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Resource Report - 25 New Horizons (Quixote Village) · Resource Report

0:20
Hello and welcome to Resource Report, where we
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share with you important information about local
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nonprofits and resource organizations that support
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the community we share, produced by Pathways
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to Agency. I am your host, Rainmaker. Today's
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guest is the Executive Director of New Horizons
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Tiny Home Community, previously known as Quixote
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Village. I met with Colleen Carmichael in New
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Horizons, Olympia location. Here's Colleen. I
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am here with Colleen Carmichael with New Horizons,
1:03
also known as Quixote Village, in Olympia down
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Montman Road. How are you doing today, Colleen?
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Excellent. Thanks for having me today to talk
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about these subjects. It's really important.
1:16
Oh, you're welcome. It is so important. So can
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you reintroduce yourself and your position and
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how did you come to be here? Sure. My name is
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Colleen Carmichael. I'm the Executive Director
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of New Horizon Communities. I started a nonprofit
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back in California, so I moved here from California.
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And when I was in California, Before I moved,
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I started an organization called Reach for Home,
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which was a church -driven volunteer organization
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that got turned into an actual full -fledged
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501c3 nonprofit agency. And we did homeless services
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from outreach all the way through permanent supportive
1:55
housing. So that kind of gave me my background,
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and I knew how to build relationships, which
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is most important. Fundraising will come from
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that, but it's really important that you get
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to know the people that are in the community
2:07
and work together to figure out what's the best
2:10
solution going forward for this. So that didn't
2:13
scare me, the pandemic, more from the mental
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health standpoint, because everybody was already
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fragile that we were dealing with. And that just
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added another layer. What I didn't was the community
2:24
at large to be struggling as much as they were
2:28
with mental health. So it really just... shed
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a light on the fact that everybody needs some
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assistance. Everybody needs some method by which
2:37
they can get the help. And the more we destigmatize
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that and the more we educate people on the options
2:43
available, then that's what's going to make it
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even easier when pandemics or administrations
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or anything change that we have a way forward
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even in the most difficult and challenging of
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times. For sure. Yeah. And destigmatizing, that
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is like, To me, the biggest barrier to homelessness
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is the stag law. Yes, and fear. And fear. I think
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that there's so much fear being pushed by certain
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groups that when I speak, oftentimes it's questioned,
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what's my motive? Do I want to continue to keep
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this going? And I said, if you knew homeless
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service agencies, you would know that all of
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us wished we had some other job to do besides
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the job we're doing. Uh -huh. When we start acting
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as if they are not human beings, and also when
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we start saying, well, they did this, so therefore
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I don't want to help, that's a problem to me.
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Because it's not about what another person does.
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It's about what you want your legacy to be. And
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who do you want to be as a human being? When
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there's someone struggling in our community and
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you can find a way to help, that's what we're
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built on as human beings, is coming together
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in community to help each other. So that's what
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this is about for me. Homelessness is an effect
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of people not getting the right wage for their
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jobs, of there not being enough affordable housing,
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of there being systemic discrimination. All these
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things are playing into why we have homeless
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people right now. What gets called to attention
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is the drug use and the mental health. And I'm
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trying to explain to people, you don't go out
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to the streets like that. You go out to the streets
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still thinking you can manage this. But the trauma,
4:28
the stress, the opinions of the public drag you
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down into a darkness that sometimes the only
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way you could help yourself through that is by
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numbing that pain. Yeah. But it's not what everyone
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scripted, which is you guys use drugs. Then you
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went out to the streets and now you just want
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handouts. And then that gets reinforced in the
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message. Correct. In your subconscious. Correct.
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So we really want to take. time to share the
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stories of the people that we serve, the trauma
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and abuse that they have survived in their lives
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and on the streets, and make people really understand
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that the bottom line is the best place for people
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to be is housed. It's a basic need. We can meet
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it. Once we all decide that this is a priority
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for our communities, we can get this done. I
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know we can. Once your needs are met, then you
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can start the healing journey and move forward
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in your life. Correct. And so many people just,
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it's just unfathomable to me how people just
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don't get that. Yeah. You want to lead with kindness,
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empathy, and understanding. That's the way change
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happens. When judgment and fear take hold, nothing
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gets accomplished. Zoe. I try and hit two different
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perspectives because there's a whole group of
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people who really don't believe these people
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deserve to be housed. And to those people, I
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speak in economic ways. And I say, are you aware
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that it costs $35 ,000 for a person to be out
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on the streets versus $17 ,000 to house them?
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So if you truly don't feel that these people
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are worthy of our time and attention, why are
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you paying double? for keeping them on the streets.
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So that's how I speak to that population. And
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then we have a group of people who really care,
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who really want to make a difference, who really
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understand why we do what we do. And those are
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the people I try to get to go out and find places
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for us to speak or to go and talk to the legislators
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and let them know what is happening. Those are
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the people that often form friendships and relationships
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with the people who are on the streets so we
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can get their message out. and get those stories
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shared. And that's really how we can bring those
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two worlds together. Because I think at the end
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of the day, nobody really wants to have people
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living out there like that. Even if they say
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it online or in other sources, they really know
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that that is wrong. I know that people know that's
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wrong. So it's just trying to get past the shame,
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misunderstanding, because I always feel like
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there's something going on in their lives that
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they don't want you to know about. So it's easy
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to cast light on somebody else when you feel
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ashamed and you feel as if your life isn't on
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the path you thought it should be. So I'm trying
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to say to those people, we're here for you. For
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sure. We're here for everybody who is in need
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of some kind of help, love, value to be seen,
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to be heard. And even the ones that are most
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challenging for us to deal with in the communities
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when I go out and speak in public. I know I have
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to hold space for them also because they have
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something within them that is causing them to
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be hurtful. And we have to truly try and stop
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judging everybody and start figuring out what
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does this person need? Why did this person come
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into the meeting discussing it this way and be
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curious about it? And by having a curiosity about
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it instead of a judgment about it. Then we start
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opening up conversations. Then we start figuring
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out ways together. Because if you think any one
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of us is the expert on how to figure out the
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homeless population, no. It's going to take everybody
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working together. Am I telling you that everybody
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has rose -colored glasses on here? No. There
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are people who have left here that are very unhappy
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that we didn't house them. There are people that
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have worked with us that have left. for one reason
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or another didn't feel like we were doing what
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we could, all we could. But I say when you put
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the burden of that on one person or you put the
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burden of that on one agency, no one's going
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to succeed. No one agency, no one person can
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do it all. It's got to be all of us together.
