VIGIL FOR HOMELESS DEATHS

Wednesday, September 23, 2020, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

From a 9/18/2020 WHEEL Email:

" Dear Friends of WHEEL/Women in Black:

It's been a brutal week for our community. Wednesday we stood vigil in the smoke for 12 homeless women and men who'd died outside or by violence earlier this year. That night, a horrible and heartbreaking incident occurred in Cal Anderson Park: the murder of Laura Vach, 38, and after a long standoff with SPD, the presumed-suicide of her partner Travis Berge, the alleged perpetrator. We mourn for both these lost souls, and their friends and families.

Women in Black will be standing vigil for Laura Vach and Travis Berge on the steps of Seattle City Hall (4th/James) from noon to 1 PM next Wednesday, September 23rd. We will stand with very heavy hearts, knowing both were victims of a broken system.

Their deaths bring to 87 the number of homeless people who've died outside, in a public place, or by violence already in 2020. There've been at least 10 deaths of despair by suicide, and least 11 homeless homicides already this year.  These grim numbers are record-setting in the 20 years since we founded our vigils. And they are shocking and heartbreaking evidence of the intensifying crisis in our homeless community: lack of shelter and housing, the real risks and stresses of the pandemic, and weather emergencies. RIGHT NOW, the crisis is as pitched in horrible as we who are homeless or who work with homeless people have seen in our lifetimes.

Through much of the week WHEEL and our allies pressed the City, the County, and the Department of Public Health to keep the temporary SODO Smoke Shelter open, ongoing.  The shelter had filled quickly with more than 100 people (MANY women!), and was and is perfectly suited for a safe, large, interim shelter during this terrible crisis.

We now know the Smoke Shelter has experienced the tough circumstance of two COVID cases amongst its participants, has stopped taking referrals, and will close—at least for the near future—tomorrow.

Here’s a birds-eye view of the Smoke Shelter space from someone who spent time there this week:

“It’s a huge warehouse space that was built out as a COVID hospital that ultimately wasn't needed. The capacity might be as many as 377 people. The space consists of seven "Wards," each already subdivided into spacious cubicles. Each Ward has accessible toilets and showers and plenty of handwashing stations. Each resident gets a cubicle with a cot, a small table and chair, and a storage bin with a lock. Breakfast and dinner are served and snacks/beverages are readily available....the ventilation is state of the art because the building was a Tesla production and sales facility.....as shelters go it's pretty deluxe....”

This shelter space—to its full capacity of perhaps 377 women and men—is needed now more than ever.  WHEEL believes congregate shelters can be operated safely and opened quickly in the COVID era--we run one ourselves!  We also believe that many hotels and single-room shelters need to be opened RIGHT NOW for shelter. Bureaucratic red tape, funding, staffing, and operations issues can be solved swiftly if the community and political will exist.

Without shelter, people die—at an average age of 45 here in King County. Please continue to advocate for MORE SHELTER of all types, NOW.

King County Executive Dow Constantine 206-263-9600
kcexec@kingcounty.gov
Mayor Jenny Durkan (206) 684-4000 jenny.durkan@seattle.gov
City Council (206) 684-8888
council@seattle.gov
Thank you for all you do to keep our community together and safe!
WHEEL/Women in Black
(206) 956-0334
wheelorg@yahoo.com
Homeless Remembrance Project on Facebook"