Letters to the editor for Jan. 9
Thank you for Light of Hope donations
The Lewis Mason Thurston Area Agency on Aging would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the people of Thurston County for their generosity for our Light of Hope event.
The Olympian published one article in December listing clients in need due to various illnesses and other unfortunate circumstances. Many of the wishes were humble requests for necessities. The response was tremendous. Families, businesses, churches and staff at state agencies offered their support.
Due to your generosity, clients received gifts including household items, coats, blankets, warm clothes, gift cards and pet supplies. Every client received something and all donations went directly to the clients.
Your donations helped to brighten up the lives of so many of our clients. It was quite the experience for our staff to deliver your donations and see firsthand the difference you made in their lives. We could not have had a successful Light of Hope without you.
Thank you Thurston County for helping make 2019 Light of Hope such a success.
2020 should be the affordable housing year
For the next year, our community should focus on the issues that really matter most to each of us. Among all issues that our community has been concerned about, how come affordable housing is an afterthought in both our governor and lawmakers’ minds?
To say that affordable housing should be a government-run enterprise that is too large to either fail or to deliver quality-minded results like the real estate market is not in our community and our state’s interest. Rather, there should be increased numbers of organizations that run and manage private residences that properly vetted individuals can apply to.
Similarly, the process of applying and even securing affordable housing is nothing short of a bureaucratic nightmare both Social Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement would enjoy -- one of many paper forms (unlike our federal FAFSA for college financial aid) is often required along with the dreaded waiting list that never enables individuals or families to attain a safe home to finally live in.
While the governor’s proposal to shell out millions of dollars to address homelessness and bolster scarce affordable housing-related relief is commendable, it, in terms of long-term solutions, does nothing to sugarcoat the urgent need for more local involvement (in terms of businesses and nonprofits and local governments) in the pursuit of affordable housing in Olympia and throughout our state.