Maybe now's the time to pay attention

Kirk Ericson | Oct 13, 20220

Perhaps you’re like me. Stories about well-intentioned people striving to create permanent places for people without adequate shelter have become background noise. These stories of good intentions are swamped by the sights we see along the roads, in parks, in downtowns, in the woods.

Easing homelessness often seems like the Dutch boy who has too few fingers trying to plug too many holes in the dike.

But eventually homelessness will change, and it’s reasonable to think that because institutions and policies created the problem, institutions and policies can solve the problem. Clearly, chasing, jailing and shaming the homeless hasn’t worked.

On Tuesday night at the Shelton Civic Center, the city sponsored a public gathering on homelessness as a setup, of sorts, for the coming release of recommendations from its homelessness advisory group, which has been meeting since June. The amount of effort and money that the city, nonprofit organizations and residents are pouring into helping people without shelter in Shelton and Mason County is profound.

I’m naïve at times, but the many parties involved in this latest endeavor in Mason County seem to be approaching the problem with serious and eyes-wide-open intent.

It’s not easy work. “We’re dealing with people on the high end of the need spectrum,” one of the directors of a nonprofit said at Tuesday’s event.

Organizations such as Crossroads Housing, Community Lifeline, Quixote Communities, Shelton Youth Connection, Central Mason Fire & EMS and the Shelton Police Department, and several other governmental and private helpers, have coalesced to engage with the many moving parts of homelessness, including housing, drug treatment, mental care, employment and public safety.

After Tuesday’s community forum ended, I went to the park near the Community Lifeline shelter in downtown Shelton, where I met Robert McCartney, age 52, standing on the sidewalk. Robert said he’s from Shelton and that he’s been homeless for five or six years.

I asked him whether he’s seen any improvement in homelessness in Shelton.

“There’s a lot less meth now,” he said. “Cops took care of that. But I still see people outside sleeping all day long.”

He said he stays at the Community Lifeline shelter. I asked him what he needs to make his life better.

“A valid ID,” he said. “For $60 I could get the ID. … Someday I want to be able to rent my own home or apartment.”

“I’m stubborn,” he said. “I can only make my own choices. But I need 60 bucks to get that valid ID. I have hope that my life will get better.”

Yet after five or six years without permanent housing, Robert says he remains homeless.

But there are other stories. Athena Ayres, executive director of Community Lifeline, sent me the following from a fellow who wrote his own story (edited for length):

“My name is Eugene Hall and I am a previous participant of Community Lifeline services. I was born in Bremerton, WA and served in the U.S Air Force from 1994-95. I grew up in a home with my mother, stepfather, and five siblings. My stepfather was very physically abusive … after leaving the military my mental health was in dire straits and I found myself in a mental health facility on several occasions for serious attempts of suicide. I soon after began using methamphetamine. I became homeless in August of 2021 and as a result had to leave my son in the care of my mother. I was referred to Community Lifeline of Mason County.

“My start with Community Lifeline was a rough adjustment for me however after Athena and her team started, I felt a noticeable shift in my healing journey. … They started with signing me up for various housing opportunities and Tammy worked relentlessly to get me connected with Crossroads Housing. They also worked with me to find a mental health provider I felt comfortable with and to stabilize my medication. … I was finally accepted into Crossroads Housing on July 11th of this year and I am no longer homeless. … Having my son back and no longer being homeless leaves me speechless and I will soon be celebrating 25 years free from illegal drugs and substances as well.”

Solutions to what seem like intractable social problems evolve maddeningly slowly, but sometimes we do take major steps toward solutions. Let’s start paying attention to whether this is one of those major steps in Mason County.