Image of the Week: Fate of Shelter Unknown

by Shannon Moriarty · 2009-04-20 20:42:00 UTC
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A classic debate between a homeless service organization and its host church may displace dozens of shelter guests. Today, these homeless individuals don't know if they will be staying on the shelter or put out on the streets.

The debate began after the church made a change in policy: they no longer wished to host homeless people who are registered sex offenders. If homeless people wanted to stay overnight, they had to have a background check. Here are the details from the Seattle PI:

"We decided to stay together as a group, whether it be living under a bridge or in front of the mayor's house," he said. "So be it."

The plans deteriorated when Our Redeemer's Lutheran Church bowed to public pressure and demanded that the shelter conduct sex offender background checks. The shelter, run by the SHARE collective, said no.

The dispute reinforced the fierce, self-governing stubbornness of SHARE, which runs King County's largest homeless-shelter network. SHARE was willing to allow a handful of men to potentially face the streets over a principle.

The residents of the shelter are waiting to see if another church will offer to host the displaced shelter. So far, nobody has come forward.

[Photo from Seattle PI: Gerardo Lopez serves himself some ramen during dinner at a SHARE homeless shelter in the West Seattle Church of the Nazarene. The shelter planned to relocate to Ballard but met stiff neighborhood resistance.]

Shannon Moriarty has worked in various homeless shelters and service organizations around the country. She is a graduate student studying housing and urban policy at Tufts University.
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