Marlon Meyer
Northwest Asia Weekly
The county will provide about 50 of these pallet homes for the homeless. (Photo courtesy of Mahlon Meyer)
There is no privacy in Ward F. These compartments are open without doors or screens. Even the small dresser is made of clear plastic. So when we passed by, we didn’t just see the crib and blanket, but the actual items in the drawer – like coffee creamer in a plastic bottle.
To the uninitiated, this vision of the future of homelessness may seem scary.
Granted, the converted hospital wards are more luxurious than almost any other shelter.
While visiting a homeless shelter on the edge of the Chinatown-International District (CID) this week, reporters saw a giant echo cave filled with these stalls, where the homeless are destined to be Uncertain times of life. The trip was arranged by the office of King County Executive Dow Constantine, which has been criticized for not doing enough publicity with CID about plans to expand the shelter.
King County Community and Human Services Director Leo Flor, who led the tour, said it’s important for people to recognize what they’re doing, not “make assumptions.”
Indeed, the biggest difference between this sanctuary and the sanctuaries of the past is space. The massive, vaulted building that once housed a car dealership was so high that echoes from the murky ceiling above the lights vanished.
Advocates of the new shelter say it offers so much space compared to past shelters that people can finally sleep without worrying about their belongings being stolen or being physically harassed or attacked.
It also provides residents with greater protection against the spread of infectious diseases.
Flor emphasized the space as we stood inside the cavernous hall, where, it seemed, the booths were barely visible. He describes it as a paradigm shift from old-style gathering shelters.
“People are not huddled together,” he said. “We used to have to get as many people as possible into the smallest possible space.”
But critics say national-level studies and reports have condemned Seattle and King County for broken systems and an over-reliance on shelters instead of moving people to more permanent housing.
Flor said the shelter was originally designed for COVID-19 patients, but was never used for that purpose. It opened in 2020 during super flu season and people inhaling wildfire smoke.
The Salvation Army has operated it as a homeless shelter since November 2020. In May, the King County Council voted to take over the lease when it expires next month. The county has signed a five-year lease.
Shelter advocates say it’s not about keeping people there long enough, just long enough to get them off the streets and start the recovery process, which will ultimately lead to more stable, longer-term housing.
But statistics cited by Flor suggest that at least some of the people who live there have established themselves in relatively permanent ways.
One-third of the 170 people living in shelters have jobs, he said.
A man with a ponytail meandered down the corridor between stalls with a coffee mug, leading Salvation Army staff to tell a TV cameraman to turn off the camera to protect his privacy.
Aside from this guy’s presence, the booth was already packed ahead of the media tour.
Proponents of the facility point out that it has plenty of bathrooms. They say it will give people a chance to shower.
The facility has 43 bathrooms.
Flor has repeatedly said that if you provide bathrooms to homeless people, they will use them.
“People always prefer to have somewhere to go when there is a bathroom,” he said.
In CID and elsewhere, uninhabited people are heavily criticized for urinating and defecating on property, but it is unclear how safe shelter residents feel.
Flor didn’t answer questions about the stalls without walls, leaving them open.
It was also unclear how to keep residents safe inside.
A fact sheet distributed at the end of the tour said the site would continue to be staffed 24/7 by security.
But there are no security guards inside the shelter, only outside, checking visitors in and out.
Still, advocates of shelters say the issues may be addressed by individual service providers as they take over all aspects of shelter operations.
Meanwhile, the expansion of the shelter has apparently been delayed. A fact sheet previously shared with Northwest Asia Weekly in August projected that the expansion of the shelter “will be completed in the fall of 2022.”
But Flor pushed back the timeline.
As the first part of the expansion, the decanting station will be operational as early as early next year.
For those most traumatized, a high-acuity behavioral center will come later, and there is no service provider to run it yet.
The entire expansion is expected to be completed next spring.
But plans are fluid.
Initially, the county planned to provide space for about 50 RVs. It has now been reduced to a service center that can accommodate four or five RVs at a time.
“They’ll come in; we’ll repair them for free, and they can be recycled,” Flor said. Flor also laid out plans for how to clear the unauthorized tent camp on the side of the shelter.
In an exhibition of small “pallet” homes — the size of backyard sheds — he said the dwellings would first be offered to those living in the camp, encouraging them to move.
The next stage will involve placing more small pallet houses within the camp.
According to the fact sheet, King County Regional Homeless Authority (KCRHA) staff have established relationships with staff in the camps to further such efforts.
One of the small pallet houses has railings on the windows. The other has a small window the size of a large dinner plate.
When asked if the media tour was an admission that KCRHA didn’t get enough publicity about the CID, Flor was outraged. “I want you here to see what we’re doing here,” he said. “We have to start with a shared understanding of what works, not their ideas…” But his remarks faded as cars and trucks crowded the highway overhead.
Mahlon can reach info@nwasianweekly.com.
