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Phoenix Housing Network finds new home on South Tacoma Way

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Phoenix Housing Network has found a new home for itself, and has invited us to help get the new place into shape.

In 2011, St. Ann Catholic Parish, which had provided a perfect home for Phoenix for 12 years, asked it, in the nicest way, to leave.

The church was growing and needed the space that Phoenix had filled with successful programs.

Phoenix agreed to be out by last November.

It is still there.

No one anticipated how long and wearying the search for a suitable spot would be.

To Phoenix Housing Network’s credit, its respect for the community turned out to be a complicating factor in finding a site.

To St. Ann’s credit, it has borne the inconvenience of the over-long search with patience.

Both parties have made the best of making do – the kind of true Tacoma trademark behavior that has guided them from their beginnings.

Intercommunity Family Shelter Network was a bright and simple idea in the 1990s. Because Pierce County did not have enough shelters for families with children, churches would host them for a week at a time. Volunteers would deliver cots and bedding. Members of the host congregation would cook and serve dinner to the families. In the morning, the kids would go to school and the parents would go to work, school or to programs aimed at helping them become independent.

In 1996, Catholic Community Services took on the program and renamed it Phoenix Housing Network.

“We were in an old house in Hilltop. That was our first day center,” said Housing Services Director Alan Brown.

It was cramped, considering the families needed bathrooms, showers, washers and dryers, a big kitchen and rooms for counseling.

Around the same time, St. Ann Catholic Church had closed its elementary school at South ‘G’ and 72nd streets. Rather than let the building stand empty and deteriorate, the church rented it to the Puyallup Tribe’s Chief Leschi School while its new campus was under construction. It was a great fit while it lasted, and the church made sure it had an equally good one to follow.

When Chief Leschi moved out, Phoenix Housing Network moved in. “At the time, we occupied not more than half of the building and shared the use with the parish,” Brown said. “As our program expanded, we took up more and more of the building.”

The emergency shelter program stayed the same. Churches and schools host five families for a week at a time. The adults work on the issues that left them homeless. The kids go to school or child care. Families can stay in that program for three months.

But, as money and research on what works allowed, Phoenix developed new programs to get those families settled and secure for the long term.

Some of them move into one of Phoenix’s 50 units of transitional housing elsewhere. Some qualify for vouchers to help with rent on the private market. All receive the support – from job training to socks – they need to keep moving toward independence.

“As our program expanded, we took up more of the building,” Brown said. “In 2004, Catholic Community Services took over Suited for Success.”

The clothing bank, which offers men and women clothes for work, fills two classrooms.

The families need storage space for their possessions. Kids need a place to play. New employees need offices.

“In a way, our program grew into the building, like the way a tree will adapt to its environment,” Brown said.

That it could expand to fill the old school while paying $1,300 a month rent, plus utilities, was a blessing.

But St. Ann was growing and evolving, too.

“They serve a large Vietnamese congregation,” Brown said. “We are now sharing the building with them on weekends when they have classes here, Vietnamese language classes, for the kids.”
Those classes strengthen families by connecting kids with their families’ history. They give the young people the useful tool of another language. And they are popular. The parish needs more space for them.

That is why, in 2011, the parish asked Phoenix to find a new home.

All involved thought it might take 10 months.

Wrong.

There are plenty of empty spaces in Tacoma, but Phoenix has unique needs and puts special pressures on a neighborhood.

It needed a building of between 10,000 to 12,000 square feet on a bus route, with enough parking for families, staff and volunteers. It must have zoning that allows the program.

Those are the basics.

“Some of the most likely paces are former schools and nursing homes, but there are zoning issues,” Brown said.

Zoning, poor condition and size took former public elementary and high schools out of the running.

“One place we got really excited about was a remodeled nursing home,” Brown said.

It was in good shape, and the interior was a great fit.

But Brown’s team considered how Phoenix might fit into the neighborhood.

The site would have needed a re-zone.

“We want to respect the neighborhood we move into,” Brown said.

Though Phoenix is not an overnight shelter, Brown respects neighbors leery of services for homeless people in a residential area.

Parking was a problem, too.

“There wasn’t enough, which could have an impact on the neighborhood,” he said.

If only all social services providers brought that kind of sensibility to their site planning.

Now Phoenix has found the right spot, a broad two-story brick building at 5050 South Tacoma Way. Once they finalize the sale, they will bring the three storefronts back to life in a rebounding neighborhood long on history, working-class pride and change.

They will build bathrooms, showers, a laundry room and kitchen. They will frame in offices, a day room and space for Suited for Success. They will install an elevator to meet accessibility requirements.

This is where our invitation kicks in.

“We need support, both monetarily and in getting that building ready, knocking out walls, painting, installing the kitchen and showers,” Brown said.

Tacomans, we know the drill: If you can help remodel, if you can write a check, contact Brown at alanb@ccsww.org.


Fashion and history meet at Feather & Oar

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The opening of new museums and businesses has encouraged grand visions of downtown Tacoma’s renaissance. Local figures anticipate a cultural and economic flowering that will place the city among the greatest of the West Coast. But this surge of vitality need not come at the expense of history. The new Tacoma will not be a gaudy, temporary city. It will not be an outdated embarrassment in a decade’s time. Its institutions should honor the beauty and worth of the past while planning the future.

Feather & Oar embodies such useful retrospection. The men’s clothing store came to Tacoma in November 2012 with the goal of bringing time-tested fashion to the modern age. The shop offers clothing from the 1940s to the early 1960s, eschewing fleeting trends and embracing classic, modestly priced styles.

The clothing collection’s aesthetic can be summarized as “East Coast Ivy League meets Pacific Northwest fashion,” said J.D. Elquist, 25, who owns Feather & Oar along with Drew Collier and Travis Pranger. Smart blazers share racks with sturdy wool jackets; patterned ties face a line of stylish-but-tough shoes. Every piece echoes Elquist’s theory of fashion. “Clothing should be two things: beautiful and functional.”