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So it's just one of those things that you either
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call to do it. I feel like I've been called to
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do this work or not. And if you're not, that's
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okay. But please help support those of us who
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do. It's a struggle to help people learn self
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-awareness and understanding. And the most important
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thing, empathy. And there are a lot of people
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due to their own wounds who just do not have
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the necessary level of empathy to see this. And
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speaking to those people through numbers can
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often yield better results. That's why when I
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go and speak in public, I try and bring data
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with me. Right. So most people hear about housing.
9:34
They hear about minimum wage. But when I talk
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to them, I say, you know, the minimum wage is
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this amount, but a living wage is much higher.
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And you can't afford rent in this area if you're
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getting paid minimum wage. And I don't think
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they understand how many employers pay minimum
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wage. They think. Oh, minimum wage is just for
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college students who come out. I said, that's
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not what employers are paying. Majority of employers
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are paying minimum wages because they can. And
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so if you're working as a waitress somewhere
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or you're working as a barista or you're working
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in retail, you're going to be working two jobs
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right now. There's no possible way you can swing
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this on one job. And if you have children, when
10:17
are you seeing your kids? So it's just creating
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this whole snowball. And I'm like, you know,
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and then I also hear nonprofits can't afford
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that. I said, that's not true. Our nonprofit
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pays a living wage. So I know you can. You have
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to have the will and want to do it. And you have
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to be really out there with your fund development
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and trying to get people to understand this.
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But it is possible. And we have to stop saying
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it's not possible. Yeah, words make a difference.
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You know, thoughts become things. Yes. Words
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become reality. Yes. Yeah, facts. Yeah. I want
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to talk about the actual Housing First program.
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Yes. And what... What is unique about that and
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its structure and perhaps even some history on
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how that began? So one of the things that I've
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really started talking about is Housing First.
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And the reason why I'm talking about Housing
11:21
First is because there is a threat right now
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to pull funding for permanent supportive housing
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projects. It's a real threat. Actually, the amount
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of funding has been greatly reduced. I think
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it was 30 % and it's going down to 10 % for funding.
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This is what people need to understand. In the
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80s and 90s, people were not able to stay housed
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unless they complied with the rules, right? But
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during that time, homelessness skyrocketed. So
11:54
studies started being done about why was this
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happening. And one of the studies that came out
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was Housing First. And Housing First was offering
12:03
people a place to stay. with no expectation that
12:07
they were going to do anything as far as immediate
12:10
stopping and usage, all the things that go along
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with it. Housing First was used then, after years
12:20
of studying it, as the new model because they
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found that when you try to force people to comply
12:26
with something, when they're on the streets and
12:29
they need that assistance to numb the pain, it
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wasn't being effective. So a lot of agencies
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switched to the Housing First model because that
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was showing the most success. Now there's a way
12:43
to say, no, let's go back to transitional housing
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and let's go back to you must comply with the
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rules. Otherwise, you don't get to stay. I'm
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telling the public, we already did that. That
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was the 80s and 90s. If you'd like to look, there's
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a bunch of research available for anyone. Out
13:01
to the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
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And you can find data, go to SAMHSA, find out
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what kind of data they have about this. So it's
13:09
readily available. Plus there was 26 studies
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done in the United States and Canada, 26 verified
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studies that have shown that permanent supportive
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housing is the fastest way to end chronic homelessness.
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So it's not like I'm making stuff up. There's
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been so many studies done that it makes you question,
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why would we want to go back to a state? of costing
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the taxpayers more money and being even less
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effective. And I also try and explain to people,
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homeless services is like this. Let's say you
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are a person who is managing a house. Like the
13:48
owner owns the house and they've given you this
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house to manage for them, okay? But to start
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with, you know that the house has about $250
13:56
,000 worth of repairs needed. But you know what?
13:58
You take the house on anyways, right? Because
14:00
you think... I can try and help with this. But
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every year, the amount of repairs needed on that
14:06
house grows, but the owner keeps giving you less
14:08
and less money. Until finally, pipes burst, the
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roof is failing, and everyone in the public is
14:15
looking at you as the manager of the house saying,
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you suck. You're not doing a good job. And I,
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as the manager of the house, am pointing to the
14:24
owner going, I'm sorry, but the owner's never
14:26
given me enough money to actually do this well.
14:30
And it's the same thing with homeless services.
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If the funders and the people in charge don't
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give us enough money to ever really do an effective
14:37
job at it, then it'll look like we're not doing
14:40
a good job. The reality of the situation is if
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you only give a solution 50 % of the funding
14:46
it needs to be successful, how are you going
14:48
to be successful? In instances when they've done
14:52
that and they've given the funding, I'll give
14:54
you an example, Mason County. They didn't have
14:56
any housing for homeless veterans. We came in
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and put 30 units of housing for homeless veterans
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there. Guess what? There are functional zero
15:04
in Mason County for homeless veterans. Functional
15:08
zero, what does that mean? It's a big term. It
15:10
means for the amount of people that you have
15:11
coming into the system, you are able to exit
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that many people. So it's a net zero. That's
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what functional zero is. So it can happen. It
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is happened. It has happened. But when we start
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leaving facts and data and going to emotionally
15:27
based decisions, it's bad. Yeah. It's a bad way
15:30
to manage the economics of something. And if
15:34
you're a person who's in an elected position,
15:36
your role there is to make sure that your counties,
15:39
cities, states are economically viable. And you
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do that by making sure you put investments in
15:45
things that are going to net the most for you
15:47
and permanent supportive housing for chronically
15:50
homeless individuals. is the best and most effective
15:53
way to get them housed, period. So this is in
15:56
the United States, but there are other countries
15:59
such as Finland. Finland is doing an exceptional
16:01
job, yeah. Yes, that all have the housing first.
