City of Seattle and church discuss shelter

By Matthew Rodriguez
Seattle Times staff reporter

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But several community leaders expressed concern that, once winter approaches, the shelter would stay beyond 90 days.

"If they haven't been able to locate a new shelter site in the previous two years, I am skeptical that they are going to be able to locate one in the next three months or that they will even look," said Ellen Monrad, chairwoman of the Queen Anne Community Council.

The shelter is now in the old Public Safety Building, which will be demolished as part of the new Justice Center and City Hall development. Sacred Heart already houses other homeless programs, including two run by SHARE (Seattle Housing and Resource Effort), a shelter network.

The 50-person shelter under negotiation would be run by the Downtown Emergency Service Center.

In a letter dated July 15, the president of the Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce said an increase in capacity at Sacred Heart would only be acceptable under management by SHARE.

Al Poole, manager of the Survival Services Unit of the city's Human Services Department, said including the new people in the existing programs under SHARE would not be possible because these "niche" shelters serve people who are more self-sufficient.

Poole said he would like the relocation to extend beyond 90 days, but he said it's up to the church to decide how long to keep the new program.

He said an agreement had not yet been reached with the church, but the city received a draft lease from Sacred Heart last week.

"The lease is only for 90 days, and the church has not indicated that it would extend it beyond 90 days," Poole said.

The Rev. Richard Quinn of Sacred Heart said the church plans to evaluate the contract, which the city is now working on.
 
Chris Bihary, owner of Queen Anne Office Supply and a neighborhood Chamber of Commerce trustee, said, "We've dealt with SHARE over the years, and we know they've done a good job."

He said SHARE's shelters initially were billed as short term, though, and he sees the current negotiations as "more than a temporary thing."

Kevin Maifeld, managing director of the nearby Seattle Children's Theatre at Seattle Center, said his organization has been assured of several conditions by the church, such as the 90-day period and stepped-up security.

"If it becomes a permanent location for the shelter," he said, "then we would have serious concerns about the safety of the children who come to our program."

Matthew Rodriguez: 206-464-3192 or mrodriguez@seattletimes.com