The gaps in service are not insurmountable. But they do need to be addressed as soon as possible to prepare for the next natural disaster that will inevitably strike here.
The January storm created a mix of individuals and families in need of emergency shelter. There were those who were displaced from their homes due to lack of power and heat and there where the chronically homeless people driven out of the woods by the falling trees and branches.
The two populations combined overwhelmed the Red Cross, which has traditionally opened temporary shelters for displaced families, but has less experience providing shelter to the homeless.
At any given time during the weeklong string of bad weather and power outages – with all regular shelters full – two new emergency shelters were in operation in the county. There was one at the First Christian Church in Olympia, which attracted 60 overnight visitors. But that one was moved to the McLane fire station due to sporadic power outages in downtown Olympia.
The McLane shelter was not accessible to large numbers of displaced people. It was more than a mile from the nearest bus line.
A second shelter was opened at the Moose Lodge in Yelm. This shelter was helpful for Yelm-area residents. However, major gaps remained in the emergency shelter network all through the storm.
“With this incident, we’ve learned a lot about what the gaps are,” Kathy Estes, emergency manager for Thurston County, observed. “We actually need a stronger plan to identify larger facilities that we can set up.”
For many people, just getting to the shelters was an impossible mission due to the dangerous road conditions. The snow and ice also made it hard to deploy volunteers and stock the shelters.
This community needs a larger, pre-identified facility, with adequate backup generators, in the Olympia urban center, a shelter that can be accessed through the use of public transit and open to anyone – homeless or not – seeking shelter.
During a natural disaster is not the time to try to distinguish between emergency shelter services for the temporary homeless and chronically homeless. All citizens in need deserve shelter, regardless of how they got there.
It’s time for Thurston County to assume responsibility for a workable emergency shelter plan, working with the local jurisdictions, Red Cross, homeless advocates and others to make it work.
Let’s not be caught off guard again.