The three owners often advise customers before purchases, ensuring that the clothing is proper for the intended wearer. They make recommendations based on vocation, supplying outdoorsmen with light, breathable shirts and office workers with reinforced elbows. “I try to find what’s best for the customer, whether he’s a fashion-pro or a novice,” said Elquist.

Commitment to customers extends beyond the shop windows. Elquist wanted to know more about how to approach retail in Tacoma, so he met with Griselda “Babe” Lehrer, the founder of Lyon’s Apparel. “There is so much to be learned from someone who went from nothing to 15 stores,” Elquist noted. Lehrer touted community outreach as vital to a business’ survival. Taking her advice, Elquist brings Feather & Oar to as many events as possible. He is currently seeking a stand at Tacoma’s Farmers Market.

Feather & Oar displays only part of its collection. Pieces are sold according to the season, so the current dearth of lighter wear will vanish in March as spring/summer clothes claim the racks. A staircase along one wall descends into storage space, where the complete inventory rests. Elquist assures that the store possesses a large number of items, and more will be seen in the coming months.

Though Feather & Oar previously rented space from Tacoma Spaceworks, the trio of owners opened a new Market Street location on Jan. 22. The space is as much an honor to local history as is the store’s name. (“Feather” is a tribute to Native Americans; “Oar” a nod to European settlers.)

The shop’s 759 Market St. location used to house Scottfree Bail Bonds. The previous décor could not have been more different from the current. “It had a four-foot lower ceiling,” Elquist said of Scottfree. “The walls had six to eight feet of sheet rock.”

The previous appearance offended anyone with an eye for style, and Elquist felt that renovations must return the 102-year old space to its original state. (It began as a machine shop.) “We had a vision for the store and wanted to get it back to its bare bones.”

Elquist’s love of history informed his decision. Before moving to Tacoma about a year ago, he lived in New York City. The storied past of one of North America’s oldest settlements captivated him. He now is a member of the Tacoma Historical Society’s Board of Directors and hopes the store will encourage others to look beyond our time. “I’m trying to get younger people interested in our history,” he said.

Elquist’s ideal shop would have likely been unobtainable without the help of Tom and Debbie Pitzer. Elquist searched in vain for affordable contractors but had no luck until the Pitzers walked through the shop’s door. Elquist credits them with reshaping the store and is very grateful that the Pitzers allowed Feather & Oar’s ideal expression of the American past.

The store now inhabits a handsome space. Dark wooden floors and exposed brick walls predominate, lending the establishment a warm shadow of the industrial past. After renovation, Feather & Oar’s setting perfectly complements its clothing. The store has achieved a commendable synthesis of classic men’s fashion and historical importance. Elquist, Collier and Pranger promise to shape the future with a keen sense of the past. If their vision spreads, Tacoma will be timeless – a city to emulate and remember.

Feather & Oar is located at 759 Market St. It is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Visit http://www.featherandoar.com or call (253) 448-9911.

Henry DeMarais is a junior at Tacoma School of the Arts. He is fascinated by literature, politics, and culture and hopes to write and speak professionally about the three.

Arts & Entertainment: ‘Grease’ is the word at Wilson High School

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Wilson High School has gone back to the fabulous ’50s, as the newly formed Ram Actors Guild puts the finishing touches on its production of “Grease,” opening Feb. 1 in the Woodrow Wilson Performing Arts Center on campus.

This is an auspicious occasion for the high school in numerous ways. The staging of “Grease” will officially christen the school’s fully renovated performance facility, and this is also Wilson’s first time to stage such a grand production. Wilson English teacher Brent Chandler is the play’s associate producer. With his background in school plays back when he was a Wilson student, and the minor in theater he earned at Pacific Lutheran University, he has taken a lead in bringing “Grease” to life at the high school.

“We’ve always done stage productions, but they’ve been a quick one-act or smaller plays,” he said. “We’ve never taken a show from Broadway and brought it here to the high school, so this is our first big-time, fully-licensed Broadway show.”

Another highlight is that Wilson’s class of 1959, the high school’s first graduating class, will be celebrated as well at the show. Chandler said many of these alumni will be in attendance and that some of them have donated props and items from the ’50s era to help with the show. “It’s ironic that the play is based in 1959 as well, so it made for a nice tie-in to celebrate our first graduating class,” he said. Projections on two tall side screens onstage will feature images of real seniors from the ‘59 Wilson High yearbook.

Since early October the student actors have been rehearsing heavily under the direction of retired Wilson teacher Sue Beer, who has returned to the high school to teach drama for the next couple years. The show includes a live, seven-piece band with musical direction by Wendy Shepard and Michael Herb, full costuming, songs, dances and lots of laughs as well.

Wilson’s performance of “Grease” is primarily based around the popular Broadway show, but anyone who has seen the 1978 film starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John will know the story very well.

Given that the movie, and its soundtrack, were so popular at the time and continue to attract new fans, several of those songs were incorporated into Wilson’s production (the “Grease” soundtrack was the second-best selling album of 1978 behind “Saturday Night Fever”).

“We have received license for, and included, three songs that are part of the movie and not the Broadway version,” Chandler said, “and mainly because they’re songs that are very known.” For example, the play opens with the song “Grease,” sung originally for the soundtrack album by Frankie Valli and then became a number-one hit single. “We wanted people to have that connection since most of them associate ‘Grease’ with the movie.”

The two main characters, Sandy Dumbrowski and Danny Zuko, are played by a real-life couple – junior Emily Tharp and senior Dakota Logar. This adds a nice element to the play. “They have some fun chemistry onstage and you can see it,” Chandler said.

