A reader just sent in this note:
Have you noticed the couple with the two year old son panhandling in front of QFC and Bartells on 45th Street? I was really disturbed to run in to them while walking down the street at about 2PM this afternoon. What I’m wondering is what kind of help is available for people like these, through social service agencies, Family Works, even local churches? Is there a way readers of your blog can suggest things to do? I was in a hurry or I might have at least bought them some groceries, but this can’t be a sustainable situation especially with such a young child. Can we as a community do something to help?
Comments and suggestions welcome...
UPDATE: A comment from a FamilyWorks staffer.
Hi - I work at FamilyWorks and we would be happy to help this family. We run the food bank and family reource center. We are in the same building as Solid Ground, which may be able to help with housing. We are located on the first floor of 1501 N 45th Street on the corner of 45th & Woodlawn. Our general hours are M-Th 9:30-5pm , Fri 9:30-3pm. Please send the family our way and we would be happy to help them.
If you want more information on FamilyWorks you can visit our website at www.familyworksseattle.org or find us on Facebook (FamilyWorks Food Bank and Resource Center) and Twitter (FamilyWorks).
So now you know...
5 comments:
"I would have bought them some groceries but I was in a hurry..." Nice. Are you kidding me?
get used to it.
we're going to be seeing a lot more of this in the next few years.
Please don't buy groceries or give handouts to people. We've enough problems in our neighborhood without the magnet of being known as a soft-touch area.
Instead, give to reputable charities and contact them about the need for outreach to people who are down-and-out in the neighborhood.
Hi - I work at FamilyWorks and we would be happy to help this family. We run the food bank and family reource center. We are in the same building as Solid Ground, which may be able to help with housing. We are located on teh first floor of 1501 N 45th Street on the corner of 45th & Woodlawn. Our general hours are M-Th 9:30-5pm , Fri 9:30-3pm. Please send the family our way and we would be happy to help them.
If you want more information on FamilyWorks you can visit our website at www.familyworksseattle.org or find us on Facebook (FamilyWorks Food Bank and Resource Center) and Twitter (FamilyWorks).
Kate Banta-Green
Donor and Volunteer Coordinator
As long as we continue to encourage bums (no, they don't have the right to be called "homeless" if they're spending money on drugs instead of a roof over their heads)to hang out in Wallingford, they will flock to our neighborhood, bringing crime with them. I have a wife and young child to protect and take care of, so pardon me if I seem callous and unwelcoming to the downtrodden. There's no way of really knowing which of them are harmless. I'm sure many of you who give them money and attention have families as well. In doing so, you put your neighbor's well-being at risk.
But if you think these bums are all so misunderstood and simply victims of a heartless society, fine. Don't just give them money and a hug. Let them sleep in your house. And urinate and defecate on the floor, leave empty 40s and vials. You're fine with them doing that in our parks and on our sidewalks. Bring them into your home so the rest of us don't have to put up with them.
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