16:05
Correct. I studied them. They're exceptional.
16:08
There's a lot of cities and states. Finland is
16:10
just great about many things. They take care
16:14
of their people. Yeah, they do, and that's a
16:16
stark contrast. And then looking at that, what
16:19
is the difference? It's like, you know, there
16:22
really is an agenda against homeless populations,
16:27
populations that have mental health issues in
16:31
this country. You know, it doesn't make as much
16:34
money to help people, in a sense, when you have
16:38
people going into the prison industrial complex.
16:42
Correct. $31 ,000 to have someone in jail. I
16:46
actually had an elected official say to my...
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in a recorded meeting, she said, I think it's
16:54
better if they're in jail because they have a
16:56
roof over their head and they get fed. And my
16:58
response to someone who says something like that
17:00
is, you know what, we can do that for them also,
17:02
and it's at least half the cost. So, and guess
17:08
what, when they're with us, that doesn't go on
17:10
their record. They can go rent other places because
17:14
they don't have that mark against them. And then
17:17
when they leave jail, by the way, just FYI, when
17:20
you leave jail, there's not someone sitting out
17:22
there in a car waiting for you, taking you to
17:24
a house that you can live in. You actually go
17:26
back to being homeless again. Most of the time.
17:28
So if you don't understand that dynamic, why
17:33
are you not trusting the people who are doing
17:35
the work? Why are you not investing in people
17:38
doing the work? Because the more you do that,
17:41
We have all the data. The counties, the cities,
17:43
the state, they have the data to look at. If
17:46
this isn't a mystery, they can see who's doing
17:49
it effectively and why it's working so well.
17:52
The only reason we have recovery based here on
17:55
our site is because the residents of Quixote,
17:58
which started this agency, wanted it to be that
18:02
way. They wanted people to work programs or be
18:05
on some kind of decision or process to get themselves
18:09
off of substance. If they need it, by the way.
18:12
FYI, not everybody that comes here has that issue.
18:14
Yeah. But their way of saying it helps all of
18:19
us support the people who are. And that's what
18:22
they're about. Yeah. Let's have a. Brief history
18:34
of Quixote Village. Erica, how is it now, the
18:37
history and then where we are now? I think most
18:40
people remember Quixote Village. It started as
18:43
Camp Quixote in the middle of Olympia. So when
18:46
I speak to people in the public, I say, if you
18:48
wonder when you drive by an encampment what good
18:50
can come of that, come on over and see any one
18:53
of the three villages that we have. Because that
18:55
started from an encampment. And those people
18:58
gathered together. and got the assistance of
19:02
10 faith -based organizations. Then for six years,
19:05
until we finally got this first village built.
19:09
And now we have three villages. We have two that
19:12
are veteran -specific. That's in Ordean and Shelton.
19:15
We have this one. And of course, we're always
19:17
looking to add new ones. Is Shelton in where?
19:19
Shelton and Ordean. Ordean is on the Soldiers
19:22
Home Campus. Okay. Yeah. So those are just some
19:26
of the ways we want to grow and expand. We have
19:28
been looking. in different areas. We had hoped
19:32
to expand another site here in Thurston County,
19:35
but that hasn't been shelved for this time. So
19:40
yeah, I mean, we're in a very challenging environment
19:44
right now for housing in general, affordable
19:47
housing even more so. Again, it's just lack of
19:50
education and trying to make people understand
19:53
what's going on. When the fear -based show up
19:57
for the meetings, But everybody else, the general
20:00
public, does not. All the elected officials here
20:03
is the fear. So I'm saying to your audience,
20:08
you have to come and help support with data.
20:11
We have to come and support with successes. Because
20:14
if fear is the only voice we're hearing at public
20:18
meetings, then that's what drives the decisions.
20:21
And there's a lot of people that don't show.
20:24
The majority of people who don't show the belief
20:27
in the work that we do, the belief in what we're
20:28
trying to accomplish. And I really strongly encourage
20:31
people to show up and do the three minute comments
20:34
during the public comment about why the data
20:37
supports doing this kind of work, because that
20:41
will help overcome the fear. And every single
20:43
time we have built a village without fail, the
20:46
public shows up and says. This is never going
20:49
to work. There's going to be drug. There's going
20:51
to be crime. And in every single instance, that
20:55
has not been the case. And in fact, our neighbors
20:58
are proud to have us next to them. And as in
21:02
the case with Shelton, they now come by and bring
21:04
us baked goods over there. Oh, wow. This is the
21:06
same group that said there's no possible way
21:09
we're going to be able to have this in town.
21:12
So it's normal to have pushback, but we need
21:15
people to come and say, Actually, I live across
21:18
the street from this village, and we have had
21:21
absolutely no challenges. In fact, they've been
21:24
really exceptional neighbors. So that's the kind
21:27
of thing that we need to have happen. And when
21:29
that happens, it quiets it down. We also say
21:33
contact the police departments. Police, we ask
21:36
you to do that in the cities where we operate.
21:38
Ask them. Ask the city managers in the cities
21:42
where we operate how we're doing. That's what
21:45
tells the story because if you or I talk about
21:48
it, they think we're just paid professionals
21:50
to achieve personal goals. It's like nobody's
21:55
doing it for that. We're doing it because we
21:58
believe in treating other human beings with kindness,
22:02
empathy, and compassion. Knowledge dispels fear.
22:06
Yeah, and economically, I can't state it enough.
