Transitional support key to homelessness
As you decide who to give your vote to consider this:
If someone came to you today and said, “This afternoon, you’ll be homeless,” what would you do? Would you know how to survive that first day?
Now imagine the reverse. You’ve been unhoused — for months, maybe for years — and someone tells you, “Today, you have a home.” How would you respond?
For many, that would be overwhelming. Having a roof overhead doesn’t automatically mean stability, there may be no comprehension of what being housed is and you set them up for failure.
That’s why I believe we need transitional support — programs that help people learn, or re-learn, how to maintain housing, manage responsibilities and rebuild stability. Practice, direction, support, commitment and step-by-step individualized structure should be provided with the goal — a successfully housed individual.
Real solutions require more than shelter. They require understanding, preparation and community support.
Deb Wilson
Aberdeen
SNAP cuts: ‘I wouldn’t be able to eat’
In a story published on May 21, 2025, Jerry Knaak wrote that “the House Committee on Agriculture has approved a massive cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps.” Since May, the cuts were incorporated into the now-passed “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
Here’s my experience:
“I wouldn’t be able to eat.”
That’s the answer to my question to my 70-year-old neighbor when I asked her, “What if you didn’t have SNAP?” My neighbor worked all her life and is on Social Security. She had to sell her home and now rents. She’s living thriftily and is worried about the prices of food going up.
You see, this “One Big Beautiful Bill” makes sweeping cuts to SNAP that truly will take food away from millions of Americans. In Grays Harbor County alone, approximately 16,000 people are on SNAP.
Also, this happened: On Oct 3, the USDA notified the states that the changes to SNAP go into effective on Nov 1. This Nov 1.
Now, the government is shutdown. Which gives us an opportunity to convince Congress to stop the crazy and cruel cuts to SNAP. We need to remind them that it’s time to prioritize people over politics.
Contact your Congresspeople. Let them know this stinks. Help speak up for the people who will go hungry if nothing is done.
Ellen Beatriz-Ray
Shelton
