helping the homeless.
    SHARE is NOT one of those organizations. They are all about refusing to go along with rules in order to further their own agenda. They want our tax dollars without any accountability.
    Congratulations to the citizens of Ballard for standing up to these thugs!

  82. I don't believe that Redeemers was asking for criminal background checks – just a check against the convicted sex offender list. Which, if you are a convicted sex offender and you have a permanent address, you are required to register in this state (but if you're homeless you don't). So it's just treating everyone equally – if what SHARE said at the initial meeting is correct (that most residents remain for extended periods of time) then I don't see what the problem is with asking for that check. And no, I don't think the sex offender registry is the end-all be-all to keep everyone safe. But why not use what you've got?

  84. Good grief, where do you get the idea that young people have few expectations and a limited entitlement mentality? Just doed not ring true! AS someone who worked at a college for over 20 years, I can tell you that the expectations and entitlement of young people has skyrocket in the last, oh, 25 years, while their work ethic has fallen off a cliff.

    I agree that anyone who lived through the Great Depression, and many of their children are not “frightened”…we've seen recessions come and go. Anyone remember the early 1970s, when their was a great big billboard that said “Will the last person leaving Seattle turn out the lights?”

    What does this have to do with Our Redeemers? I don't think you can generalize anything other than the vast majority of Ballard residents don't want sex offenders and criminals imported into the neighborhood, that's all.

  85. So, the food bank does sex offender checks for all the dozens of people taking buses into ballard for food, hanging out in Bergen Park and Market Street, then taking buses back out twice a week?

  86. I cant believe my post about the fat girl panhandler and her boyfriend with the pitbull was deleted. All I said was the truth. They went into Starbucks, he lit his underwear on fire in the garbage, and the police we called after they threatened the staff. Why delete that? Jeez. It's true, ask the people at Starbucks yourselves. Cause I used the word fat?

    You can censor me myballard.com all you like. The truth is he almost burned down the building that houses Starbucks, Romanza and the Ballard News Tribune…. Why the cover up?

  87. And, I know it's hard to read without laughing. But, this is arson and is a felony. Underwear or not. The place nearly burned down. Why are they patron saints of Ballard we all have to babysit and give money to and our resturant left overs? They are not even from here and showed up in an RV for the Food Bank. Because they have a stupid dog? Give me a break. They are like Gods in Ballard to the yuppies and storekeepers but do nothing in return. Why?

    You storekeepers should be ashamed. They are your pet project, and you are responsible for them. Thanks a lot!

  89. There are problems which need to be addressed but it makes no sense to paint every homeless person with the same brush. That's called scapegoating.

  90. This is not a third world country. Too many Americans have worked and sacrificed for anyone to be lying around begging for nickels and dimes. If the street people want food and housing, they should line up with the men from Mexico at the nearest Home Depot.

  91. Why would anyone burn underwear in a bathroom? Why not stack the things on top of the overflowing trash cans on the curb? Why oh why? I don't get it. So, hopefully they've been trespassed from Starbucks? Please say it's so…that would be news…

  92. “This is not a third world country.”….yet… give the clowns some time…
    btw…you elected them all….happy?
    Welcome to 'sanctuary city', in every possible definition…

  97. No, but they aren't looking to house folks, just feed them. Housing is another issue. (I'd prefer to see local families utilizing the food bank, not the imported)
    Not sure how that would be accomplished. Any suggestions?

  99. “There are 80+ police/incident reports related to Tent City 4 on the Eastside. ” absolutely and these are reports from walk through (which happen up to 4 times a day at Tent City 4). If you read them, you will see that in most cases they have NOTHING to report.
    The men from Calvary Lutheran are the working poor (minimum wage workers) and disabled/sick people waiting for affordable housing (the waiting time for housing is around 2 years)
    You are putting all homeless people in the same bag. A minority are easy to recognize (the filthy drunken panhandlers) but 90% of homeless people do not look, dress or act any different than any of us.
    Next time you walk in Texaco or Mc Donald's take a good look at the clerk. I know a lot of them who are homeless because they cannot afford housing on poverty wages.
    Because most downtown shelters are scary places filled with drug addicts, these working people tend to seek refuge with SHARE where sobriety and participation in running the operation are mandatory and where they can get a peaceful night of sleep after a hard day of work.
    And yes I have been harassed by panhandlers and I do not like criminals. But to all of you who hate ALL the homeless, remember to look into the clerk's eyes next time you go fill up your car and ask yourself if maybe s/he can afford housing.