22:09
Housing with services is 50%. Less than leaving
22:15
them on the streets. Yeah. We survey our residents
22:18
twice a year because we want to find out that
22:21
what we say we're doing for them is exactly what
22:24
they feel. They've been coming with 71 % participation,
22:28
and their ratings are all very high. So, like,
22:33
we have the data. I'm happy to share with whoever
22:36
wants to say it. That's fabulous. Yeah. It's
22:38
just really important to us that we do what we
22:40
say we're going to do. And then also the data
22:43
bears that out. So when we have data. Yeah. Because
22:47
it's really important to us that we don't just
22:49
say that. And there's been road bumps. I mean,
22:52
there's been programs that we've put forward
22:54
that the residents were not excited about. So
22:57
we pivoted. We used to try and have mental health
23:00
professionals come on site. But it only ended
23:02
up being one time a month per resident. Oh my
23:06
gosh. So not enough. We created an intern program
23:10
now. We work with the Evergreen College. We work
23:13
with St. Martin's University. We work with University
23:15
of Washington. So they can bring their college
23:18
master's level students out here for their internships
23:21
for social work, therapy, nursing. So they come
23:25
out here and they can spend up to 16 hours a
23:27
week on -site. Their hours are supervised. Our
23:32
residents get more help. And we're also building
23:35
more licensed professionals out for the community.
23:37
That is such a great win -win. Yeah. And you
23:40
know, on your website, people can book tours.
23:43
Yes, absolutely. Yeah. So we're doing all those
23:46
things that we hope the fear -based crowd will
23:49
understand and want to be part of. What are the
23:53
other services that y 'all provide besides that
23:57
mental health? We also do, obviously, transportation.
24:00
We have vans at every single one of the sites.
24:03
So if people need to go to medical appointments
24:04
or they need to see any other providers or go
24:09
to the grocery store or whatever, we have those
24:12
services available. They work with them on getting
24:15
a job. If they are able to do that, most of our
24:17
residents are disabled. In fact, that's how they
24:20
qualify to be here. So there's limited ability
24:24
to work. for majority of the people that we serve.
24:27
But for those who want to and are able to, we
24:30
find ways to get employment for them. Most of
24:33
them are going back to school to try and get
24:35
further their education, which we strongly encourage.
24:39
There's art therapies, music therapies. There's
24:42
other ways that they can get their feelings and
24:45
the way that they want people to understand the
24:48
story out into the world. So we do those kinds
24:51
of things on site too. And obviously, There's
24:54
groups. There's group meetings here. There's
24:56
individual meetings. So we do just a wide swath
25:00
of services here. Whatever the particular resident
25:03
needs, whatever their goals may be, that's what
25:06
we strive for. Financial independence. We have
25:10
different credit unions and banks come out and
25:13
do financial services for our residents so they
25:16
can better understand how do I balance my account?
25:19
How do I get my credit score back? How do I save
25:22
for first month's rent and deposit? And I'll
25:24
think people realize if you're paying $1 ,500
25:26
a month in rent, you're going to need at least
25:28
$5 ,000 saved if you want to move somewhere.
25:33
Yeah. So that's first and last month's rent deposit.
25:36
Plus, I don't know if most people are aware,
25:38
you have to pay at least $30 for an application
25:40
when you go to apply to be in an apartment. And
25:43
that's not reimbursed. So if you apply for five
25:47
different apartments and you don't get them,
25:49
guess how much money you've spent. I have strong
25:51
feelings about that. That application fee. It's
25:55
so ridiculous. So strong feelings. It's just
25:57
another way to deter people. And so those are
26:02
all things that we have to work on with our residents.
26:04
And that's why, on average, they stay here about
26:07
two years. But then once they leave, they stay
26:10
stable. They stay stable. They stay housed. We
26:13
often get them writing us letters saying, I can't
26:17
begin to tell you how much it is meant for us
26:19
to have this time together. And I just, like,
26:22
this so expanded my ability to grow. It expanded
26:26
my ability to be employed. It expanded everything
26:29
in my life. That's what we want. That's the kind
26:32
of stuff that we feel like, okay, we were able
26:35
to do that for that person. And it took a lot.
26:38
It took a lot. It took a lot of patience. It
26:40
took a lot of love and caring. So that's a thing.
26:45
You also have gardening. Yeah, we have at each
26:49
one of our sites. In fact, you can see it when
26:52
you leave here. We have community gardens, which
26:55
has been great because it teaches nutrition.
26:57
It also gives them an ability to do a micro enterprise.
27:00
So if they want to learn how to can and do other
27:04
things that they can take those vegetables and
27:06
they can also sell them at farmer's markets.
27:08
Oh, wow. Yeah. And in one of our sites, we've
27:11
actually been able to give back to the food pantry
27:13
because we have more than enough on site. Oh,
27:16
wow. Yeah. So we try and do things like that,
27:18
too. That can create such a sense of community
27:21
allowing. Yeah. Oh. Because we want people to
27:24
know that the people that we have here are valuable
27:27
human beings. And it's not they don't want to
27:30
take, take, take. Yeah. They actually want to
27:33
give back to the communities to thank them for
27:35
what they've done. And they really are grateful.
27:38
Sometimes it's hard for them to express when
27:40
they first get here, but they just need it. It's
27:43
overwhelming. And then even just receiving praise
27:48
or just receiving kindness can be so painful
27:54
when you've been in such a dark space for so
27:58
long. And not being hypervigilant, not being
28:01
like... Yeah, and I don't think people that understand
28:14
mental health know that when you're out there
28:17
on the street, your brain is in fight or flight
28:19
mode, which means your brain can only focus on
28:22
your survival. It can't focus on, hey, would
28:25
you like to go and see this person for this need?
28:29
It doesn't, it just follows through. So people
28:31
who say, well, I asked this person if they wanted
28:34
help and they said no. I said, there's many things
28:38
that play into that. The biggest one is trust.