Tharp laughed about how she and Logar are required to interact as the play focuses on Sandy and Danny’s love life. She said expressing emotions at Logar onstage proved somewhat challenging, especially during scenes of conflict. “Going back and forth hating him one minute and liking him the next, then falling for him… It was just hard for me to be mean to him and push him and stuff like that,” she said.

Logar said he is just proud to be part of the show. “It’s a time commitment. The time we’ve dedicated to this has consumed the rest of our lives. As high school students, we love our social life and our friends, and it can be hard to give that up and focus on something else.”
Both young actors said above all else, it is fun. “Learning and working with Ms. Beer has been the best,” Tharp said.

Chandler said all the students deserve a standing ovation for their work on making “Grease” the best it can be.

“They’ve donated a huge amount of their social lives to this, but it’s a true testament to them and how successful they want to make it,” he said. “They’re taking a lot of pride in this show.”

Presented in Woodrow Wilson Performing Arts Center – with all new (and very comfortable) seats, wider aisles, new carpeting, new lighting and a new sound system – “Grease” promises to be a must-see event.

“Grease” continues Feb. 2, 8 and 9. Tickets are $10 general admission and $7 for students with ASB card. Prior to each performance, tickets go on sale at 6 p.m., doors open at 6:30 p.m. and curtain goes up at 7 p.m.

State Route 167 backers confident funding can be secured

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Supporters of the effort to complete State Route 167 are making a full-court press to secure funding for the project. There are various concepts for the design and length, but the full-scale concept favored by local leaders would have a price tag in the range of $1.5 billion. After years of discussion, they are confident that 2013 will be the year that the money will be lined up.

Local business, political and labor leaders gathered at Fabulich Center on Jan. 28 to discuss strategy. U.S. Representative Denny Heck, who was elected last fall in Washington’s new 10th Congressional District, began the meeting with a message of optimism. He has met with about 20 members of the state House of Representatives and Senate. “There is very significant support in this area,” he said of members of the Pierce County delegation. Heck pointed out that new Governor Jay Inslee told him he would do anything possible to move the project forward.

“I passionately believe this can be a transformative project for the Puget Sound region and the entire state,” Heck declared.

Local leaders have formed the SR-167 Completion Coalition to lobby for state and federal funding to construct the final section of the road from Puyallup to the Tideflats.

“We need to have a good game plan,”- Pat McCarthy, Pierce County Executive

A federal program can provide loan guarantees and lines of credit for projects of regional significance. Up to $1 billion is authorized for a project.

Another potential source of money is the Tribal Transportation Program, offered through the Federal Highway Administration. The agency coordinates with tribal and state governments and Bureau of Indian Affairs on road projects that are on tribal land. The final section of SR-167 would run through the Puyallup Tribal Reservation. Bill Sterud, vice chair of Puyallup Tribal Council, is a member of the SR-167 Completion Coalition.

Chad Wright is director of Marine View Ventures, the tribe’s economic development department. He attended the meeting and noted completion of the highway would open new doors for the tribe’s business activities. “This project is of critical importance to the tribe,” he said. “We are very supportive of this.”

At the state level, local leaders hope the Legislature will include SR-167 in a larger transportation funding package. Representative Judy Clibborn, chair of the State House Transportation Committee, has announced her support of including SR-167 in such a package. She intends to introduce a plan for a statewide transportation package in February.

But the Legislature has other expensive matters to attend to. Last year the State Supreme Court, in its McCleary decision, stated that lawmakers are not adequately meeting the requirement in the state Constitution to fund public education. And as happens each session, various interest groups pressure lawmakers to boost funding for various services and programs.

Tim Thompson, a political consultant on the executive committee, wants to hold an event in Olympia in the near future where local leaders can meet with legislators to have a meal and discuss SR-167. He wants people representing environmental groups, labor unions and the private sector to attend. He also wants more involvement in the effort from people who work for warehouses, banks and in fields related to construction, such as engineers, architects and contractors.

“We need to have a good game plan,” said Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy, another member of the executive committee.

Filling Russell building would help, not cure, downtown troubles

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The high hopes of landing a corporate tenant for the former Russell Investment Group headquarters as a way to boost Tacoma’s downtown retail marketplace might be more wishful thinking than actual impact. But it is a start.

“There’s not a lot of tenants looking around,” said Kidder Mathews Associate Vice President of Business Services Dominic Accetturo. “The deals that are being done are for lower rates.”

The recent economic downturn hurt retailers everywhere, including those in downtown Tacoma. The loss of the Russell Investment workers two years ago further cut into the customer pool for downtown shops and restaurants. Filling the downtown office space would certainly help, but might not be the savior that many hope.

“It would be a pretty big impact,” Accetturo said. “But what would really help retailers is more people living downtown. I think that is the key. It’s really hard to make enough between 11 and two, Monday through Friday.”

But retailers and city boosters will take what they can get because occupied office buildings are better than vacant parking lots and closed doors.

Russell Investments left its 12-story Tacoma location in 2010 to take over office spaces in Seattle. About 900 employees of the financial giant no longer report for work in Tacoma since the move. The company still pays rent on the office, but that ends this fall. That timeline, and a recent site visit of the building by State Farm officials, has sparked hopes anew new tenants are on the way. But no one is talking about specifics.

“Yes, company representatives recently toured the Russell Investments building in Tacoma,” State Farm spokesman Brad Hilliard said. “We continually evaluate all aspects of our operations, including our facilities, as an ongoing part of our business efforts to ensure that we are able to meet the needs of our customers. For business reasons we do not speculate on any rumors.”