  100. There is still a Monday lunch program there, run by the Phinney Neighborhood Association (or something like that, not sure of the name).
    I want to let the neighborhood know that for the next two weekends, Lutheran Youth of North Seattle is in the basement fellowship hall area holding our annual Dinner theatre fund raising production. We appreciate and welcome those of you who have stopped in to see what's going on.
    Remember that the main location of Our Redeemer's Lutheran Church is on 85th; they aquired this property when the congregation on the 23rd/70th site (Calvary) merged with them. As a person only peripherally associated with any conversation about the future of the site, I believe the staff and congregation are trying to be good neighbors while responding to the call to care for the hungry, thirsty, homeless, and outcast. As a neighbor, I encourage us all to remain in the conversation.

  101. I still want them to outlaw burning soiled underpants inside Ballards historic buildings, but I guess I am the only person who cares.

  102. A greater society, imho. Sorry for the vulgar, it seems to be inevitable for those without validity to resort to that. Yeah, and the lack of vocab is a hint….

  103. I care. I care a lot! My grandfather, along with Dwight Hawley and 3 other guys built that building! They got the first hospital north of downtown into that building! Actually my grandfather sold his yard to build that building, and the Tully's building across the street.

    This couple (fat girl, long-haired guy with pitbull) are a scourge in Ballard. They have shoplifted, threatened people, and are just plain dangerous. Were they NOT arrested??

  104. Consider me in the conversation. I'd start by calling for construction of low income housing. It requires more personal responsibility than a tent…or a park bench.
    They are using this lack of resources as their main excuse for enabling in this way.
    And I'm all for my local church to swing the first hammers. Don't swing temporary land and loaves of bread around, and think that you are 'christian', it won't fly.

  105. It's sad to see this level of acceptance in Ballard to what should be totally unacceptable. I find it incredible, and not beneficial, and we will loose this wonderful place for all of us, by the hands of a very few.
    “Idle hands are the devils playground”
    Put them to work, and I mean, not hard at work selling their foodstamps..

  106. Yes Rose, because clearly an adult spending a night in 20 degree weather (as if it EVER gets that cold here) is more important to you than making sure children in the neighborhood aren't at risk from sexual predators.

    Great value system you got there.

  107. “Next time you walk in Texaco or Mc Donald's take a good look at the clerk. I know a lot of them who are homeless because they cannot afford housing on poverty wages.”

    How come all the immigrants doing these jobs manage not be be homeless?

  108. They would last less than two minutes in Medina…Allen town has a 'slut' that they could hide in for an additional twenty minutes…but that's all.

  111. They are the toast of the town because they have a dog. I am sick of all the shopkeepers running out to pet the dog and pour food and money on that couple. I blame the shopkeepers. They are the ones who keep feeding all these pigeons the rest of us have to deal with. Take them home if they are so cute!

    Starbucks is full of transients but if you complain, they act like you're the problem and have one hell of a nerve.

  112. No, why trespass them? They have a dog afterall. Too cute of a couple to be mean to in Ballard…. They are the face of New Ballard afterall.

  114. Thank you for your time and energy put into the research. We are not 'idlers', 'hand-wringers' and gossips looking to scapegoat the unfortunate. Lies and half truths are sure to raise the ire of the rest of us who follow the rules.

  115. Giz.
    Thank you for your time and energy put into the research. We are not all 'idlers', 'hand-wringers' and gossips looking to scapegoat the unfortunate. Lies and half truths are sure to raise the ire of the rest of us who follow the rules.

  116. Because they will shack up 20 people in a room. Would you?
    Also a lot of immigrants are actually the owners of these establishments. Immigrants do help each other out and this is why a lot of Indians and Asians do very well in this country.

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