28:41
Because I don't know you. And if you as just
28:43
an individual came up to me on the street and
28:45
said, hey, Colleen, I have a house for you. Do
28:47
you want to come live with it? I would say no.
28:50
Most of us would say no. So I find it interesting
28:52
that when a homeless person is asked that question,
28:55
the expectation is they're going to say yes.
28:57
Thank you so much. I'm so grateful. But I say
29:00
to, again, the people that we speak with in the
29:03
community, if a total stranger came up to you
29:06
and offered you a place to stay, are you telling
29:08
me that you would say yes to that? And I don't
29:12
get any responses. Yeah. Because the answer is
29:15
no. Right. Simple. It's just, again, I don't
29:19
want to judge or have people who are in the community
29:23
feel as if. They are also being judged. I want
29:28
people to understand that, you know, it's about
29:32
opening your own heart to people and making sure
29:34
that they understand. Yeah. Y 'all have recovery
29:47
meetings. We do. For those that want them. Mm
29:51
-hmm. So we try very hard to work in the realm
29:55
of medically assisted treatments or trauma therapies
29:58
like music therapy, art therapy, because we don't
30:02
want anyone to feel like there's only one way
30:04
and this is it. Everybody's different. Everybody
30:07
has a different means of healing themselves that
30:10
feels good and safe for them. So we give them
30:12
lots of options so that they have the choice
30:15
to do that. And there are some people who don't
30:17
want to do that when they first come here, and
30:19
that's okay. They have to stabilize and really
30:22
get themselves in check. The only time that's
30:24
not okay is if they threaten someone physically
30:27
with harm or they have attempted to harm someone.
30:30
That's just, we can't. We have to protect the
30:32
good of all the people here as well as our staff.
30:35
But that's very rare when that happens. Most
30:38
of the people just need some time to kind of
30:41
de -escalate their lives and just kind of get
30:43
it. And also know this isn't going to get taken
30:46
away tomorrow. They have a chance to really just
30:50
kind of settle down. And sometimes it takes months.
30:53
It's a process. Yeah. Can you outline how is
31:06
the space managed and safety rules addressed,
31:10
crime addressed? Yeah. So as far as. Our residents
31:15
are concerned everyone signs what's called a
31:17
code of conduct that was created by the original
31:19
residents. Everything was really driven by what
31:22
the residents are saying want. And it was just
31:25
basically, you know, be nice. Be nice to other
31:29
people. Keep your behavior in check. Those are
31:32
the things that really drive this. So you can
31:36
ask any of the police departments. We're one
31:38
of the last places they get called. Why? Because
31:42
we are able to work through issues with people
31:45
for the most part. And we don't really want to
31:47
call for something that we know we can deescalate
31:50
here. We have the training for that, right? We
31:52
have case managers at every site, 115, just so
31:55
you know that's who does the management of the
31:57
residence. And the site supervisors act as a
32:00
property manager of sorts. They're the ones that
32:03
collect the rent. But they also have experience
32:06
in working with the residents. A lot of them
32:07
have come from the case manager status and been
32:10
graduated, so to speak, to a site supervisor.
32:13
So that's who manages that. The overall organization,
32:17
obviously, it's myself and there's a team. J
32:20
.C. Osterberg -Brown is our associate director.
32:23
She actually was the executive director prior
32:25
to me. How do they pay their rent? A lot of the
32:30
people that we have here have housing vouchers.
32:33
So they get to do that. When they first come
32:36
to us, they don't have income. So that housing
32:38
voucher will help pay for their rent. If they
32:41
can afford to and can go to work, they will pay
32:44
up to 30 % of their income, their adjusted monthly
32:48
income for rent. And then the rest of that is
32:51
paid for by a housing voucher. So that's how
32:54
that works. Donations help. Obviously, we have
32:56
to get private donations. Funding is getting
32:59
severely cut across the board for homeless service
33:01
agencies. So if you have not yet done something
33:04
and you want to give donations to any one of
33:07
us that are doing it. You can look at 211. There's
33:10
a lot of information out there about who's providing
33:12
services and what. Or just get to know the homeless
33:15
providers in your area. Ask questions. Go visit.
33:17
See what feels most comfortable for you. Look
33:20
at their 990 reports on the IRS if you want to
33:23
see how they're doing financially, because I
33:25
have that question thrown at me a lot. And find
33:28
out who's being managed well. Who's getting their
33:32
financials audited? That's also an important
33:35
question you should ask yourself. And there's
33:38
a lot of really solid agencies that are working
33:40
hard to do this job well. What are the eligibility
33:53
requirements to get in here? Oh, so the eligibility
33:57
requirements is the two main ones are that you
33:59
have to be chronically homeless and you have
34:01
to have a disabling condition. Okay. So we go
34:05
through coordinating entry. I don't know if most
34:08
people know. Coronary is a big list. And what
34:11
they do is they do what's called a VI -SPIDAT
34:15
or a way that they rank people, if you will,
34:18
based on the need. And we get the top of that
34:22
list. So those are people that have the greatest
34:24
disability. So you have to be disabled in order
34:27
for you to live with us. And chronically homeless.
34:31
Chronically homeless means you've been on the
34:33
streets for at least a year. Or you've had pits
34:35
of homelessness, I believe, over the last four
34:38
years. So that is what gets people on site here.
34:42
And we don't manage that list. And the reason
34:45
we don't manage that list is because we could
34:46
very well cherry pick who we want to come in
34:49
here. We don't manage it. The county manages
34:53
it. And they are the ones who we say, hey, we
34:55
have an opening. And they send us candidates
34:57
for that opening. And they come out and they
35:00
check it out. They have the ability to decide
35:02
if this is for them or not. Not everybody wants
35:04
to be in a recovery -based housing program. Still
35:07
housing first, but there's an emphasis on if
35:10
you have a substance use disorder that we want
35:13
to try and work with you on that, whether that's
35:14
medically assisted treatment, whether we have
35:17
a hired substance use disorder professional on
35:20
site. So it's talking about what programs you
35:23
can work and what you want to work, but not everyone
35:26
wants that and that's okay. There's plenty of
35:28
other opportunities for people to live in an
35:31
environment that works for them. And that's the
35:33
key is finding what works for the individual
35:35
and not forcing them into something because that's
35:38
what you think is best for them. Because that
35:41
never works, right? Yeah. It doesn't work when
35:45
someone forces you to do something you don't
35:46
want to do. And people don't seem to understand
35:49
that, especially when it comes to the homeless.
