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Editor’s Notebook: Home is where a community makes one
By Polly Keary, Editor
There are a lot of ways to end up homeless.
I became aware of that as a college student, when I became an intern for Real Change News, the paper that homeless people sell in Seattle.
Writing for that paper, which covered Seattle and state politics, local cultural events and a lot of issues to do with homelessness, I met a lot of people who had wound up outdoors for one reason or another.
And shortly after leaving Real Change, I came to work at the Monroe Monitor when the infamous Stickerpatch, a massive Hooverville along the south bank of the Skykomish River across from Sultan, was in full roar.
In addition to that, I am part of an addiction recovery community that includes many people who spent some times on the street.
I remember when a huge hue and cry arose in Kenmore upon the arrival of Tent City 4, one of the Seattle area’s moving organized homeless encampments.
The encampment is run by a Seattle non-profit, and moves every three months. While I was there as a Real Change reporter, I met one couple, both with Down’s Syndrome, who held hands as they walked the “street” through the tents, a construction worker who was out of work, and a woman who was trying to get in while pitifully drunk.
I interviewed a good number of the Stickerpatch residents at onetime or another, and mental illness was rampant. One man had a mother who’d died in a mental health hospital, about half the men, it seemed, were military veterans who couldn’t function in society well any more, a substantial fraction were alcoholic, and several were disabled and surviving on social security.
At Take the Next Step, a resource center in Monroe, I met a formerly homeless woman who lost her home during a catastrophic depression following the loss of her business and several other simultaneous blows.
I’ve known young men who camp out rather than conform, some hampered by criminal records that make finding housing difficult.
There are a fair number who are simply too low-I.Q. to ever have hope of earning much.
A good number of the women I’ve met at the Monroe Gospel Women’s Mission wound up displaced upon the failure of a relationship and the subsequent loss of a rent-paying partner.
Friday night I heard the stories of a couple of those women, recently back on their feet after time spent living in cars or on friend’s couches.
At the annual fundraiser dinner and silent auction for the Monroe Gospel Women’s Mission, a former resident told her story of moving to Monroe from Florida to care for a dying relative, only to find herself out of work and out of a home when he died.
She had been a social worker in Florida, and was reluctant to go to a shelter, having seen some bad ones in her career.
So she wound up staying in her car for quite a while before a friend persuaded her to explore the Monroe shelter.
Today she lives in an apartment with another woman she met at the shelter, and she’s doing well.
Not every homeless person is so lucky, or even so capable.
As Dorothy Stima pointed out during her comments at the fundraiser Friday evening, you can’t help everyone.
But you can help some.
There are two ways to do that right now.
One is to donate to the Monroe Gospel Women’s Mission. It’s a faith-based charity, but you don’t have to be terribly religious to appreciate the service they provide, or to feel a sense of relief at the lives elevated out of desperation there. The mission is just concluding its annual big fundraising drive, and every bit helps. Learn more at monroegospelmission.org.
Another is to pitch in and help finish the six new transitional housing units at Woods Creek Village being built by affordable housing organization Housing Hope.
I volunteered on another Housing Hope project once, nailing studs together in a self-help housing unit for a builder who’d suffered a broken leg and fallen behind.
Once in a while as I’m driving into town on 522 I look at the roof of that house, the only house I’ve ever had anything to do with building, and it’s a pleasant feeling.
Those transitional housing units are what help people like the women at the mission become independent, giving them a place to live while they build careers and save money for places of their own.
As Stima said, “sometimes people fail. But if we do this, we will not have failed them.”
Terry Miller
March 12, 2013 at 2:20 pm
Poly, it’s obvious you have a good heart. I wish you were a little more factually oriented. Let’s start here. “about half the men, it seemed, were military veterans who couldn’t function in society well any more”. According to The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (you know darn good and well they’ll fudge the numbers a bit) 7% of the population are veterans and 13% are homeless. From what I can find no studies have found it’s due to Post War Syndrome or anything like that.
As far as the men you talked to. The panhandlers tend to be scumbags that will say anything to get your money. This country loves its vets and they know that.
The reports I read said many of the homeless you want to help are criminals trying to avoid the law. Some are wanted criminals and others are just ordinary rapists, child molesters, etc.
In the 1950′s the liberals decided in was against the insane people’s rights to keep them locked up in mental hospitals so we turned them loose on the streets. According to the 2009 Annual Report To Congress 39% are mentally ill. I find it hard to believe making them roam the streets is the humane thing to do. They should be locked up again to protect them and us.
64% are alcoholics or drug addicts. Did you ever wonder where they get their money for drugs and alcohol? I live in a senor mobile home park near some of their camps. It’s a common occurence to see them cruising through our park on their stolen bicycles, looking for victims to fund their habit.