State Farm has been looking for as much as 600,000 square feet of high-end office space, including the Russell site, but other sites are in the mix. That amount of office space would translate to more than 2,000 employees. State Farm already has about 1,000 workers at its DuPont facility. Similar expansions or space shuffles elsewhere, namely Dallas and Atlanta, suggest big changes at the insurance giant are in the works. But no one is talking about those corporate changes or what they would mean for the Pierce County operations.

One option that business boosters could take to land a tenant for the Russell building as this issue plays out is to reactivate the Tacoma Partnership effort that was established to keep the financial giant in the first place. That effort totaled $149 million in public and private support through tax breaks, infrastructure upgrades and fee concessions as well as an additional $133 million in potential “operational savings” over 10 years that would include items such as lower salary rates based on the cost of living differences between Seattle and Tacoma.

While no one is talking about pulling together a public-and-private partnership again, it will likely become a topic as talks continue as business boosters like the Economic Development Board of Tacoma/Pierce County and local officials work to show their open arm to a new corporate resident downtown.

“I think re-sparking it is a good start,” said Deputy Mayor Marty Campbell, who is also the chair of Tacoma City Council’s Economic Development Committee. “Buildings like Russell are what the EDC is for.”

New corporate workers, no matter what company, would not only aid downtown but provide a “fresh start” for downtown economics with potential new customers who see Tacoma as a city on the rise, not one burdened with the history of what it was.

“New employees won't hide inside scared of past experiences during a ‘bad time’ in downtown,” Campbell said.

“There were a couple of years they (Russell workers) had to be escorted to their cars. It was unsafe and dirty, so they just holed up; and once things changed, the habits remained. So yeah, I could see the fresh start analogy.”

Suffice it to say that there are many parties interested in landing a new tenant for the building. Ilahie Holdings owns the building and would rather get a tenant deal done rather than go without rent payments once Russell’s lease expires. Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber officials would like to see a major corporate resident join the fold. Shop owners would like the see more downtown workers to find their way to their storefronts. City officials would like the increased tax revenue and business activity a new tenant would provide. Each group has a role to play to make it all happen.

“We try to make sure that all the economic development components and partners are working on the same goals,” Mayor Marilyn Strickland said.

Multi-agency efforts like the Tacoma Partnership that formed to keep Russell might not have worked, but the effort isn’t dead. The concepts and incentives to land a corporate headquarters or other major downtown business can be retooled to fit the needs of whatever the new tenant might need to make such a deal pencil out.

“We are always really flexible,” Strickland said.

Rank Organization Employees Description 1 JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD 56,624 MILITARY 2 LOCAL PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICTS (k-12) 13,352 PUBLIC SECTOR 3 MULTICARE HEALTH SYSTEM 6,547 HEALTH CARE 4 WASHINGTON STATE EMPLOYEES 6,488 PUBLIC SECTOR 5 FRANCISCAN HEALTH SYSTEM 5,709 HEALTH CARE 6 PIERCE COUNTY GOVERNMENT 2,872 PUBLIC SECTOR 7 WA STATE HIGHTER EDUCATION 2,632 PUBLIC SECTOR 8 CITY OF TACOMA 2,222 PUBLIC SECTOR 9 EMERALD QUEEN CASINO 2,200 GAMING 10 WALMART ** 1,785 RETAIL 11 BOEING 1,700 AEROSPACE 12 TACOMA PUBLIC UTILITIES 1,332 PUBLIC SECTOR 13 COSTCO 1,185 RETAIL 14 U.S. POSTAL SERVICE 1,100 PUBLIC SECTOR 15 STATE FARM INSURANCE 1,070 INSURANCE 16 WA. STATE NATIONAL GUARD 1,050 MILITARY 17 COMCAST CABLE 1,018 CABLE TELEVISION SERVICES 18 PUYALLUP TRIBE 984 TRIBAL GOVERNMENT 19 DAVITA 904 HEALTH CARE 20 LONGSHORE/WAREHOUSE UNION 901 LABOR

Courtesy of Economic Development

Board of Tacoma/Pierce County

Headcount was used for some employers where full-time equivalent count was not available

What’s right with Tacoma: Working smarter for the data to fight homelessness

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Jerry Burtts has an eye for encampments. He knows where most of them are in Tacoma and parts of Pierce County. He knows who lives in them, and why. He knows who is sick, who is addicted, wants safe shelter and who is not ready to try to get better.

He, John Eckstrom and Jack Stillmaker make up Comprehensive Life Resources’ PATH Team, which gets – or tries to get – people who are homeless and have a mental illness to accept and stick to services.

“We are the extreme outreach team,” said Eckstrom, the team’s supervisor. “Most people who are out there do have mental health issues.”

But on January 24 and 25, the extreme outreach team took its work indoors for Pierce County’s annual Homeless Survey, which the federal government requires if it is to send money to fight homelessness here.

On those two days Eckstrom, Burtts and some 50 other canvassers, gathered data that will determine which programs get funding, and how much. They wanted to work, and Thursday was a happy coincidence at Metropolitan Development Council’s health clinic at 2342 Tacoma Ave. S.

“This is mental health day,” Eckstrom said Thursday.

This was the day, and the MDC clinic was the place, where they were most likely to find their people and collect the data to help them.

That small, savvy shift was an example of how the people conducting the survey work a little smarter every year.

Since the survey began in 1996, the people who manage shelters, meal sites, clinics, libraries and schools have collaborated to find people who fit the federal definition of homelessness.

Last week, they brought out the questionnaires.

“Where did you or your household stay the night of Thursday, January 24, 2013?” they asked.

Were they on the street, camping, in a car, a vacant building, jail, a shelter, transitional housing? Were they couch surfing? Were their friends or family about to kick them out?

“Select all situations that caused household’s homelessness,” they asked, and ticked through domestic violence, a felony record, aging out of foster care, eviction, job loss, poor job skills, family breakup, disability, poor credit, medical issues and bills, substance abuse and mental illness.