35:51
It's like, stop saying they have to do this.
35:55
If anyone has ever told you in your life, you
35:56
have to do this, guess what you're going to say?
35:58
No thanks. Well, there's the standard flavor
36:01
of that. And then there's also the, they're called
36:06
PDA, pathological demand avoidance. And that's
36:12
a whole different level and spectrum. of neurodivergence
36:20
right there and then you have the other flavors
36:22
of neurodivergency that do not respond to that
36:24
kind of thing well and that's that is something
36:27
that gets overlooked i think a lot in supportive
36:31
services is is this person neurodivergent yeah
36:35
you know because that really plays a large part
36:39
into why there are people struggling correct
36:42
you know um and i'm just gonna throw this out
36:45
there if you go check out It's at number maybe
36:49
13, but we did a show, Neuro Spicy Sisters Autism
36:53
Coaching. Oh, fantastic. That is another episode.
36:57
I'll go look for that. Yeah, and Alex does a
37:00
deep dive for us on all things ODD, oppositional
37:05
defiance disorder, autism, PDA, and her and her
37:11
sister Cheryl have created the Autistic Maslow's
37:15
Triangle. Madness along. to them it is their
37:18
copyright and if you flip the triangle on its
37:21
head upside down and reverse the order then you
37:25
will see that that process works better yeah
37:28
for neurodivergent yeah so that's something to
37:31
consider i would love to have neurologists speak
37:36
to the public about what is happening with the
37:39
brain because people tend to believe doctors
37:44
And even though you and I have probably studied
37:46
more than most and researched Bessel van der
37:50
Kolk's The Body Kept the Score, it's the first
37:54
book that opened me into this whole idea about
37:57
neurology and what happens with the brain when
38:00
trauma is introduced. I had no idea before. And
38:03
I think the more that homosexuals open themselves
38:05
up to these different methods, like there's no
38:09
one way that fixes it all. And I know we've used
38:11
the term almost. to a point of exhaustion about
38:15
trauma -informed care. It's like, okay, that's
38:18
all well and good and aces, but what does that
38:21
mean? What are the techniques and tools we need?
38:24
Not just to be aware that someone's traumatized.
38:27
Yeah, it's pretty obvious they're traumatized
38:29
when they get here. What is going to help the
38:31
person the most? And having those different options
38:35
and different ways of doing things, I think,
38:36
is key. And we've not quite had success with
38:40
that so far. And just keep... Keep flipping the
38:43
script. We keep trying to find different ways.
38:45
Right now we've been working on a possibility
38:47
of doing dog training here. Partnering with an
38:52
animal service agency and seeing if we can do
38:55
volunteering for them and also dog training.
38:58
Why? Because in the prison system, people that
39:02
are really discarded by society and really have
39:07
not been understood for being human beings. are
39:11
thriving with having animals involved. And so
39:16
that's something we're looking into. So we're
39:18
always trying to find different and unique ways
39:20
to do things. Is that training? Is that working
39:23
with them to help them train emotional support
39:28
animals? Yeah, could do that too, yeah. So we
39:30
just started looking into that, so we're really
39:32
excited about that. That's a cool new development.
39:35
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So keep an eye out for that
39:37
with us. Oh, we see. Yeah. Do you work with other
39:50
organizations? Yes. Yeah. Well, there's so many.
39:54
I mean, everyone who's on the list, you know,
39:56
the Catholic Community Services is on that list.
40:00
We work with Evergreen. We work with, I can't
40:05
list all at once. There's too many of them. But
40:07
all the service agencies in one way or another,
40:11
behavioral health, BHR is a really good help
40:14
for us. All people that really need assistance.
40:17
We do medically assisted treatments, too, so
40:19
we have that relationship. But it's just housing
40:25
authorities, obviously, they're the ones that
40:27
give us the vouchers. And whoever is, whatever
40:32
specific agency is running the coordinated entry
40:35
system, we also have to work with them. So there's
40:38
just, there's too many to name right now. We
40:43
do partner with everybody that we can in the
40:45
counties that we are part of. I was looking at
41:00
this article from The Jolt. The article is about
41:05
how y 'all are not actually going to get the
41:07
funding for your new community. What's going
41:10
on with that? your proposal for the carpenter
41:13
village yeah it's just it's on hold yeah you
41:17
know it's unfortunately that's just what you
41:20
deal with sometimes we don't have control over
41:22
that it has to do with you know cities counties
41:25
and um and they had limited funds obviously so
41:30
it's just i don't know that it's done i don't
41:33
think it's done i think it's just set aside for
41:35
right now until they can figure out how the funding
41:38
is going to be applied they already had some
41:40
that were in the pipeline. We weren't even in
41:43
the pipeline yet. I mean, it was just the beginning
41:45
of that. So it makes sense that they would focus
41:47
on the ones that they currently have operating
41:49
or are in construction because they need to see
41:51
this roof. And so you feel like that's strictly...
41:56
And the reason it has nothing to do with more
42:01
people who are in the position to make that decision
42:05
having those stigma ideas. No, because they know
42:09
us. Okay. We've been around for a long time.
