Marlon Meyer
Northwest Asia Weekly
Matt Chan and Tanya Woo at the victory rally (Photo by Assunta Ng)
On Oct. 14, King County Executive Dow Constantine canceled plans to expand a homeless shelter in the Chinatown International District (CID) after months of protests by community members who said it would add to their struggling neighborhoods. of violence.
But community organizers were baffled by a statement issued the previous day in which Constantine referred to “paid political agents” who he said were “hijacking” community concerns and “creating conflict, division and support for homelessness. Hatred of the Homeless”.
silent celebration
However, the Oct. 15 rally, which had been planned to raise money for a lawsuit against the county, was full of celebration.
Lion dancers circled and played in the square of Xinghai Park. About 100 residents left despite unhealthy wildfire smoke.
But organizers say the fight is far from over.
They want a community safety program and a community engagement program, both of which are necessary to stop the rising levels of violent crime and physical assault in the community. Leaders of the nighttime blockade say the violence is being perpetrated not only by people with mental illness or substance abuse problems who are flooding CIDs with a dozen shelters concentrated in the area, but also by drug dealers and others who prey on the homeless. Implementation.
“Homicide is up, violent crime is up,” said Woo, a volunteer with the CID Patrol.
Local businesses have repeatedly said that when they called the police for help, no one responded.
“We also don’t have a neighborhood agreement with the shelter,” Woo said. She said shelters in other communities have such protocols.
The Main Shelter at the Downtown Emergency Services Center and the Seattle Navigation Center have Good Neighbor Programs with the community, as do the planned shelters at the East Gate.
ask for an apology
For months, protests were ignored and community demands went unanswered. So when Constantine made his initial statement accusing “paid political agents”, organizers were confused.
According to Wu, their first meeting with the city and county was on September 8.
“When we got that statement, we were preparing for a second meeting the next day, October 14,” she said.
When they headed to Union Station to meet Leo Flor, director of the county’s Department of Community and Human Services, as well as representatives from the mayor’s office and others, “everyone has a problem,” Woo said.
But they got no answers – and no apologies.
“They kept moving on to another topic when we asked,” Woo said.
According to Woo, it was during this meeting that Flor told them that the expansion of the large homeless shelter would be put on hold.
Build trust and balance priorities
Meanwhile, Constantine issued a statement saying funds allocated for the expansion are federal funds and must be spent by a certain date, so he would propose to the King County Council that it be used to keep people off the streets. Access existing facilities as soon as possible. More specifically, the funding will be used for a one-time pay increase for service providers at the existing 270-person shelter, which will continue to operate for five years.
In addition, the county will divert funds to other areas prepared to provide shelter for the homeless, such as the Green River area in South King County.
“It is clear that building trust and addressing underlying concerns about the state of our communities today will take a considerable amount of time to advance any increased service capacity. At the same time, the homelessness crisis – and the health of everyone living outside – Urgent action is needed immediately,” Constantine said in a second statement on October 14.
“Recognizing these competing tensions, King County has a responsibility to change course so we can take advantage of time-limited one-time federal funds and invest in viable projects in the months ahead.”
still a little confused
Members of a working group with the city and county on the planned shelter expansion said Constantine’s earlier comments could distract the county from making up for shortfalls in outreach.
“No one in our group would be considered a ‘paid political agent,'” Matt Chen, a member of the group, told Northwest Asia Weekly. “It was divisive and racially motivated to distract from his lack of real community engagement.”
He added: “Dow Constantine making such a statement undercuts our efforts and shows his lack of grace. We have publicly demanded an apology for the statement he made to our community.”
Another member of the group, Tanya Woo, said it was unclear who Constantine was referring to.
“We’re still scratching our heads,” she told Northwest Asia Weekly.
Another community organizer, Gary Lee, also told us, “It’s like he’s saying someone is trying to manipulate us. No one in our group has received any money.”
community needs
The county still hasn’t fully addressed community needs, Chen said.
“This executive confused our efforts with his personal vendetta against someone in the media,” he said. “We welcome anyone who supports us and has CID’s interests at heart, but we have no control over how others tell our story.”
Community advocate Betty Lau said the first statement glossed over the real issues between the county and CID.
“Isn’t our community upended because there was no prior notice or any discussion before the expansion?” she said in an email.
In the future, advocates hope, this sea change will lead to more participation.
Seniors at Victory Rally. (Photo by Assunta Ng)
“This victory is because the seniors stood up. The county never thought they would be a force. But we didn’t want to have to call in the military every time something went wrong,” Woo said. “We hope the county and city will continue to have a dialogue with the community as we work to repair past and present damage to CID.”
Liu said: “This is a multi-generational effort. Every senior is cherished and loved by extended family members throughout Greater Puget Sound, so it would not be wise to ignore them. Aunts and uncles in the community stepped up to help, contributing Their wisdom from past social and racial justice advocacy. And then the leadership, brilliantly led by Tanya Woo, Gary Lee and Matt Chan, who put together a working team.”
Mahlon can reach info@nwasianweekly.com.