It is never just one thing.

That is why the survey has been so useful. Providers and government use the information to put our tax dollars where they are needed, and to sift out waste, exploitation and gaps in service.

Last year, 1,997 people agreed to answer the survey. Of them, 687 people were single, mostly living outside or in shelters. The remaining 1,310 were members of families with children.

The figures are always lower than the reality.

Teens who do not have a steady home try to hide it. Families double up with relatives until their welcome wears out. Some people are too proud to call themselves homeless. Some people just will not answer the questions.

Still, the data have reshaped services in Pierce County.

Agencies like Lakewood Shelter Association, Tacoma Rescue Mission and Helping Hand House have developed housing services and resources for families and have learned from their mistakes. They know from additional research that they must give families the tools to stay stable, employed and educated. They know that some families will always need social services.

That understanding saves families from relapses, and taxpayers and donors from the high cost of failure.

The same strategies are working for people who live on the streets with mental illness, addictions and criminal histories.

Pierce County agencies followed federal urging and developed Housing First programs that have brought long-term street people into housing that is safe for them, and for their landlords and neighbors.

MDC, for example, is redeveloping the old Bay Watch Apartments into 38 units of secure-entrance housing. Residents will have services on site and will cease to be a burden on police, fire, court and hospital systems. Studies, experience and the survey show such programs are saving Pierce County taxpayers millions of dollars in emergency, legal and medical costs.

Catholic Community Services is raising money now for a similar project, which will combine a men’s and women’s shelter, 50 apartments, a meal site and day center and counseling services. The data from the survey will aid in that.

Eckstrom knows of people who are ready to come in from encampments, especially now that it is cold. He knows 49 people are on the waiting list for a bed at Tacoma Avenue Shelter.

He and Burtts know the survey gives each of those people a voice in the struggle for resources.

That, they said, is why they, and all their social services colleagues, are committed to working smarter with every Homeless Survey.

Fire Department changes set to come next week

Fire damage apartment at 14th and Emerson


The Things We Like

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MEDITATION IN THE CONSERVATORY

Commune with nature through meditation and gentle yoga in the W.W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory. Yoga instructor Megan Zaback will be your guide for eight 90-minute sessions, 5:30-7 p.m.: Feb. 3 and 17, March 3 and 17, April 14 and 21. No experience necessary, and accessible to all. Wear comfortable clothes! Suggested donation $10. Call (253) 591-5330 to reserve your spot.

VISIONS OF NATURE

Tacoma Nature Center is featuring paintings by the Pacific Gallery Artists entitled "Visions of Nature" through March 29. All paintings are for sale.

Pacific Gallery Artists consists of local artists working in several mediums. Artist reception and awards are on Feb. 9, 1-3 p.m. Come meet these creative souls and share in some refreshments. 1919 S. Tyler St., Tacoma. Hours: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Saturday. For further info: http://pacificgalleryartists.org.

SIX DANCE LESSONS IN SIX WEEKS

This two-character comedy opens as an aging (but still formidable) woman hires an acerbic dance instructor to give her lessons in St. Petersburg Beach, Fla. Antagonism between a flamboyant man and the wife of a Southern Baptist minister gives way to profound compatibility as they swing dance, tango, foxtrot and cha-cha while sharing the greatest gifts of loyalty and compassion. Stars Sharry O’Hare and Micheal O’Hara. Rated ‘R’ for adult language and situations. Plays through Feb. 10 at Tacoma Little Theatre. Visit http://www.tacomalittletheatre.com or call (253) 272-2281.

PIER PEER

Sponsored jointly by Foss Waterway Seaport and Metro Parks, these popular programs are a great way to see the sea life in your area. Bring the family for an aquatic nighttime adventure as you explore hundreds of mysterious life forms below the docks with experienced naturalists. See and touch creatures brought up from the deep by local divers. Afterward, go inside to warm up, drink hot cocoa and talk about what was seen. Dress for the weather – the docks can be wet – and bring your own flashlights. Life jackets will be provided as well as scoops to catch sea creatures. It takes place on Feb. 2. Pre-register to reserve your spot at http://www.metroparkstacoma.org.

MORE GREAT SONICS NEWS

Tacoma garage-rock legends the Sonics have played a local show about once every two years since they emerged from a 40-year hiatus in 2007. But thankfully, they're not making us wait that long this time, following their homecoming show last July at the Pantages Theatre. On Feb. 2 they'll team up with grunge godfathers Mudhoney to rock Showbox at the Market, 1426 First Ave., in Seattle. Doors open at 7 p.m., and you've gotta be 21 or older to attend. Few if any tickets remain, but the day of show list price is $30. Call 1 (888) 929-7849 or visit http://www.showboxonline.com for further details.

UWT students battle in ‘Penny Wars’ for local charities

Arts & Entertainment: How Tacoma selects art

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This is the fourth in a series spotlighting portable artworks recently acquired by the City of Tacoma for the Municipal Art Collection. A diverse selection of two-dimensional and three-dimensional works by 15 regional artists was selected for purchase through 1 percent for art funds.

Have you ever wondered how the city assembles its art collection? Who curates it? Who pays for it? Where can the art be seen on exhibit? This is the last in a series of posts highlighting portable artworks recently purchased by the City of Tacoma for the Municipal Art Collection.

“This is the first time in more than 20 years that we have purchased any portable artwork for the collection,” says Naomi Strom-Avila, cultural arts specialist for the City of Tacoma. Funds for the acquisition of public art for the Municipal Art Collection come from the city’s 1 percent for public art fund. “That means that 1 percent of construction costs for capital construction projects goes toward the construction or acquisition of public art,” she explains.

