Change Agent: Rev. Rich Lang

Jobs, Journalism, Justice

Contributing Writer

Articles by Adam Hyla

Abrupt End

By Adam Hyla | March 28, 2007

Two Black employees stung by dismissal from Belltown drop-in center

The only notice Elmo Taylor got, he remembers, was a phone call.

Taylor, a shelter worker at the Family and Adult Service Center in Belltown, was at Wal-Mart, buying a DVD to screen for the 60 or so visitors to the Belltown day center.

He would bring in a new film “to keep them current” on the world of cinema, he says. The news on the other end of the line snapped him back into the here and now.

“I’m sorry to tell you, but your services are no longer needed,” he heard his supervisor say. ...

Drop In, Dropped

By Adam Hyla | February 14, 2007

Day center closes due to drug allegations

A 60-person-capacity drop-in center for homeless individuals has been closed since Mon., Feb. 5, because of the revelation that the Belltown agency was a depot for drugs.

The discovery precipitated “a crisis in confidence” in the day center’s operations, says Compass Center programs manager MJ Kiser. The Compass Center assumed management of the Family and Adult Service Center on Third Avenue last month. Kiser says three of the day center’s workers were either using the place to dispense illicit substances, including crack, or allowing it to take place. All three have been fired. ...

Change Agent: Richard Reed

By Adam Hyla | February 14, 2007

Richard Reed finds himself in a courtroom alongside defense attorneys who make three times what he makes. But he’s the one with the inspiring work. ...

Clearance

By Adam Hyla | February 7, 2007

Judges can award commendations to help people escape homelessness

Before most landlords hand out a new house key, they do a background check with the Washington State Patrol. But getting that key from a landlord who discovers a criminal conviction, even a four-, five-, or 10-year-old conviction, is a common concern for people trying to move on with their lives.

It’s a concern shared by Megan Sczcebak of Harborview Mental Health Services, who along with another social worker, is working with mentally ill clients of the First Hill hospital to participate in a new tactic in the effort to end homelessness. ...

Stopping the Cycle

By Adam Hyla | January 31, 2007

Bench warrants move low-level offenders to streets

Every month, a handful of troubled people in need of a place to live get David Chapman to look up their court records and, if possible, clear their names.

If they have been charged with a crime, Chapman checks with city and county courts for any warrants. And if the client, who is referred to Chapman from nonprofits like the Veterans Administration or Lifelong AIDS Alliance, has been on parole or probation out-of-county or out-of-state, he checks for warrants in those areas as well. ...

On a Tear

By Adam Hyla | January 24, 2007

New homes stick out where Seattle’s modestly sized residences once stood

Its sheer walls soar three stories skyward. In front, levels two and three are clad in floor-to-ceiling glass. Its upper floors cantilever over the front stoop, where a nine-foot door announces that either Gargantua will be moving in soon, or people who like living large will make this big, unapologetically modern house a home.

On a Mt. Baker neighborhood block occupied mostly by one- and two-story mid- to early-20th-century homes, it’s hard to ignore. ...

Sun Block

By Adam Hyla | January 10, 2007

Solar panels bring power, rebates to Seattle homeowners

The rebate check that Bob Allen and Lyle Rudensey got from Seattle City Light in October wasn’t a princely sum — just $350. But, to them, it marks the start of something big: More people making solar power.

Allen, Rudensey, and the roof of their house near Seattle’s Columbia City district are participants in a one-year-old state incentive program that’s paying them to generate solar energy. ...