42:12
We've been around since 2013. That's reassuring
42:16
to hear that. Yeah. You know what's going on
42:19
in Lewis County with the two commissioners there
42:21
that want to end homeless funding. Or reduce
42:26
it strictly. Yeah. Two of them particularly do
42:33
not understand the facts. Yes. And they also
42:37
carry those stigmatic ideas. Yeah. And it's up
42:40
to the public to educate people like that. It
42:42
is. So I'm telling you right now, if you also,
42:45
you know, run for office. Like, there's been
42:48
counties that I've been in that have pushed back
42:49
and done things that I'm not happy about. And
42:53
I have gone to the public comment and spoken
42:55
out against and we've had quite a few people.
42:57
But the majority of people coming and talking
42:59
are the people who are the fear -based people.
43:01
Yeah. And there's something motivating them.
43:04
I don't know what it is because it's not economics.
43:06
So it's hard to see what's going on behind the
43:09
scenes. But anytime someone pushes back against
43:11
homeless services, it has nothing to do with
43:14
economics. Fear of change. Yeah, and if your
43:18
role is to manage the finances of the city, county,
43:24
state that you're part of, and the most effective
43:27
way to do that is housing with services. There's
43:30
too much data out there to refute that. You have
43:33
no data that you can show me that is going to
43:36
argue in favor of arresting people because there
43:39
isn't any. There's so much overwhelming data
43:42
for what we're talking about. So then it's...
43:46
Okay, the people who are the most afraid are
43:50
the ones showing up for the meetings and they're
43:52
making the most noise. If you, as a concerned
43:55
citizen, know that this is wrong, I implore you
43:58
to continue to do letter writing campaigns. That
44:01
is how civil rights came to be, kids. People
44:04
picketed Woolworths. They sat at stools. I'm
44:08
reading Polly Murray a book, The Song in a Weary
44:11
Throat, and it's simply about how her and other
44:13
students, one of the... pages I'm reading right
44:16
now is they went into diners and they went in
44:19
shifts and they were refused service. So they
44:22
sat in booths and they read poetry. They did
44:26
their homework. They did other things. That act
44:30
of resistance led to change. So people think,
44:33
oh, I don't have any power. That's not true.
44:36
The marches and protests that are going on, the
44:38
boycotting of things, you have all the power.
44:41
They want you to think you don't have the power
44:43
because then you don't take action. But as far
44:46
as homelessness is concerned, we have the power
44:48
to change that. Any one of us can run for office.
44:51
And if you don't like what the commissioners
44:53
are saying, run for office. Go door to door.
44:58
Call people. Talk to people. Explain to them
45:00
what the facts are. Invite them to come and join
45:04
other service providers or come and see the sites.
45:07
We don't block people from coming in here. Like,
45:11
do some homework. It's not okay to say I'm uneducated
45:18
about the subject. It's not okay anymore. Educate
45:21
yourself. Understand the facts and data. Then
45:25
I'll talk to you. But if you're going to refuse
45:27
to do that and you just live in the fear, I got
45:29
no time for you. No time. Because you're wasting
45:33
taxpayers' money. That's all I know. Every person
45:36
that stands up at a meeting and talks about wanting
45:38
to arrest homeless people, you are costing us
45:41
double. That's all it is. You're costing me twice
45:45
as much as anyone else, and it's just because
45:47
you refuse to educate yourself on the facts.
45:50
Yeah, and another great resource to understand
45:54
more about all of this homeless situation is
45:59
directly on your website. Links on there that,
46:04
oh yeah, there it is. The tiny houses. It's a
46:08
permanent supportive housing model. It's like
46:11
a little zine booklet. It's like a PDF, about
46:14
20 pages long. That thing should be published.
46:18
It's a white paper that was done. And it was
46:21
done by one of our original founders of this,
46:24
Tim. And Tim actually wrote it so that it could
46:28
be a model that could be used for other. And
46:30
it's actually been, we've been. People have come
46:32
here from other states. Lots of other states
46:36
have come to visit us to pick up this model.
46:39
We talk to people in other countries. So this
46:42
model has been really well known and established
46:45
out there. Why? Because it's a much more cost
46:49
-effective way to build. The only thing is it
46:52
doesn't hit is density. So if you're in an area
46:54
where there's not a lot of space and you need
46:57
to go up, that's also an option that we've been
46:59
looking and considering. especially in areas
47:02
where we already have a footprint, then we can
47:06
be more dense. We can do apartments or other
47:08
kinds of things. In areas where we don't have
47:11
any kind of credit or we haven't been established
47:13
yet, the tiny homes are easier to have people
47:17
digest because they're cute. People like them.
47:22
It just has like a whimsical value to it, which
47:25
is fine. We're fine with doing that. It gets
47:27
the door open for us and we get in. But once
47:31
we're there, then we can really do whatever kind
47:33
of housing would be best and best, most beneficial
47:35
to the community we serve. And also on your website
47:48
there, it's in the FAQ, alongside that white
47:52
paper, you have a little section there interested
47:56
in how to start a tiny home village in your community.
48:00
And then there's some links that you can go to
48:02
and find out how you can start your own. Yes.
48:07
And there's a lot of different resources around
48:11
that and also the history of Quixote Village.
48:14
Yeah. What a sight. They're right. Oh, thanks.
48:17
Yeah. And I think, too, there are some tiny home
48:19
villages in Olympia. And when people drive by,
48:23
they make their assumptions on what they see.
48:25
Like if there's, God forbid, there's trash out
48:27
or they're not, people are not in a state where
48:31
they're stabilized yet. Rather than judge, rather
48:37
than say, well, that's ridiculous. That's not
48:39
working. I want you to understand that if you
48:42
are treated like you are trash, by the community,
48:45
how would you live? Well, you would live in trash.
48:49
Because if people tell you that you're not valuable,
48:51
and they tell you that you are trash to this
48:53
community, guess what you're going to do? You're
48:56
going to internalize that. You're going to live
48:58
in that state. I mean, I understand there's people
49:00
right now shaking their heads out. They're going,
49:02
oh, God, here they are, those liberals talking
49:04
about this. I'm just telling you what is the
49:08
truth. I'm telling you that if you're abused,
49:11
And you were told you were not worthy of anything
49:14
as a child. And then you grow up and those same
49:17
adults who don't know you are telling you that
49:20
same message. You are not going to rise above
49:22
that unless someone really steps in, blocks out
49:26
the noise and says, hey, guess what? I see you.