In the case of site-specific public art opportunities, the artists are chosen through a juried process in which a call to artists is issued, followed by a panel review of the applications. The panel may include Tacoma Arts Commission members, community representatives, site users and others. The jurors narrow down the field to three to five finalists, interview those finalists and select the artist for the project.

However, in the case of the Portable Works collection, “the panel started with images of 566 pieces of artwork and narrowed that down to 78 pieces for a second review. Those 78 pieces were brought in for the panel to see in person. Then the panel narrowed those pieces down to the final 20 pieces selected for purchase.”

After the selection the city’s arts program staff goes to work to determine where to site the pieces; assessing what locations currently do not have artwork; or which could use an updated piece. All of the work goes into city buildings, and all of the pieces are sited in publicly accessible areas.

In “Long Journey,” Olympia artist MalPina Chan presents a chapter of family history upon a fiery background design derived from an imperial robe.

“This print features an image of my father and his health certificate, issued before he set sail for America to a new life.”

“Chambers Bay Ruins,” a photograph by Michael Jardeen, transforms modern concrete “ruins” into a visual feast in golden-hued sepia.

Photographer Victoria Bjorklund covered the night beat in Tacoma in a series of images entitled “Blue Midnight.” The artist said she was “inspired by film noir” as she photographed the city after hours.

Eunice Kim is a Ravensdale, Wash.-based artist who works exclusively in the medium of collagraph printing. She has developed a unique process of using sustainable, non-toxic techniques.

“Porous #39” comprises small, repetitive dot marks that are building blocks of my imagery and speak to the manner in which individual entities come together, coalesce and coexist.”

Reprinted with permission of TacomaArts.

Make a Scene: The Sonics, Soundgarden finally come back to their fans

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It had been a long time; they shouldn't have left us. But now the Sonics and Soundgarden – two Northwest rock legends known for going A.W.O.L. for decades at a time – are back in high-decibel action.

Tacoma's garage-rock heroes, the Sonics, went missing for four decades. Soundgarden – the band behind “Black Hole Sun,” “Spoonman” and other grunge era hits – took a mere 14 years off. But in the next few days they'll remind us why we missed them so: the Sonics with a headlining date at Seattle's Showbox at the Market on Feb. 2 and Soundgarden with a two-night stand at Seattle's Paramount Theatre on Feb. 7 and 8.

The Sonics' classic lineup featured Jerry Roslie on lead vocals and keys, Rob Lind on sax, Bob Bennett on drums and twin brothers Larry and Andy Parypa on guitar and bass. They rocked regional venues – Tacoma Armory, the Red Carpet Inn - with “Cinderella,” “The Witch” and other tectonic cuts that influenced generations of garage and punk bands that followed.

Their sound is PG by today's standards. But local radio programmers were slow to play their music, deeming lyrics about witches and sipping strychnine too dark for the airwaves. And they failed to score a national hit before the classic lineup broke up in late 1966 and early 1967.

Andy Parypa sold the rights to the band's name and an unrelated act called Jim Brady & the Sonics kept going until 1980. Meanwhile, the real Sonics spent the next four decades working day jobs, largely oblivious that their sound had gone on to inspire bands worldwide, everyone from proto-grunge band Mudhoney, which will open for them on Saturday, to Swedish rockers the Hives.

Of course, they couldn't remain totally oblivious to the attention their rockin' remake of Richard Berry's doo-wop single “Have Love, Will Travel” was getting. The Sonics recorded it as an afterthought and rarely played it live, according to Lind. But Land Rover recognized its brilliance and dusted it off to push jeeps in a 2005 TV spot.

Ohio blues-rock duo the Black Keys are fans, too, basing their own version of “Have Love,” included on 2003's “Thickfreakness” album, on the Sonics. Singer-guitarist Dan Auerbach even gave his idols a shout out when the Keys headlined KeyArena last spring, citing the Sonics' “Shot Down” as source material for “Girl On My Mind.”

So the rock world was primed for a Sonics comeback by the time they came out of hiding at New York's Cavestomp festival in November 2007. They've toured Europe, Australia and Japan since then, but have only played three local dates: at the Paramount Theatre on Halloween 2008, at Olympia's Capitol Theater on New Year's Eve 2010 and at Tacoma's Pantages Theatre last July, their first hometown show since the Johnson Administration.

Roslie, Lind and Larry Parypa remain from the Sonics' heyday. The new rhythm section features drummer Ricky Lynn Johnson and bassist Freddie Dennis. The latter – a veteran of Freddie & the Screamers, the Liverpool 5 and the Kingsmen – also shares lead vocal duties with Roslie.

In 2010, that lineup recorded a new EP, called “8,” with Seattle super-producer Jack Endino. It featured four new cuts – “Vampire's Kiss,” “Cheap Shades,” “Bad Attitude” and “Don't Back Down” – and live versions of four classics.

Meanwhile, many thought they'd heard the last of Soundgarden in the late '90s; that is, until the band roared unexpectedly back to life with a surprise performance as “Nudedragons” at Showbox at the Market in 2010.

The following year, Soundgarden hit the road with fellow hard rockers Queens of the Stone Age and Mastodon, a tour that included a July stop at the Gorge Amphitheatre in Grant County. Leading up to the show, frontman Chris Cornell sounded refreshed and optimistic about the band's future.

“Truthfully, if we'd been able to sort of look at the crystal ball, it would have been smarter to just say, yeah, we're taking a hiatus,” he said. “That's what this really feels like to me. It feels like we had a nice, long, break, and it was the right thing to do. Everybody feels refreshed. Everybody is reinvigorated to be in the band. It doesn't feel like the amount of time that it's actually been.”

The current tour is in support of November release “King Animal,” Soundgarden's first studio album in 16 years.

Live Music

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Friday, Feb. 1

EMERALD QUEEN: Social Network (Top 40) 9 p.m.

BACKSTAGE: Common Ground (Rock covers) 9 p.m.

