No response as of October 14 - we will post late responses within one business day of receiving them.

No response as of October 14 - we will post late responses within one business day of receiving them.

Bellingham has a difficult situation, as our border, coastline and mountainous regions collect a disproportionate share of people without roots, without jobs, and without housing. We need to recognize the ripple effects this can have on our community. I think we do a worthy job of supporting programs such as the Opportunity Council that do great work. I think we need dedicated facilities where substance abusers and/or the mentally ill can get treatment, transitional housing, and job-training skills. The most important thing we can do is give people hope and an opportunity to be self-sufficient.

No response as of October 14 - we will post late responses within one business day of receiving them.

We will never be able to do enough and I cannot speak for Bellingham but as a county council member I have always supported the Opportunity Council, Northwest Youth Services, and Kulshan Community Land Trust in budget proposals that have come to the council. I voted for the creation of an affordable housing task force to help us create a menu of options for affordable housing. I served on the task force and repeatedly said our first and highest priority should be on homelessness. I proposed and drafted the county's original detached accessory dwelling unit (ADU) ordinance over 12 years ago, which is by far the most cost effective form of affordable housing. I have never heard a complaint from any neighbors of detached ADUs with our ordinance (Our ordinance only applies to unincorporated Whatcom County. I know there are complaints in Bellingham. I strongly believe most, if not all complaints can be eliminated with a decent ordinance that protects neighbors as well as the detached ADU owner). The only complaint I have received regarding the county ordinance is about how difficult it is to get through the permitting process. I am receptive to all housing proposals for the homeless.

The Whatcom County Health Department's Housing First Project is a huge step in addressing this problem. This project will ultimately not only make life better for the targeted homeless, it will also be a less expensive way of serving this population. That is, it's been demonstrated time and time again that it's cheaper to provide housing and stability than it is to cycle people through the jail, emergency rooms and mental health services.

Rising homelessness and a rising percentage of income needed for housing costs show that we are falling further behind in affordable housing issues, despite some great individual examples of success. Rising housing prices, coupled with falling incomes and limited low-cost housing options, are resulting in rising numbers of area residents being priced out of the purchased housing market, forced to share smaller accommodations, and to a distressing degree, being left homeless altogether for periods of time. We can do better. We need to assess the tools at our disposal, including appropriate, targeted revenue streams, regulatory changes, and policy options, to comprehensively examine the roots of the issue locally, and to address these to the extent we can as a community. We also must more fully educate our state and federal legislators regarding the importance of this issue, and how this issue ties into other issues in a very direct way--and through that effort, obtain increased investment in affordability; an investment that demonstrably provides a great return economically and socially over time.

I applaud the hard work our community's service providers accomplish everyday. They do their best with the limited resources available to them. But the fact remains, there are over 1200 children and adults on the streets at any given time and one of the main causes is the lack of affordable housing. I would like to see us securing funding for strengthening the current strategy of homelessness prevention while at the same time bolster transitional housing programs and mental health programs to directly assist those in need.

The Housing Authority has done an average job with the limited resources available, creating affordable subsidized housing. Private companies have used tax credits well, but this lags behind what is needed and we have too few shelters (specifically for families), transitional housing options are limited and under-funded. Short term rental assistance is also difficult to come by.

Homelessness is also a product of low paying jobs, difficult family circumstances and substance abuse. Supporting the effort to recruit livable wage jobs, provide emergency and short term support and services for addictions will help. We could do more.

I think it is starting to be aggressively addressed.

The Whatcom County Homeless Services Center Project is a great program and is something I support. Operating on the concept of transformation of individuals and families to restore dignity and provide permanent housing solutions is the right approach.

We should contribute resources from the City of Bellingham to help this effort as well as work on solutions for affordable housing.

Partnerships with municipal and county governments, and our local human services organizations is the only way to create something with the effectiveness to achieve the goal of ending homelessness.

I don't have a strong opinion on this from the county perspective. The county has recently been approved for a $1.4 million grant over three years to address human needs, so it will be educational to watch what they do with that funding. From the city's perspective, the 2007 Preliminary Human Service Grants total $501,333 in the form of funding from the General Fund and a Community Development Block Grant. These funds are directed at a number of specific need, including, but not limited to housing, health and dental care, mental health, substance abuse and Winter emergency shelter.

I lack a history or first hand knowledge of the city/county effort. I read "Everyone Counts" with great interest and I see the County has a three year grant to improve the way we respond to homelessness. I'm guessing there has not been a commitment made to end homelessness as has been done in other communities like Portland, OR. I would like to see the City step up to help the County in this effort and to couple that with long range plans developed to end homelessness here.

The Whatcom County Homeless Count (March 2007) identified 1,298 homeless people in Whatcom County of which 72% are single individuals. Of the homeless families, 78% are single-parent families (92% of the parents are females). The report also identified about 149 individuals had recently been released from jail, inpatient substance abuse or mental health treatment. The report identified the current depth of homelessness in our community, and now we should provide the leadership for cost-efficient solutions. Our response should provide 1) transitional shelter for female heads of households with sufficient space for children, 2) modest, single-room occupancy apartments for singles, and 3) sufficient day-care and school support for the homeless children. A portion of Bellingham's Community Development Block Grant funds should be partnered with the Bellingham Housing Authority or non-governmental organizations to build new units targeted toward our homeless needs.

This community has a strong network of housing and homeless support services with a long history of working together to address this issue. As a community we learned the hard way from the emergency shelter opened in the old Sears building that it's not enough to simply provide beds. Homeless individuals and families need wrap around services to address the causes and consequences of homelessness. The recent acquisition of the $1.4 million housing grant to Whatcom County was awarded in part because of the collaboration among non-profit providers and local government. I'm hopeful that using this "housing first" model, one that moves homeless people directly to permanent housing, will increase the effectiveness of our local programs.

I have worked on many homeless issues in numerous ways since I have been on the City Council. I supported the original city purchase of the Food Bank. It was a controversial decision. I wanted the Food Bank to spend their time gathering food rather than worrying about a rent payment. I now support giving the Food Bank $150,000 to help them build a new building.

I voted to support many transitional housing units: Lydia Place, the YWCA, Dorothy Place, Women Care Shelter, Partnership House, Interfaith Housing, and others. I also supported help with emergency shelter for the homeless. The City of Bellingham, working with agencies and the public has made such a difference in so many peopleÕs lives. Of course, there is always more to do.

I am impressed by the number and variety of programs addressing homelessness and related issues that our community supports, through public and private funding. The City of Bellingham has set many laudable objectives for itself in this past year, including providing food aid, health services and housing assistance to 15,000 low income persons, funding of transitional housing by local non-profits, loan support of the Food Bank, loan support of 75 new affordable housing units, and supportive rental housing for 16 low-income or homeless families, among others objectives. Past experience, however, has shown that the City often achieves significant and meaningful results that nonetheless fall short of its annual goals. What we need is a long-term plan that addresses homelessness, as opposed to a series of annual plans that provide for incremental progress; the draft 2008-12 Consolidated Plan can provide this, along with the County's 10-Year Homelessness Plan.

No response as of October 14 - we will post late responses within one business day of receiving them.

No response as of October 14 - we will post late responses within one business day of receiving them.