Colleagues,

It looks like Gerrit and I were working on this at the same time...he was posting while I was still thinking and typing.

Counting beds is not as easy as it may seem. We can get an actual after the fact nightly bed count but when we talk about emergency shelter beds publicly available in the community, I think we have to note that the number of actual beds varies - here are a few of the factors which I think make it difficult for the public:

1. not all shelters listed are actual emergency shelters - some are from entry longer term programs which serve a highly targeted group - such as the domestic violence shelters. One of the Ex Dir's has said they shouldn't be on an emergency shelter list because theirs is a program with housing included - not an emergency shelter.

2. shelters serving families often have units to accommodate families of varying sizes - when you remove the domestic violence shelters, there are, I think, 45 units at the Tacoma Rescue Mission and Salvation Army for families plus the temporary shelter beds at Bethlehem Baptist - these are available to a broader population. Even the 45 permanent emergency shelter units vary as the agencies make changes in targeted populations - for instance, a unit may be converted from family use to single women.

3. nearly every shelter will respond to police and hospital requests - even if the shelter is full, they will find a way to keep the person discharged from the emergency room and delivered to their door by law enforcement safe for the night.

4. most shelters have an inclement weather plan and take as many people as fire codes will allow. The shelters may not have beds but will lay out cots on open floor space.

5. some shelters are night only leaving people with no place to go during the day

6. some shelters reserve beds for people in their programs thus limiting the number of beds actually available to an unsheltered person

7. some shelters, such as the LIHI micro shelters, have a very restricted entry process

We only know what we know. Whether there are beds for 600 or 800 unsheltered people across the county, we know we do not have enough shelter for all. One unsheltered person is one too many.

Maureen

On Fri, Jan 3, 2020 at 8:49 PM Sherri Jensen <Sherri@valeovocation.org> wrote:

Gerrit-

This is a great compilation. If I'm counting correctly, I see:

243 male specified beds (10 of those are veteran)

74 women specified beds

115 single/couple co-ed beds

40 youth specified beds

222 family specified beds

I'm leaving out 70 freezing nights, a motel room that fits 2-3 families per week and some overflow. But, if my math is right (and it might not be!), we have a typical 694 shelter beds available on any given night in Pierce County. Is that correct?

Can you tell us what HMIS is currently reporting as the total amount of unsheltered homeless folks living in Pierce County? I think knowing how many shelter beds are available vs how many folks need it is important to know.

Sherri Jensen (she/her/hers)

CEO, Valeo Vocation

1224 Tacoma Ave S, 98405

Office: 253-301-2134

Cell:253-691-2846

https://www.valeovocation.org

“Staffing, with a social purpose”

From: fullcoalition@list.pchomeless.org <fullcoalition@list.pchomeless.org> on behalf of Gerrit Nyland <GerritN@ccsww.org>
Sent: Friday, January 3, 2020 5:54 PM
To: Jennifer Ammons <jennifera@nwjustice.org>
Cc: fullcoalition@list.pchomeless.org <fullcoalition@list.pchomeless.org>
Subject: Homeless Coalition - RE: Re: People'sPark - 72 Hour Notice

What the Coalition has collected about Pierce County shelters is at https://coalitionfiles.blob.core.windows.net/files/Shelter List.xlsx . The City and County monitor this listserv, so if they have better information, hopefully they will chime in (and then I can update our spreadsheet).

On any given night, all shelters are full with waitlists. The only current exceptions I know of are:

· Bethlehem Baptist (families, couples, single women) – 20 beds available (this new shelter will probably fill up quite soon)

· Tacoma Rescue Mission Men’s shelter – overflow cots available

Thanks,

-Gerrit

Gerrit F. Nyland

Director of Client Information Systems, SW

Catholic Community Services of Western Washington

gerritn@ccsww.org

Mobile: 253-304-5105

From: fullcoalition@list.pchomeless.org [mailto:fullcoalition@list.pchomeless.org] On Behalf Of Jennifer Ammons
Sent: Friday, January 3, 2020 4:54 PM
To: fullcoalition@list.pchomeless.org
Subject: Homeless Coalition - Re: People'sPark - 72 Hour Notice

I am also interested in how many shelter beds are available. Is there a way to find out how many beds/slots are available at each shelter in the City of Tacoma, how many of those beds/slots are available on any given night (tonight or 1/6/20, for example), and the restrictions on those beds (gender, age, drug use, etc.)?

Jennifer Ammons

Staff Attorney

Northwest Justice Project

715 Tacoma Avenue South

Tacoma, WA 98402

(253) 272-7879, ext. 0937

1-888-201-1015 (toll-free)

(253)272-8226 (fax)

www.nwjustice.org

www.washingtonlawhelp.org

Combatting Injustice • Strengthening Communities • Protecting Human Dignity

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This listserv is part of the Tacoma/Pierce County Coalition to End Homelessness.

E-mail the full coalition by sending to fullcoalition@list.pchomeless.org
Remember, this list is distributed to over 400 people - send no information that can identify a client and avoid unnecessary e-mails (a thank you is polite when sent to 1 person, but a nuisance when sent to 400).
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This listserv is part of the Tacoma/Pierce County Coalition to End Homelessness.

E-mail the full coalition by sending to fullcoalition@list.pchomeless.org

Remember, this list is distributed to over 400 people - send no information that can identify a client and avoid unnecessary e-mails (a thank you is polite when sent to 1 person, but a nuisance when sent to 400).

Click away to subscribe to the list, unsubscribe from the list, or take a gander at the message archive