C.I. SHENANIGAN’S: Collaborative Works Jazz, 8 p.m.

DAWSON’S: Rock’n’Roll Magic (Classic rock) 9 p.m., NC

GREAT AMERICAN CASINO: Gold Digger (Top 40) 9 p.m., NC

JAZZBONES: T-Town Aces (Blues) 8 p.m., $5

LOUIE G’S: Ranchero, Cody Foster Army, Curse of the North (Rock) 8 p.m., $5, AA

MAXWELL’S: Lance Buller Trio (Jazz) 7 p.m., NC

PARADISE BOWL: Just Dirt (Rock) 9 p.m.

STONEGATE: John Leonard (Classic rock/blues) 6:30 p.m.

STONEGATE: Subvinyl Jukebox (Rock covers) 9 p.m.

SWISS: Afrodisiacs (Disco covers) 9 p.m.

UNCLE SAM’S: Fallen Traitors, 9 p.m.

UNCLE THURM’S: Gary Cook (Jazz guitarist) 5:30 p.m.

VARSITY GRILL: Rock-Bot live band karaoke, 8 p.m., NC

Saturday, Feb. 2

GREAT AMERICAN CASINO: Gold Digger (Top 40)

C.I. SHENANIGAN’S: Collaborative Works Jazz, 8 p.m.

DAVE’S IN MILTON: Alice Stuart Band (Blues)

DAWSON’S: Rock’n’Roll Magic (Classic rock) 9 p.m., NC

EMERALD QUEEN: Social Network (Top 40) 9 p.m.

LOUIE G’S: Dave Hannon, Torre, Frosted Hearts, Champagne Sunday (Rock) 8 p.m., AA

NEW FRONTIER: (Singer/songwriters), 8 p.m.

SWISS: Spazmatics (‘80s covers) 9 p.m.

UNCLE SAM’S: Skinny White Samoans, 9 p.m.

VARSITY GRILL: Rock-Bot live band karaoke, 8 p.m., NC

Sunday, Feb. 3

STONEGATE: Rich Wetzel’s Groovin’ Higher Orchestra (Jazz) 5 p.m.

ANTHEM: Taxi Driver (Jazz) 7 p.m.

DAWSON’S: Tim Hall Band (Blues jam) 8 p.m., NC

JOHNNY’S DOCK: Steve Cooley & the Dangerfields (Blues) 5 p.m.

NEW FRONTIER: (Bluegrass jam) 3 p.m.

STONEGATE: Triggerhand, 8 p.m.

UNCLE SAM’S: Remedy (Rock jam), 7 p.m.

Monday, Feb. 4

STONEGATE: Rafael Tranquilino (Blues jam)

DAWSON’S: Tim Hall Band (Blues) 9 p.m., NC

SWISS: Jho Blenis, Shelly Ely (Blues) 9 p.m.

UNCLE SAM’S: Bill Pease, Paul Buck, Chris Gartland (Blues) 8 p.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 5

STONEGATE: Leanne Trevalyan (Acoustic open mic) 8 p.m.

ANTIQUE SANDWICH SHOP: Open mic, 6:30 p.m., $3

DAWSON’S: Jho Blenis, Shelly Ely (Blues jam) 8 p.m.

LOUIE G’S: (Acoustic open mic) 6 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 6

BACKSTAGE: (Rock jam) 9 p.m.

DAVE’S OF MILTON: Rubber Band (Jam session) 8 p.m.

DAWSON’S: Crazy Texas Gypsies (Jam session) 8 p.m.

GIBSON’S (STADIUM DISTRICT): Ephraim Richardson (Open mic) 7 p.m.

STONEGATE: N.M.W.P. (Rock jam) 8:30 p.m., NC

Thursday, Feb. 7

STONEGATE: Billy Stoops, 8 p.m.

DAVE’S OF MILTON: Powercell (Jam session) 8 p.m.

DAWSON’S: Billy Shew Band (Jam session) 8 p.m., NC

PARADISE BOWL: Just Dirt (Rock jam) 9 p.m.

UNCLE SAM’S: Jerry Miller (Blues) 7 p.m.

Call for Cuteness

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With Valentine’s Day rapidly approaching, we promoters of all things lovey dovey in the 253 would like to celebrate all things cute with a cutest couple contest.

E-mail a photo of you and your love muffin to: stevedunkel@tacomaweekly.com by Feb. 1. The collection of photos will be posted at www.TacomaWeekly.com and on Facebook on Feb. 4. Voting will run from Feb. 4 to Feb. 11. Simply either comment on the photo with your vote or “like” it. The winner will be announced Feb. 12.

The couple with the most votes will receive a bouquet of roses from Fife Flowers and dinner for two at Fife Bar and Grill.

Community Service

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No blfftt, TAGRO season approaches

Let the rain abate and the rejoicing commence.

It is almost TAGRO Time.

It is nearing the day when our gardens invite us out to work in them, and we accept that invitation instead of sneaking back inside to watch “Chopped” reruns.

When that happy day arrives, we will pull on our bad boots (shaking for spiders first) and put plastic tubs and tarps in our vehicles. We will head for the Happiest Place in Tacoma, the source of the finest do-it-yourself soil amendment in the West. We will drive to 2201 E. Portland Ave., follow the TAGRO signs and start shoveling.

Alas, that day is not yet at hand. But the next best event is. Saturday, Feb. 2, Green Tacoma Partnership will host a free workshop, Using TAGRO Products, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the plant Visitors’ Center at Gate 6.

We’ll learn all about what is in, and what is not in the magnificent bio-solids. We’ll learn how much is enough, how much is too hot and how often to refresh beds and lawns.

To register, click onto http://cedar.greencitypartnerships.org/event/map/. For information contact City of Tacoma urban forester Ramie Pierce at rpierce2@ci.tacoma.wa.us.

