*Gimme Shelter*

Here in Seattle folks have been brainstorming in how they can effectively help our city's desperate problem of homelessness. They were asking Facebook people to toss out their ideas but they had to be ideas with a rather strict budget in mind.

Of course the first thing everyone tosses out, as far as what to do and WHERE to house the homeless, is to use all the empty buildings that are sitting around and not being utilized, which can be found just about everywhere in the Seattle/King County area,

It's a good idea, (darn good idea), but of course it's not an option.
Why?
Well, I really don't know.
I have an idea of why but no solid info to back that up so I'll just leave it at that.
Let's just say it has EVERYTHING to do with money and how empty buildings that sit year after year rotting in our Seattle rain offer more profit to the owners than if they were to offer them up towards the plight of the homeless.

Seattle/King County seems to prefer building from the ground up when it comes to providing shelters which presents long waits, money changing hands and always limited space that never accommodates the need.

NEXT IDEA

Add more bunks to the shelters we already have.
Just pile those bunks to the ceiling and cram the homeless into any crack and cranny we can find, (we'll call it the sardine method), and call it a night!
Problem solved!

Turn freight containers into shelters.
Sounds quite hideous, especially to a 58 year old woman, such as myself, who suffers from painful sciatica, but I've seen the pix of them - they look better than they sound. But not all homeless folks have the body and physical stamina of a college student trekking through Europe for the summer to scramble into one of these every night and then scramble out every morning.

And how many homeless people will they cram into this freight container slash Homeless Shelters?
No thank you.

More Tent Cities
Now this is where some of the homeless folks actually stand up and have something to say. They don't want any supervision of any kind. Many don't want to conform nor do they have any desire to be accountable towards their own situation. They want tent cities but they want them on their terms. Now, I'm not saying ALL homeless people are opposed to supervised tent cities, but most feel they should be able to over-see this kind of homeless shelter on their own.

And personally, I DO believe they can but I also believe they need to be tapped into some sort of community/city organization that will help them keep these homeless tent city "neighborhoods" safe from violence, disease, filth and lawlessness in general.

Here is the link to something that happened in one of our parks in SeaTac. This is what can take place when the homeless decide to take over, with no one to answer to in regard to how they live/survive.

- North SeaTac Park Homeless Encampment -

You can't look at these photos and not feel a deep rage in seeing such reckless and disgusting filth. And it's a perfect example as to why the homeless cannot and should not be allowed to create and maintain tent cities without the supervision and guidance from it's community. I do believe we can work hand in hand and have tent cities that can offer the homeless a safe and healthy haven but both sides need to respect and meet each other half way. No, the homeless can't be left alone to run these tent cities but there are a good amount of homeless people than can step up and help keep these tent cities in order - we just have to encourage and have faith in them to do so. But the bottom line is that these camps MUST be safe for all and that includes the park itself.

Work is being done on a daily basis to get our homeless the shelter they need but it's a slow and tedious process and every minute counts. The number of homeless people is growing daily and the city/county is running out of places for them.
There is no simple answer that suits all the homeless either.
Each case is different presenting a different need.

As for me, I pray we can find shelter for all in a timely way but until we get can offer affordable housing and take measures that help people KEEP the housing they're already in,..it's an uphill battle that I just don't see ever having a happy ending.

- Music Selection For This Post -

Fast Car - Tracy Chapman