Women Trouble

Hey, not what you think.

We don't have enough shelter for anyone in town, but we don't have enough shelter for women in Seattle. We had some nights in April when we turned away 7 - 9 women. All the women's shelters were full. (Actually SHARE/WHEEL may have had space available, but they don't take one-night referrals from us -- too disruptive for their "self-managed" model, and too difficult to take women in to their system in the late hours. grrr)

Also, there probably is more space if the existing shelters would agreet to take more -- some of them place limits because their host organizations limit them, sometimes their lack of creative problem solving is another limiting factor. Anyway, enough grousing.

The women of Nightwatch pose special problems. If they are here, they are more likely to have been "barred" from other programs because of bad behavior; drug/alcohol/mental illness or some combination may be a factor. Being "barred" means you can't access those programs any longer, or have to go through an appeals process. A bar can last one night, a week or month, or, for more serious offences, can be permanent. When a guest threatens a staff person, volunteer, or another guest, we tend to take such threats of violence pretty seriously.

So, we're currently checking on possiblities for Nightwatch to take on the task of serving these women -- small scale part-time shelter -- a dozen women, two staff people overnight, up and out by 7:00 a.m. location, staffing, and whether we can really make it happen to be determined.
Praying for wisdom and resources.

Rick