Neighbors in Olympia speak out against proposed shelter
OLYMPIA -- The proposed homeless shelter would be called The People's House, but there were a lot of people from an Eastside Olympia neighborhood who showed up at a Monday night public forum and said: Not in my neighborhood.
When Jessica Archer learned of the proposed homeless shelter in her neighborhood, she decided to speak out publicly against it.
"It`ll house Level Three sex offenders, drug addicts, convicted felons and allow people without identification so we won`t even know the violent background history of people that are staying here,” Archer said.
At the public forum, Archer spoke out again.
She and others in Olympia’s Eastside neighborhood realize organized opposition kept the facility out of other parts of the city and they hope to keep it out of their neighborhood as well.
"It's just crazy to put this kind of facility right across the street from three schools. It's unthinkable,” resident Steven Welliever said.
"Even if the worst-case scenario doesn't happen, we should expect spillover to happen from the facility into the neighborhood, and that means lockdowns at the schools. Lockdowns are really scary for kids,” Archer said.
They came to Monday’s forum believing there is strength in numbers. It was standing room only inside St. Michael Catholic Church.
Nearly 300 people showed up to hear more about the proposal to convert the old Department of Transportation office at 1011 10th Ave. SE into a 40-bed 'low barrier' shelter for men and women. That means it would have fewer rules than other shelters in the city.
Weapons and drugs would not be allowed, but neighbors worry it will change their neighborhood forever.
But Interfaith Works, the church group backing the shelter, said the need for services is enormous in Olympia and that it is better to have managed homelessness than unmanaged.
"Right now in Olympia, we have a significant population that is unmanaged -- and coming into the winter months, it will become a greater problem and so providing people a place to go so that we can take care of those individuals and give them the things they need and keep them off the streets is that difference and that's what we intend to do,” Capitol Recovery Center spokeswoman Heather Moore said.
A spokesperson for the group proposing the shelter says this location is not a done deal. No decision has yet been made.
They are also looking at another location and don`t know yet when a final decision will be made.