shelter

Explosive Meeting Despite intense opposition from neighbors, it appears Highline United Methodist Church will proceed with it’s homeless day shelter in Burien. Tuesday evening, Pastor Jenny Partch held one final public meeting to answer questions. The vast majority of people in the room were concerned about public safety and more drug addicts coming into their community from places like Seattle. However, Pastor Partch downplayed the potential risks and believes this will be a vital resource for people living on the streets. That did not sit well with neighbors and biz owners nearby. In fact the pastor got called out for living in Des Moines, several miles away from any potential problems overflowing from her day shelter in Burien. Deputy Mayor Read More ›

Controversial Church Shelter Tuesday evening, Highline United Methodist Church in Burien is hosting another public meeting. Starts at 7pm. Church is trying expand day shelter capabilities. But neighbors say this is a disaster in the making. #Burien. Questions from Community Meeting for Day Center How are you finding the people? They’re allusive and hard to find. Flyers are being placed at Burien’s two libraries, the L.E.A.D. office, Burien Transit Center and Share & Care. Caseworkers have been given leaflets to give to clients. We have let other human services agencies who work in Burien know. We will also let the businesses near the transit center know. What was the basis for the how the notices were distributed? What was the Read More ›

Amateur Hour Wednesday evening, Highline United Methodist Church Pastor Jenny Partch and moderator Krystal Marx (@bcckrystalmarx) told me I was not allowed to record a PUBLIC MEETING about a controversial day shelter for the homeless at the church. Neighbors say they learned about this city funded project last minute. Anyway, the pastor and Marx called Burien Police and tried to have me removed from the property. They clearly do not understand how PUBLIC MEETINGS work. In the end, common sense prevailed and I was allowed to stay and record. As for the furious neighbors, they went off on church leaders and unloaded their concerns about the potential for crime, open air drug use, and other issues following the clientele and Read More ›

Breaking Kenmore City Council votes 6-1 to block controversial Plymouth Housing project (@PlymouthHousing) from coming into downtown. Angry residents claimed it was pitched as affordable housing for veterans and senior citizens. But then it got switched to housing for the chronically homeless and drug addicted individuals. Bottom line, Kenmore is saying “housing first” is a failure and the “low barrier” free for all drug culture will not be tolerated. This could set a precedent for other King County cities facing similar proposals from other housing providers. Numerous people said, “We don’t want to become the next Seattle.” FINAL VOTE: Nigel Herbig-No David Baker-No Angela Kugler-No Joe Marshall-No Melanie O’Cain-No Debra Srebnik-No Corina Pfeil-Yes The other part of the story, this Read More ›