Liberals destroyed the black culture. 70% of black kids are born to single moms. Why? Because you need to be single to get that welfare money. I could say a lot more on this subject but you’d just call me a racist.
My point. Liberals have put the mentally ill into a living hell. They have destroyed the black culture (When I was a kid, the blacks married and worked for a living just like the whites.) Now, bleeding hearts are out to destroy the homeless. Giving ANY form of help to an alcoholic/addict is HURTING them. If we force them to hit bottom they’ll either get a job or seek the help they need.
Hannah Lunstrum
March 12, 2013 at 9:15 pm
WOW Terry, the amount of judgement coming from your comment astounds me.
Polly, thank you for a great article. We need more people in Monroe to actually take a step outside their door to get to know people and help each other instead of judging people. It is so easy to judge people we don’t know but once you start to put names to faces and hear peoples stories good or bad, it is really hard to sit back and do nothing. I hope more people can get involved in these endeavors.
Oh yea, Terry, I lived in large city for a few years with lots of “the blacks” who where good friends and I can safely say that they were not sitting around plotting to get the governments money by being single moms
Terry Miller
March 12, 2013 at 11:39 pm
It’s OK Hanna. You don’t have to be embarrassed about your reply. Maybe it would have been nice if you had told us you are a homeless shelter organizer and not just a “normal” person answering me but that’s OK.
As far as my actual comment it was totally factual. I even stated where I got my facts from. When you went to the bleeding hearts liberal school they must of taught you never to get into an honest discussion about the facts. Instead attack your opponent with name calling. That technique got the biggest scumbag on the planet elected President so I can’t blame you for using the same techniques.
You just go on with your head up your —. I just hope you don’t end up getting hurt by one of your druggie friends.
Hannah Lunstrum
March 13, 2013 at 12:41 am
Hi Terry,
I am not embarrassed about my reply, not sure why I would be. Last time I check I was just a normal person..I think….
I hope I don’t get hurt by anyone either, thanks for your concern although I am not sure you really meant it
Anyway I have enjoyed your thoughts, if you ever want to come talk in person we could always use volunteers for the shelter and I would love to talk to you about the facts.
Oh and I went to school at Everett Community College, are they a liberal collage? I am not sure…
Anyway, have a good week!
Terry Miller
March 13, 2013 at 12:51 pm
Dear Hanna,
I don’t want to get into a neverending argument over emotional thinking vs facts so whatever you say in responce to this I won’t reply.
Asto you being “normal”, I apologize. I’m not the best at coming up with politically correct names and phrases. To explain, if you had told us you were a PITA activist – well we’d kind of know ahead of time how the discussion was going to go. If you had told us you were a liberal homeless activist we’d have an idea of what to expect from you.
As far as blacks. My best friend as a teenager was black. That has nothing to do with the facts. 29% of blacks are on welfare (according to Census). 49% of reported crime in this country are from blacks. If you wanted to discuss how liberal welfare is at fault more than the people themselves I’d be glad to discuss it sometime.
Your homeless shelters. If, heaven forbid, Monroe ever has a James Holmes or Ryan Lanza, most likely they would be one of your clients. I’d love to hear you tell the mothers of Monroe that you getting a warm feeling from “Helping” these people is more important than the lives of their families.
As far as me visiting you at one of your shelters. Even wearing a side arm(legally of course), I wouldn’t dream of voluntarily associating with a bunch of criminals, crazies and addicts. I’m not that stupid.
I do have a suggestion. Maybe someday we could have a discussion of the facts from a Biblical point of view. Tell me what church you go to and maybe we can go to church together, pray together and after church have our discussion.
Ok Hanna. I’ll keep my promise. No matter how you reply I won’t answer. Gosh, you got the last word. I guess that means you won
See you at church,
Terry
PowerOfChoice
March 26, 2013 at 10:17 pm
Dear Terry:
I love your postings!!! Having been a victim of the Mutual Self Help Housing Program whereby the entity (Grantee) purchased lots by violating other owner’s prior vested property rights. We also have had best friends who were “african american” or “black”. In fact both the friend and my spouse have refered to each other as my “brother from another mother”. It is one thing to implement these programs legally and another to implement illegally violating other citizens property rights and financially desimating 20-30 years of their hard work to obtain what they have in life by violating their prior vested property rights.
Terry Miller
March 26, 2013 at 10:34 pm
I sincerely apologize. Maybe it’s the pain pills but I don’t have a clue what you are talking about. If you seriously like my postings or if you think I’m s horrible redneck-either way I appreciate reply’s. If we are all talking to each other instead of yelling at each other there is hope.
Best Regards