Neighborhood Updates
Hi all - I just got off the Zoom meeting with Unity Church about the current proposal for homeless services. There were two presentations, one by Build A Bus Home (buildabushome.org) represented by Lisa Gilotti and Peter Cook, and another by Interfaith Works, represented by Meg Martin (iwshelter.org and interfaith-works.org). Unity Church is currently committed for three months to provide hygiene services for homeless on Tuesdays. As you may or may not know, Unity Church is vying with another site to house 23 high risk homeless (older (almost all >60 years) with pre-existing health conditions) temporarily while 2828 Martin Way is demolished and rebuilt as 65 affordable apartments plus a temporary shelter. The 2828 Martin Way shelter was established when Covid hit to provide social distancing for clients at Interfaith Works downtown shelter at the First Christian Church. As of this writing, the shower bus is happening but the temporary shelter is still being negotiated. We will remain in touch with Unity Church for updates to keep the neighborhood informed, using our normal channels (this webpage, our Facebook page, Next Door, personal e-mails, and postings at the Welcome Spot on 9th & Fern).
On a separate note, over the weekend several of the neighbors (Mark, Kate & Steve, Carri & her kids, Bethany) got together over the weekend to clean up the mural on Olympic Way. When I left it mid-day on Monday all graffiti tags had been painted over. We will continue to monitor and maintain the mural per our agreement with the City that SWONA signed in 2012 (but I was not made aware of until recently). We should get some photos up on the Facebook page about this effort soon.