Olympia tries a new tack on homeless camps

By Abby Spegman

The Olympian

After a plan to open two city-sanctioned homeless camps drew mixed reviews, Olympia city staff say they are now focused on expanding existing shelters, including a proposal to move one shelter out of downtown.

The original plan, announced last month, was to hire a Seattle-based group to manage camps on a Martin Way East property the city is buying and on a lot it already owns near Plum Street Southeast. Neighbors said they were caught off guard by the plan, and the City Council asked staff to work with local service providers.

In a presentation Tuesday to the council, staff said they want to move forward with the Plum Street camp but offered a new vision for the Martin Way site: moving the Interfaith Works shelter from the First Christian Church on Franklin Street Southeast to Martin Way early next year to expand its capacity.

The city is working on buying the site at 2828 Martin Way E. for $1.35 million. That would be done using money from a sales tax increase voters approved in February to build permanent supportive housing, and the city plans to build such a facility there in the future.

The shelter would be housed in modular buildings, similar to portable classrooms that schools use when they need more space. It would be open 24 hours a day and add 18 beds for a total of 60 beds.

An existing building on the site would have about 12 beds for people recovering from illness or injury. There also would be parking spots for people living in their vehicles, and garbage and hygiene services for people living on the site and possibly for those in makeshift camps already in the area.

Meg Martin from Interfaith Works said the city started talking with her group this month about expanding its shelter capacity, and the possibility of moving came out of those talks.

“This could be a great plan, but it is really early,” Martin said, noting Interfaith Work’s board, members, shelter staff, clients and neighbors would all have to sign off on the move.

The city also wants to add capacity at Rosie’s Place, a shelter for young people run by Community Youth Services, and the Salvation Army’s shelter, which already is preparing to become a 24-hour facility in the fall. With the city’s encouragement, it now plans to add 20 beds and open an expanded dining area and day center early next year.

Salvation Army’s overnight shelter will close for the summer, reopen as 24-hour option for homeless

Keylee Marineau from Community Youth Services said Rosie’s Place is only closed for a few hours during the week.

“The moment we close our doors, (clients) leave, even if we’re going to open up in a half an hour. And where do they go? They go to the Providence Community Care Center, the (Union Gospel Mission) and other adult services,” she told the council.

The city is still planning to open a camp — which it has described as a tiny house village — on the quarter-acre lot it owns off Plum Street Southeast next to the Yashiro Japanese Garden. That would open in November with about 40 units, according to the city’s timeline.

It would be managed by Seattle-based Low Income Housing Institute, which operates similar sites in King County and low-income housing facilities locally, including Billy Frank Jr. Place on State Avenue Northeast that opened last year.

City officials have said they want the Plum Street camp to be a model for future camps to be run by nonprofits and faith-based groups, which would be allowed under an emergency ordinance on managed camps the council passed in June.

There was no talk Tuesday of how much all this — moving the Interfaith Works shelter to Martin Way, adding capacity at other shelters, and opening the Plum Street camp — would cost. Keith Stahley, director of Community Planning and Development, said final plans would depend on the funding available.

City staff will present a plan to the council’s finance committee Sept. 6 and update the full council Sept. 18.

Stahley said staff has met with neighbors and will continue to do so, but that more public outreach would happen in the fall once plans are finalized.