The city of Seattle is working hard to combat homelessness, however, the magnitude of the problem is huge. The City’s budget for homelessness funds 28+ agencies helping the homeless. Northwest SHARE (NW Share), a 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation was incorporated in 2000. NW Share proposes to establish a model Pioneer Village to solve the problem of homelessness with low cost sustainable housing. The solution addresses the long term needs of the homeless. The advantages of the Pioneer Village are the following: self-sufficient, off the grid, minimal electricity produced by solar panels, rainwater collection, sustainable gardening for fresh vegetables, etc. Inhabitants of the Pioneer village will learn life skills to maintain the self-sufficient community and establish the culture of effective communication and the spirit of cooperation. The community will develop cottage industries to generate funds for maintenance. One project will be to save cows destined for the slaughter house. These cows will be protected so that their dung and urine can be used for making fertilizer for the gardens and eventually for sale to generate funds. Other cottage industries will evolve as the cooperative spirit of the inhabitants increases. The problem of the homeless is that they don’t have a fixed residence. The Pioneer Village will be a permanent solution for homelessness. With a fixed residence, it will be possible to educate the inhabitants to maintain themselves with farming, animal husbandry, cottage industries, self-healing through regulated healthy diet, herbalism and lifestyle adjustment such as early to bed, early to rise makes a person healthy, wealthy and wise. The Pioneer Village will also be a sustainable model in the future when industrial robots will eliminate many jobs of USA workers. It will be possible for jobless workers and their families to live in Pioneer villages on very limited income. The Pioneer Village will also be essential if the transportation and communication systems fail due to war or natural disaster. People will be able to live in sustainable villages until the normal functions are reestablished.
Problem statement:
There are many categories of homeless people. Some are transitional homeless who are capable of working but are unable to because they lack lifestyle stability. NGO reports show that the number of homeless who are living in vehicles is increasing. In the foreseeable future there is a possibility of massive unemployment due to robotization and automation of business processes. People living on fixed incomes are also finding it challenging to pay property taxes and other fees on homes that have seen significant increase in values. Some of these homeowners will also become homeless in the future. While the City government is working hard to provide housing to the homeless, there is no comprehensive plan for ever increasing number of homeless people. We propose a “Food-First, Housing-First” approach and then deal with other issues like substance abuse and violence once stable living conditions are established.
Here are some recent press articles on issues impacting the homeless in Seattle: •“Once people have that basic stability of a place to sleep and some food to eat, they are much better equipped to start dealing with those secondary problems in their lives, like addiction, like a lack of a job, and other issues that we typically expect them to fix in order to deserve housing,” said Rankin. https://www.king5.com/article/news/politics/seattle-lacks-coherent-strategy-to-fight-homelessness-expert-says/281-552841013 •“The fact that we’re seeing multiple, different infections now increasing in the homeless population is an indicator of the sheer increase in the number of homeless people (in King County) and the fact that they’re in crowded conditions with poor hygiene and sanitation,” said Dr. Jeff Duchin, health officer for Public Health — Seattle & King County. •Toddler found eating off ground at Seattle homeless encampment. “She saw an approximately two-year-old child sitting on the ground eating stale powdered donuts on the ground and coloring,” said Trooper Rick Johnson, a spokesperson for the Washington State Patrol. https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/toddler-found-eating-off-ground-at-seattle-homeless-encampment/433055375 •Tent City 3 shelters up to 100 regular residents. Our ability to cook is limited (we have a coffeepot and a microwave), & hot meals are always welcome. We have no refrigerator, but we have several large coolers. To schedule hot meals, contact SHARE at tc3@sharewheel.org or call us at (206)448-7889. http://www.sharewheel.org/tent-city-3 •In South Seattle, the Number of Homeless Students Tripled Since 2010. “Students experiencing homelessness need a place that is stable, a place where they are supported and nurtured. For some, that place is school.” https://www.seattlemet.com/articles/2018/4/12/in-south-seattle-the-number-of-homeless-students-tripled-since-2010.
A tweet by Emily Eng shows how the money is spent https://twitter.com/emily_m_eng
Northwest SHARE program is cheaper than other competing projects
For more information contact Harry Terhanian at (425) 499 6408