I want to talk with you about a heavy subject. Homelessness. It’s difficult and uncomfortable to talk about things we don’t have clear solutions for. Even more difficult when in the midst of the pandemic, it’s an epidemic that has become a runaway train in so many communities. Homelessness has many faces and places, from women escaping from unsafe circumstances with their children to someone of retired age without a family safety net. It’s couch surfing to living in vehicles. It’s everything in between.
Of the 1000-1400 households that regularly shop at The Market, 306 of them are in a temporary and not ideal living situation. 126 of those reside in Pierce County, and many of the others have had to move to a home belonging to a friend or family member outside the county but still shop with us.
I had a meaningful day with these 3 community leaders. You might know them as Marilee Hill Anderson Sumner-Bonney Lake School District Director of Community Outreach and Homelessness, Mayor Kathy Hayden of Sumner, and Councilmember Barb Bitetto of Sumner…..but today they were Marilee, Kathy, and Barb as we conducted the Pierce County Point In Time Count (PIT) at The Market. Each woman listened compassionately as we were told individual stories and helped by providing resources and information.
Traditionally a PIT count is solicited and might catch someone off guard. I decided to broadcast text to each customer experiencing a housing crisis and let them know about the survey, so that they could opt in and not be surprised. And thanks to Bonney Lake Safeway, I was able to provide food and fuel cards to each person that bravely and generously gave us their time.
Over 50 individuals arrived during the event. From what I understand, this was a larger than normal participation in this part of the county. As we interviewed we learned that experiencing homelessness caught each person by surprise. For some it has been recent, for others it’s been several years. In each case, a series of unfortunate events compounded in a way that made it impossible to catch a break and recoup. From layoffs, to health issues, to house fires, to loss of social security, to traumatic events….and many experiencing 3 to 4 of these things at the same time. In each case COVID and inflated cost of living only further compounded the situation.
Understanding how people in our area are struggling is the key to finding solutions. Reducing barriers to the support and the safety nets people need in this pandemic and beyond, is something that’s more than achievable. Thank you to Mayor McCullough of Bonney Lake, Deputy Mayor Terry Carter of Bonney Lake, and my Exexutive Team Jenson Isham, Teri Hochstein, and Brian Floyd for all being there to support.
And especially thank you to each of these 3 leaders in this photo for volunteering their entire day and entire heart. ❤️