Homeless Housing Comes to Magnolia - Fort Lawton Redevelopment Goals

[C&D]

On the advice of a neighbor, I attended a meeting tonight at Catherine Blaine regarding the development of Fort Lawton. I was surprised to discover that the proposed development includes homeless & low income housing. As crime is a huge concern for all of us, I wanted to make sure that everyone knew about these plans. The developer and the city were unable to answer serious questions, such as, will there be increased police presence due to a large growth in residents? How will this affect our schools? And what will it do to our property values? If you are like me and weren't aware that this was happening, you may want to become informed and involved. The committee commented on how important it is to partner with the Magnolia community and communicate with them, yet there couldn't have been more than 75 people present. Check the web site for details and future meetings on this subject.

www.Seattle.gov/neighborhoods/fortlawton/fortlawton.htm

[sammy]

Thank you so much for sharing this information!

[Donna Goodlett]

Okay, I'll reply to this. I also took a "little" offense to the liberal and no action comment. I am and I do. I do fundraising for the largest shelter bed provider in this city and I am happy to report that those who attend our fundraisers come from all over the political spectrum. The one thing they have in common is that they are all human. What I have experienced is that the homeless have been made subhuman. When this occurs it makes it a lot easier to dismiss them and the reasons for homelessness. The safety nets that were once there are slowing eroding, however, we still expect the homeless to do the impossible with nothing. I have two brothers who are serving in Iraq as we speak. I am also aware that more and more of the homeless are veterans. What happens if they fall into a period of homelessness? It is not about being conservative or liberal, republican or democrat, it's about being human and have the capacity to help other humans. We need to remember that it will only take on big earthquake to make us all homeless. And if that happens, good luck with finding services to help you through it. I thank you and your family for having that capacity to reach out and I am hopeful that others will follow your lead.

[Elizabeth Campbell]

Donna, Your last post mentioned the "city process", being heard, doing something. I have put the topic of a neighborhood plan out for Magnolia, something that could give Magnolia a voice, get Magnolians into the process, is this something you would be interested in?

[Donna Goodlett]

I would only be interested in it if the process was one that included respect for everyone's point of view and was not based on fear or pits one neighbor against the other because they do not agree on certain issues. Many of these meetings become personal bashing grounds and I have already been to enough of them to last a while. I would suggest getting in touch with Sally Clark (Neighborhoods) from the City Council and Tom Rasmussen (Parks) about how to proceed with a neighborhood plan. There should be one already in place with the City and perhaps that would be the place to start. It might be easier to amend a plan than to start fresh. I would wonder what the plan would be for as space in Magnolia seems to be very limited. What would it address? Who gets to live here, who is welcome, who is not, development "in" the neighborhood... I don't think a neighborhood plan should be confused with the Fort Lawton plan. I believe the two are separate. If people really want to get involve there are several ways already in place. Even if you cannot attend Council Meetings, which are usually during working hours for most, you can watch them on the web and email those involved at the Council level. I applaud you wanting to take this on but make sure your armor is handy.

[Donna Goodlett]

Zippy,

I really don't feel as though you were speaking for me. I have been watching this conversation and other for a long time and I really have to take a step back because my first response is always to be on the defensive. I get really interested when "God" and Jesus appears in the conversation. I guess it is similar to being a Liberal and doing nothing. Some find it easier to invoke God and Jesus than to practice what is preached. I agree with Mike that what he says should not affect your life but those types of attitudes do make it difficult. And some folks want things to be nice but don't want to get their hands dirty or have other think badly of them in the process. I noticed that someone was also upset that Habitat for Humanity was looking for space at Ft. Lawton as well. And comments about the YWCA program and how to stop women for going back to their abusers. As if we want control of their lives as well. I feel that is somewhat shallow as well. I think we need to remember that Magnolia by itself does not own the park, the buses or the schools in our area. I believe our voices should be heard during this process but the City has always done what they wanted in the end but there is that pretense of "being" heard. It would be nice if we could work towards a solution instead of the name calling and trashing of individuals. Thank you for your work.

