Archived: Monday, October 26, 2020 3:51:06 PM From: Nancy Morris Sent: Monday, October 26, 2020 3:46:23 PM To: City Council Cc: [email protected]; Debbie Tarry; Colleen Kelly Subject: [EXTERNAL] Continued concerns on Enhanced low barrier shelter and zoning changes. Importance: High Sensitivity: Normal

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Dear Shoreline City Council: Your staff reports compare several enhanced low barrier shelters. What’s in common none are located within 60ft of residential areas; the low barrier shelter in question should be located elsewhere based on this information. The city or county have not done due diligence and could look to areas in Kenmore or Bothell. Now you’re rushing to dismantle the city’s protective zoning in R48 zones at N 165th. I am against majority council’s lack of due process and transparency in these entire proceedings. At least adopt CM Chang’s amendments 1-5 and Roberts amendments 1-2 if you push this ahead. The only successful low barrier shelters I found, are low barrier in Helsinke, Finland and one in Columbus, Ohio. What can one learn from this: Low barrier shelters there stipulate that residents must work with a support team toward sobriety and stability, they have the funding for these services, and strong coordinated government leadership not available here. And we must acknowledge that different shelter solutions should be incorporated to help vulnerable populations. Housing first low barrier shelters will not be the one magic bullet to save everyone. No actual studies have been done that say low barrier shelters do NOT impact the nearby neighborhood. There are reliable reports that show various shelters cause significant impacts: Red Lion in Renton, Clements Place Seattle with even more requirements on residents than low barrier shelters, and Licton Springs among others. People do/did NOT act like good neighbors. It is easy for a facility to offer promises of success, but shelter policies should be outlined and put in writing with acknowledged metrics. As yet no details available on accountability. Answers on citizen’s questions on accountability from the city are diffused and not clear to intentions of taking responsibility for any neighborhood problems that arise. I consider myself a humanitarian, I care homeless people are helped, and I think policies that do not require adults to take responsibility for their actions and get off drugs or alcohol, if that is a resident’s problem, need to be reevaluated and more satisfactory programs instituted. I do not favor an enhanced low barrier shelter in this location until better policies are in place. Regards,

Nancy Morris Shoreline Resident

REFERENCES:

1. You may have read articles on the failed low barrier village of Licton Springs already, but this is what Seattle learned from Licton Springs: “Lemke said, based on the experience at Licton Springs, the city learned it needs to require residents to work with a case manager – it has been optional before now – and it needed to pay for more case management, which Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan’s proposed 2019 budget does.” “Controversial tiny house village for homelessness in North Seattle to close” https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle- news/homeless/controversial-tiny-house-village-for-homelessness-in-north-seattle-to-close/

2.Another requirement that should be addressed and would be in a structured shelter model is required treatment for drug addiction: https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/apr/23/this-tiny-house-village-allows-drugs-should-it-hav/ . Please read the account at link provided of a young woman whose father was a victim of heroin addiction because he was not required to go into drug rehab: “To Amber Matthai, who lives a block and a half from Licton Springs Village, having drugs around is nothing new. Her father started using heroin when she was in high school. On her way to graduation, she saw her dad on the street, standing there, zoned out. Today, he has drug- and alcohol-induced dementia and is in assisted living. She visits him once a year. His memory from the time before he started doing heroin is still pretty accurate, but it is fuzzy from the years after he started using. That’s why she thinks the tent city should be shut down. “Helping someone dig their grave is not helping,” Matthai said.”. . .”

3. April 2019 https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2019/04/26/louisville-low-barrier-homeless-shelter-not-realistic- alternative-to-many/3541238002/ Berg, of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, said operating an effective low-barrier shelter is not an exact science, but there are general rules that make success more likely. “It’s like any kind of shelter: the smaller, the better. That’s the ideal," Berg said, while acknowledging that most providers don't deal with ideal circumstances. "You’ve got to make use of what you’ve got.” Friedlander said Wayside and his office learned a lot in launching the shelter. He hopes those lessons get more service providers interested in moving toward lower-barrier options themselves. "One big low-barrier shelter? I don’t think it’s a great idea," Friedlander said. "You need about 10 low-barrier shelters serving specific populations." Berg said smaller programs allow shelters to operate more efficiently. But, he acknowledged, money is what prevents more communities from taking this approach. 1/30 2020 The Coalition for the Homeless noted that prior to funding cuts in the 1980s to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the nation spent $83 billion per year on affordable housing for Americans below the poverty line. (That's $583 billion in today's dollars.) HUD’s budget for fiscal year 2020 is $49.1 billion, an increase of roughly $4.9 billion over the previous year's level but still below adjusted 1970s spending.

4. The city with no homeless on its streets - BBC News - BBC.com www.bbc.com › news › uk-england-46891392 Jan 31, 2019 — But in Finland's capital Helsinki rough sleeping has been almost ... Tenants get together in the communal kitchen to make lunch and socialise in the lounge areas. … in Wales, some run by The Salvation Army, others by local authorities. ... are sleeping rough in the UK, according to housing charity Shelter.

5. "The cities making a dent in homelessness — and what Seattle can learn from them” https://www.geekwire.com/2018/cities-making-dent- homelessness-seattle-can-learn/