The latest installment of Issues that Matter, Sno-Isle Library’s series of community discussions on key issues and challenges facing local communities, got underway Monday evening with a well-attended forum and panel discussion addressing the issues of housing and homelessness.

Moderated by journalist Teresa Wippel, publisher of My Edmonds News, Lynnwood Todayand MLTnews, the event included a three-person panel comprising Mindy Woods, an affordable housing advocate at the local and state levels; Karin Ellis with Konè Consulting, which conducted a study on homelessness in Edmonds; and Aaron Holm, co-CEO of Blokable, which develops modular housing units, some of which are planned for the property adjacent to Edmonds Lutheran Church.

After welcoming attendees and recognizing several elected and other officials in the audience, Wippel went on to introduce the topic and provide rationale for the evening’s discussion.

“We’re here tonight to talk about housing,” she began. “Those who have a home, those who are at risk of losing a home, and those who don’t have a home. This issue is complicated and becomes very personal when it affects you directly. Edmonds is becoming an increasingly expensive place to live, and housing costs have contributed significantly to this. As property taxes increase, senior become particularly vulnerable. We won’t solve these issues tonight, but it’s important to understand and talk about them. That’s why we’re here.”

Audience members each received an index card to submit questions for the panel to address, which Wippel grouped by topic and most commonly asked in the interest of hitting major areas of concern. She did note that several questions tat were submitted couldn’t be asked because they were outside the panel’s area of expertise.

Panelists then introduced themselves and responded to the first question about common misconceptions of homelessness.

First up was Edmonds resident Mindy Woods, who stressed that no one is immune to homelessness.

“It can happen to anyone,” she said. “It can be triggered by an unexpected bill, a death in the family, identity theft, job loss and a host of other things. No one is immune. There is a big misconception out there that some people want to be homeless.  This is simply not the case.”

Panelist Karin Ellis talked about the numbers of homeless in Edmonds who were identified in their report to the City of Edmonds.

“Data from our study reveals 230 homeless in Edmonds as of December, 2018,” she said. “Since then, the rising cost of housing and stagnant wages have undoubtedly exacerbated this. The good news is that this relatively low number of homeless means Edmonds has the opportunity to get ahead of this issue before it grows into a much bigger problem.”

Aaron Holm of Blokable talked about his company’s efforts to address the root causes of the lack of affordable housing.

“It comes down to supply and cost,” he explained. “Right now there’s a big gap between the amount of affordable housing available and the amount required. This gap is a function of the cost of building that housing. We’re focused on driving down the cost of development, which will in turn make more affordable housing available.”

The next question was directed at possible risks involved with placing affordable housing in neighborhood settings and introducing a population of newcomers with drug, crime and mental health issues.

Holm responded that the units Blokable builds provide high quality housing that brings dignity to the occupants. “We believe that by giving folks a quality place to live, they will be less likely to resort to crime and that our units, largely because of their quality, will raise values in the neighborhood,” he said.

Karin Ellis pointed out that folks who are experiencing homelessness and attendant substance abuse and mental health issues are more often the victims of crime than the perpetrators, and that a safe and stable place to live reduces the incidence of these problems.

Mindy Woods added that increasing affordable housing and bringing in people with a diversity of income levels makes a stronger community overall.

Holm then walked the audience through a PowerPoint show illustrating how lack of affordable housing supply actually drives up costs. His key concept is that by lowering costs, a “virtuous cycle” is created whereby equity can be built and new ownership options created.

In her presentation, Ellis provided an overview of the study done by her firm on homelessness in Edmonds.

“Our first phase was mainly qualitative research where we talked with many people and looked at best practices used in other localities,” she explained. “With a baseline thus established, we next embarked on collecting quantitative data from Edmonds. It’s tough to collect data on homeless people; they’re often transient and under the radar.”

She went on to explain the protocols of Snohomish County’s ‘Point In Time’ count conducted in late January, where workers scoured the city between 2 and 4 a.m. counting and talking to homeless people. When these results were combined with data from DSHS on numbers seeking food and cash assistance, the results revealed 230 homeless individuals in Edmonds who were living unsheltered, car camping or temporarily living with someone else (for example, couch surfing).

“We found most of the homeless come from within the county and are not outsiders,” Ellis explained. “Eighty percent are working age adults, and people of color are disproportionately impacted. Many fall into the category of ‘hidden homeless’ because they are living in cars or couch surfing, and are less visible than those living on the streets.”

When asked how they became homeless, the most frequent response from those interviewed was family crisis such as death or divorce, followed by increasing cost of living forcing a choice between food and rent.

Her study also revealed that compared to other cities, Edmonds does not funding or staff dedicated to human services.

“Edmonds now has the opportunity to get ahead of this issue,” she said. “We have the chance to address it now and keep it from becoming the big problem it has become for some of our neighboring cities.”

The most effective thing the city can do, Ellis said, is work to keep people in their existing homes so they don’t become homeless in the first place.

Mindy Woods then took over, telling her personal story of how she became homeless and her journey through the jungle of bureaucracy to connect with housing. It began with having to leave her residence due to an infestation of black mold, which landed her son in Children’s Hospital, and included endless hours on the phone trying to connect with services to help find housing.

Finally, after many months of couch surfing, being forced by economics to live separately from her son, and her Section 8 housing voucher due to expire in a matter of hours, she at last connected with a landlord who could provide her a place to live.

“The big take-home lesson from this is that our (the community’s) resources are simply tapped out,” she said. “When you’re low income and need a landlord who accepts Section 8 housing vouchers, you’re in an impossible situation. There’s just nothing out there.”

The next question posed to the panel asked why affordable housing can’t go somewhere other than established communities where it introduces the risk of crime and other social ills, to which Woods responded with her own question: “Why should I have to live somewhere else just because I’ve fallen on hard times?  My church is here, my medical care is here, my friends are here. Just because I make less money doesn’t mean I’m ruinous to the community.”

Subsequent questions explored what the community can do to help, what might be the effects on taxpayers if the city were to provide more of these services, and what options might be available for those whose income is too high to qualify for assistance, but too low to afford our increasing housing costs.

Despite ground rules designed to keep the event respectful, at one point during the discussions a person identifying himself only as resident of Seattle’s Licton Springs neighborhood disrupted the meeting with comments about how low-income housing has attracted drug use and prostitution. He forced his way to the front of the room and attempted to present photos and other documenting material to the panel, at which point he was escorted out by library staff and Edmonds Police Chief Al Compaan, who happened to be in attendance.

At the end of the meeting, Wippel welcomed audience members to an open mic session so they could make direct comments.

Dave Cooper of Edmonds said he was concerned that the panel showed no diversity of opinion, and hence presented a one-sided version of the issue. “If you really want community involvement, include people with different points of view, not a monolithic panel that’s all of one mind,” he said.

Another audience member pointed to the finding of 230 homeless in Edmonds, and asked that how, in a city of 40,000, this number represents a crisis.

In response, Karin Ellis pointed out that her role was to report the numbers, not to decide on actions, but adding that “for someone experiencing homelessness, it’s a crisis.”

Other comments pointed to strategies like traditional boarding houses, and the “housing first” model being used successfully in Rhode Island, where it is being found that simply placing people in quality housing and providing stability addresses many of the social problems like crime and drug abuse.

The session ended with Wippel reminding the audience of upcoming opportunities to further discuss the issue. One of these will be the Edmonds Citizens’ Housing Commission, which is being formed specifically –with representation from across the city — to develop housing policy recommendations to the city council.

Monday night’s session is available for viewing on the SnoIsle Facebook page here.

— By Larry Vogel