[Regan]

While I don't know for sure, I suspect the city is approaching Ft. Lawton with a solution to what was implemented at Sandpoint (again, excess federal govt. military property donated to the city). The idea is to have transitional and transition in place (ie, longer term) housing available that takes advantage of existing buildings and land the city already owns. Much needed services (financial, educational, etc) will be provided on-site with the goal to help break the cycle of homelessness for these families and individuals. Additionally, as part of the county's 10 year plan to end homelessness, there is a major effort being made to ensure mentally ill, handicapped, veterans and those who age out of foster care are not thrown in to homelessness, but provided housing once they exit a facility. If you're curious what might happen at Ft. Lawton, you'd be well served to first read the county's "10 year plan to end homelessness" - i'm sure you can google it - and related documents around the existing and planned housing and services at Sandpoint. From what I understand, there have been no issues with the homeless housing/homeless people negatively impacting the adjacent communities. If this is an issue we're concerned about, we owe it to our community to get involved (either in support of - and help shape the outcome so it best fits with neighborhood, or if not, offer other solutions to serve the estimated 8,000 people who are homeless on any given evening in the county).

[Bill Gossman]

If it is run by the county, and Ron Simms has anything to do with it, it should be called the "10 +/- 1 year but we don't really know" plan...

County gov't has a bit to prove with their math abilities.

[Leroy]

“There is no question that Barack Obama is a clever and glib fellow. There is also no question that some of the most foolish, dangerous and horrific things done around the world in the past hundred years have been done by clever and glib fellows. “
Thomas Sowell

(After graduating magna cum laude from Harvard University (1958), he went on to receive his master's in economics from Columbia University (1959) and a doctorate in economics from the University of Chicago (1968). )

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/ThomasSowell/2008/04/08/random_t...

[Carly]

Agreed! It's a nice change to see homeless housing in nicer, safer neighborhoods with good schools instead of being relegated Elsewhere. The Park should be an excellent setting for anyone trying to get their life back together and get back on their feet. Plus it's actually pretty convenient to downtown and other services the homeless might need, with both the 24 and 33 buses going between the Park and downtown.

[John P.]

You are so touchy-feely.

[Anne-Marie]

I respectfully disagree with your statement about the appropriateness of this location. The park is beautiful, but how is it a great location for getting job skills, veterans health care, mental health services? Those things are what the city's homeless need, not bunnies and bike paths so far out from the city center that getting around becomes a new burden for those already overburdened with problems

This plan is a great way to make Seattle's visible homeless issue seem to go away in a feel good way. It hides them away from most of the city, in particular tfrom the tourist and convention crowd with their beloved dollars. No more bedraggled men in a doorway asking for a handout, or kids with nothing to do making commuters nervous- not when they have to catch the bus back to their hidden corner of the city.

At the same time, city officials can cross the homeless issue of their to do list. "See-- we did something good", without really considering the cost to those this is proporting to serve. These won't be lovely ranch houses on a quarter acre either- the only way to make a project like this work financially is to squeeze as many units together as possible, taking away the green lawns and fresh air and space hinted at in the romantic descriptions of what this could be.

Think about the reality of travel between services and Fort Lawton. It is a long bus ride when you are in need of job training, health care, social services , or to deal with any number of things that arise when someone is trying to make their way back. And that is assuming that the population being served all want to find their way into a mainstream life. There are so many mentally ill dumped on the streets by our current system. These people are not looking to mix in with commuters heading in to a high tech work day. They need HELP. This is not just a nice view, this is a location far away from the tools needed to survive. Are we going to locate satellite offices for the services those unable to travel will need, and pay the cost for increased bus demand for those who are mobile? Shouldn't that money be spent in a better way?

What about families? Do the Magnolia schools have the money, space and staff to handle the damage done to a child living without a home? If not, where will that come from? If it is not provided, those children will fall further behind. And what about other needs- a bus ride for a trip to get a prescription filled, dragging kids and bags of groceries on the only way to get around, the bus, at the end of a day spent searching for work, or working a minimum wage job? Thriftway is a bit costly for anyone, but for those on a small income or food stamps it has to be impossible.

In theory this is a wonderful sounding idea, but in practice, it will shunt those most in need out of sight, and quickly out of mind, while providing no real benefit for them.

[Wendell]

Anne-Marie,
Just wanted to comment on your well stated reply! I like the way you can make so many good points without automatically assuming all homeless/low income people are gang members or molesters. I hope maybe you can make it to any future meetings on this subject and maybe bring up some of your thoughts?