Cheers to New Horizons in Belltown and the young people who are learning employment soft skills as well as techniques to make a great cup of coffee.
Last Wednesday, I hosted District 7 Office Hours in the Belltown Community Center. I was pleased to hear from community members on topics ranging from housing, transit, HALA, recreational marijuana licenses and homelessness. Each person brought a unique perspective, and I truly appreciate the opportunity to speak informally and in depth about their issues.
Specifically, one woman (for this purpose, I will call her Kate) truly took my breath away as she described her journey from homeless, to living in a shelter, to living in transitional housing, to being fully stable in her own affordable apartment in Belltown. Kate wanted to talk with us about her experiences being homeless and described her struggles and successes. She recounted the myriad of programs she used and continues to rely on. She gave me a list of programs that worked for her, which didn’t and what she’d like to add. Kate’s voice and her experiences painted an important story that complements what we have been hearing: we need aligned services with city-county-state that target the individual.
We scheduled our office hours here at Belltown Community Center, a great space which — in my opinion — is underutilized.
Kate discussed with me the importance of services that many of us take for granted, such as medical care, dental health, and shelter. However, she also told us how important it was to have access to programs that surrounded her with a healthy community and created a safe and healing environment with others, such as the meditation program at the Frye Museum on Wednesdays; a confidential place to access domestic violence programs; and Path with Art, providing free art classes to income eligible participants. Kate left us by saying, “I’m not perfect but I think I can be helpful to you and my community at this time.” So true.
A plug for Uptown! I applaud the great work done by community leaders to create an Art and Culture Overlay District.
We will schedule office hours across District 7 reaching constituents in South Lake Union, Pioneer Square, Queen Anne, Magnolia, Uptown, and Downtown. I value the chance to hear from you, my constituents across the district. Your story is helpful and important to me, and I look forward to meeting you soon.
Please sign up for an appointment for office hours on my website.
All the best,
–Sally