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is booming at the Urban Rest Stop |
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Fifteen
minutes is all you get - 20 minutes, max.
Then someone's knocking at the door, and
you know it's time to go.
But maybe you're spending your nights on
a mat in the Municipal Building, and your
days in search of work, or Welfare, or medical
attention. Those 15 minutes are golden:
the only private time you get.
But things at the Denny Triangle hygiene
center must continue at a gallop. Dozens
of people wait to use the facilities. And
the staff work hard to move them through.
Early this summer, that precious time got
more expensive for the Rest Stop's managers.
Since last year, water and electricity costs
for the facility have gone up by 30 to 40
percent. The February 28 earthquake closed
another hygiene center for the homeless,
the Pioneer Square Lutheran Compass Center.
That's troubling Ronni Gilboa, but it's
not going to kill the Rest Stop.
"How have we compensated? We're not fully
staffed right now," says Gilboa, the manager
of the Rest Stop, which operates out of
a storefront on Ninth Avenue and Virginia
in the Denny Triangle neighborhood, a few
blocks east of downtown. They've also compensated
by cutting back services. In March, after
consulting with the Health Department, they
turned off the hot water lines to the washing
machines.
-Adam
Holdorf
Voices of the Rest Stop:
Photos and interviews by John Caputo
John Houston
Real Change: John, where are you
staying now?
John Houston: I am staying at Tent
City.
RC: What can you tell me about where
you are staying?
Houston: Well, I would say most of
the people staying there are trying to get
somewhere. Tent City is a way to save money
and find a better standard of living. RC:
Where were you staying prior to Tent City?
Houston: At the Alps hotel. I wasn't
there for very long, because it was expensive.
RC: Are you employed now?
Houston: Yes, at the Millionair Club,
as a cook.
RC: Have you seen anything like
the Rest Stop elsewhere?
Houston: No, I think this is unique.
I have never seen anyplace with the sort of
facilities the Urban Rest Stop has.
Robert Sorenson
Real Change: Robert, when you were
working, what were you doing?
Robert Sorenson: Carpentry.
RC: How come you are not working
now?
Sorenson: I was living in an abandoned
building, and I fell two stories and broke
my back and haven't been able to do any heavy
lifting since.
RC: When was the last time you worked?
Sorenson: It's probably been about
10 years.
RC: Where have you been living?
Sorenson: Right now I am living on
the streets; I don't like the shelters.
RC: How do you feel about Seattle?
Sorenson: I really like Seattle.
RC: Have you had any bad experiences
here?
Sorenson: I was arrested in Pioneer
Square. I was taken to jail, and they handcuffed
me and there was five or six of them on me
and they started beating the holy heck out
of me.
RC: Why?
Sorenson: They tried to take a chocolate
shake away from me and spilled it on my favorite
shirt, so I threw the rest of it on them.
They broke three of my ribs and I told them
I could not breathe, so they sent me to Harborview.
RC: How do you get by financially?
Sorenson: I am on Social Security.
RC: What do you do when you need
to see a doctor?
Sorenson: I used to go to Harborview
all the time, lately I have been going to
Swedish. They are a lot better.
RC: How so?
Sorenson: They seem to care more. Harborview
is a hackhouse, they really don't have the
time to take good care of everybody.
RC: I understand you have sold newspapers
for Real Change.
Sorenson: Yeah, it really helped out.
Welfare just doesn't pay enough. They talk
about things The Seattle Times or P-I won't.
Marty Gras
Real Change: What do you think of
the Urban Rest Stop?
Marty Gras: I think it's a good place,
it's a place where people can go and take
a shower, clean up. Its nice to have that
available.
RC: What would you be doing if you
didn't have the Urban Rest Stop?
Gras: I don't really know where I would
be at, I guess I would check out the local
shelters to see if they had any facilities.
RC: How is Seattle treating you?
Gras: I think Seattle is very friendly,
it's one of those towns where you don't have
to worry about going hungry.
RC: Where are you staying now?
Gras: I am staying at Tent City.
RC: Tell me about that.
Gras: Tent City is really good because
it's given me a place to stay without worrying
about my stuff being stolen or bothered by
the cops. They have basic rules, but not as
structured as the shelters. It has a sense
of community, everybody helps out. It feels
like you are contributing, not just staying
somewhere.
RC: Where would you stay if you
were not at Tent City?
Gras: If I didn't have Tent City I
would probably be sleeping in the bushes,
where I was sleeping before.
The Urban Rest Stop
Where: 1924 Ninth Avenue, about one
block south of Convention Place Station, two
blocks from the Greyhound station, and three
blocks from the temporary Public Library.
When: Open seven days a week: Monday
through Friday, from 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.;
Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
What: Free showers, laundry, and restrooms
for anyone who needs them. While there are
eight other similar facilities in Seattle,
the Rest Stop is the only one with industrial-strength
capacity: in March, it provided about 178
showers, 82 loads of laundry, and 175 trips
to the restroom every day.
Who: The average Rest Stop patron is
a man in his 30s or 40s; just one in 10 customers
is female. Twenty-one percent have some sort
of physical or mental disability; 14 percent
are veterans; most of them have held a job
in the last month. The Rest Stop is owned
and operated by the Low Income Housing Institute,
a nonprofit housing provider.
How: City, federal, and private grants
provide the money. Two employees per shift
do all the work.
More info: Call (206)332-0110.
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