49:30
Someone's paying attention to you. I'm here.
49:34
And I'm going to work with you. I can't do the
49:37
work for you, but I'm going to be here. I hope
49:40
you accept it. I know there's a big chance you're
49:43
not going to, but I'm still not going to give
49:46
up. And I haven't met a lot of the people that
49:49
we've served. I don't know them, but I don't
49:52
need to. My role here is just to give, to be
49:56
an example to others in the community who say,
49:58
there's no way you can do that. I'm like, I used
50:00
to be a CEO of a credit union. I gave that job
50:03
up to do a job like this because I knew I was
50:06
smart. I knew I probably could lead people well.
50:10
And I thought, that's two ways I can use the
50:12
gifts that I've been given to make difference
50:14
in the community. And that was not on my radar,
50:17
kids. I was not a small girl when someone asked
50:20
me, what do you want to be when you grow up?
50:21
I don't believe the words homeless service director
50:23
can. I don't believe they did. But find what
50:27
you're good at and offer it to us. Offer to help
50:31
us. Yelling at us and telling us that we suck.
50:36
It's never been a good way to motivate people.
50:39
Yeah. It really isn't. So just help. And if you
50:42
can't help, give. If you don't have the time
50:46
because you've got so many other things going
50:48
on, okay, great. Send me a $5 check. I have kids
50:51
who do lemonade stands and bring the money. Wow.
50:55
I mean. Oh, my gosh. You just, like. Or they
50:59
do coat drives. Kids are fantastic. Whenever
51:01
I've talked to kids, not one of them has ever
51:04
asked me, aren't they on drugs? Do you make them
51:07
do this when they come into your place? Not one
51:10
time. Every single time. They've either written
51:13
cards for them, they've done a drive, or they've
51:16
collected coats, they've collected food, they...
51:19
See me on the streets and they go, oh, there's
51:21
a homeless lady. They point me out to their parents.
51:23
I know what they mean, but their parents are
51:25
probably thinking, wow, she's pretty well -dressed
51:27
for a homeless person. They mean the lady helping
51:30
the homeless. Yes. So it's just one of those
51:33
things that, like, kids get it. Yeah. Kids get
51:36
it. Mm -hmm. So maybe we should be asking the
51:40
kids. Because they get it. It's just when you
51:45
start growing up. and you hear it enough, and
51:48
you hear the abuse enough, you start believing
51:51
that script. And I'm like, stop believing the
51:53
script. And those are some great ways to get
52:03
involved. And we kind of already mentioned a
52:06
little bit about another way getting involved,
52:09
creating your own tiny home village. Yeah. But
52:12
what about how can people donate? And do you
52:16
have volunteering job opportunities? We do. And
52:20
how can people sponsor as well? So donating,
52:23
you simply, when you go to our website, the very
52:26
first button you see says donate. So just go
52:29
to our website, which is www .nhcommunities .org.
52:35
If you want to do any kind of volunteer work,
52:39
Tamara Ingolson is the person who is the queen
52:42
of our volunteers. So it's just Tamara at nhcommunities
52:47
.org. And she'd be happy to take you on and direct
52:51
you to a site that can help. But any of the ways
52:54
that we describe any of the talking points that
52:56
we did today. Any of those ways. I even tell
53:00
people, look, if you like to golf, do a golf
53:03
tournament with your friends. Bring 10 of your
53:05
friends together and say, okay, today, 10 % of
53:09
what we would have paid to go and have food afterwards,
53:14
go out to lunch or whatever. We're going to donate
53:16
that to New Horizon communities. Or I'm going
53:20
to have a dinner party. At my dinner party, I'm
53:22
going to ask each one of my guests to bring a
53:24
bag of food so that we can give it to a pantry.
53:27
Those are small steps. Every little bit helps.
53:30
Yeah, I have a friend who likes to do quilting.
53:32
You know what she's doing? She's sewing quilts
53:34
for kids that are in foster care. Nobody asked
53:38
her to do that, but she's good at quilting. So
53:39
she did something that she was good at and she
53:41
gave back with it. Every single one of us has
53:43
the ability to do something good. And I'm going
53:45
to tell you right now, when you do things like
53:47
that, like the Grinch, your heart grows. Yeah.
53:50
It just can't, you can't help yourself. Yeah.
53:53
You feel better when you do things that are kind
53:55
and helpful to others. It's just the way that
53:57
we're wired. So just do more of it. And you may
54:00
walk around singing even when it's rainy and
54:03
cloudy because you know inside that's where the
54:06
magic is. Yeah. Yeah. Is there anything else
54:17
you would like to share? I think the biggest
54:20
thing that I will tell people, and I tell them
54:23
when I talk to them, look in the mirror and ask
54:27
yourself, who do I want to be while I'm here
54:32
on this planet? And what do I want to be known
54:36
for? And if the words that come out of your mouth
54:41
are not kindness, empathy, and understanding,
54:47
then I ask you to please figure out what you
54:50
need to do to change that so that those are the
54:53
first three things in connection with yourself
54:56
first and then with others. Because once you
55:01
figure out the way to love yourself and be kind
55:03
to yourself, it will naturally flow from you.
55:06
And that's the most important thing I can say.
55:09
Thank you so much for your time, Colleen. Well,
55:13
thank you for having me. I really appreciate
55:15
it. That's it for today's resource report produced
55:26
by Pathways to Agency. At Pathways to Agency,
55:30
we are driven by the belief that everyone should
55:32
have the tools and support to achieve their goals
55:35
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55:38
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55:41
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55:45
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55:53
Report offers information about existing and
55:56
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