Pssssst, the snakes await

For those who can’t wait to get our hands in the soil, Snake Lake is calling.

Friday, Feb. 1, from 9 a.m. to noon, its stalwart stewards will gather at Tacoma Nature Center, 1919 S. Tyler St. for upland habitat restoration. They’ll yank broom and blackberries and replant native species. They’ll dress for dirt and bring their own gloves and tools, and they welcome our help.

For information contact Cyndy Dillon at cpdillongh@comcast.net or call (253) 591-6439


SUPER BOWL SUNDAY

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Sure, there will be an undercurrent of melancholy this weekend given the horrific events that unfolded in Atlanta recently. (Stupid Falcons kicker.) But still, there is not a much bigger day for partying than Super Bowl Sunday.

While it is technically not a holiday, the Super Bowl is our annual excuse for drinking beer all afternoon, scarfing down mountains of Buffalo wings and paying way too much attention to TV commercials that we normally fast forward through. Hey, look! It's that talking investment baby again!

The big game, pitting the Baltimore Ravens against the San Francisco 49ers, kicks off at 3:30 p.m. on Feb. 3, preceded by inevitable hours of coverage that CBS will give us on the battle of the Harbaugh brothers and quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s tats.

You can catch all that anywhere there is a working TV set, but your game day experience will be greatly enhanced by the right setting. With that in mind, we surveyed the Tacoma Weekly staff on some of the hottest places to catch the game, assuming you are not throwing your own Super Bowl party. Here is what we came up with:

The Liberty Theater

(116 West Main Ave., Puyallup): If bigger is better when it comes to Super Bowl Sunday, then Puyallup’s Liberty Theater has the competition beat. The 20-by-40-foot movie screen will serve as a projection backdrop for the game.

The historic theater will be offering prize drawings and other entertainment throughout the day.

Premium seating is available at $250 per table, with each table seating eight. Tables will include two pounds of hot wings, bottomless soda glasses and coffee cups, hummus and veggies and three, all-you-can-eat buffet stations with prawns, salads, tacos and ingredients for building your own hot dogs. More info: (253) 845-5105 or http://www.thelibertytheater.com.

The Ram International

(3001 Ruston Way in Tacoma or 10019 59th Ave., Lakewood): Known as a sports bar through the entire season, the waterfront Ram International will have specials on its Imperial pints, Jack Daniels and Bacardi shots, margaritas and its signature drink-as-a-meal Proud Bloody Mary concoction. The main sports screen in the bar spans 10 feet for easy viewing. More info: (253) 756-7886 in Tacoma, (253) 584-3191 in Lakewood or http://www.theram.com.

Steve Dunkelberger

Cheers Bar & Grill

(2611 Pacific Ave., Tacoma): There is not a bad seat in the house at Cheers, with plenty of TVs, booths, tables and – best of all – arcade-style games to fill the time in between multi-million dollar commercials.

Arrive early to stake out a table, and all through the game the bar will offer $8.50 Bud Light pitchers. The bar’s huge food menu includes everything from Mac-N-Jack-battered fish and chips to a decent selection of wraps that will go a long way. Game on! More info: (253) 627-4430 or http://www.cheersdowntown.com.

The Loose Wheel

(6108 6th Ave., Tacoma, and 715 River Rd., Puyallup): Now with options: one in Tacoma (6108 6th Ave.) and the newly opened Puyallup Pit Stop (715 River Rd.). For those of us who really could not care less about a Super Bowl played by any team but the Seahawks, Loose Wheel offers more than 60 pull-tab games, pool tables and plenty of arcade games, in addition to the 42 HD TVs. And with 23 beers on draft and a huge menu, Loose Wheel is a great option.

Sunday specials include happy hour prices from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., and chicken and jojos for $8.95. And they will have $2.50 pints on game day. More info: (253) 301-1647 in Tacoma, (253) 848-4444 in Puyallup or http://www.theloosewheel.com.

Kate Burrows

Harmon Tap Room

(204 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma): The Tap Room was already a trendy destination for fans of the Harmon’s tasty craft brews. But it may also have one of the best-kept secrets not being exploited by local sports fans. The venue boasts a 12-foot projection screen in the back showroom, which was nearly empty for most of the 49ers-Falcons game the weekend before last.

On game day, the venue will have happy hour prices all day, discounted pints, wells, mimosas and Bloody Marys and giveaways for hoodies, growlers and other swag at the end of each quarter. More info: (253) 212-2725 or http://www.harmonbrewingco.com.

O’Malley’s Irish Pub

(2403 6th Ave., Tacoma): The stiff drinks contribute to a rowdy game-day atmosphere at one of Tacoma’s most beloved dives. And local celeb Kris “Save Our Sonics” Brannon has been known to show up when the ‘Hawks are on the tube, though he will likely lack his usual arsenal of flags, poppers and air horns this weekend given the tragedy that took place in Atlanta recently. On game day load up on $3 cheeseburgers, two for $2 tacos and a host of adult bevvies that will be on sale for $2 to $3. More info: (253) 627-9403.

Ernest Jasmin

Emerald Queen Casino

(2024 E. 29th St., Tacoma): The EQC will have a big place to watch the big game in their I-5 showroom at the Tacoma location. The television set is quite big as well – a 40-foot, high definition screen.

There will also be a big-time buffet, sports boards and cash prizes given out for each quarter of the game. Dave “Softy” Mahler from KJR AM 950 will be on hand with prizes to give away. Must be 21 and older to attend. More info: (253) 594-7777 or http://www.emeraldqueen.com.

Backstage Bar and Grill

(6409 6th Ave.): Known as a rock music nightclub, the Backstage is a good place to watch a sporting event. The spacious venue has several televisions in various places, creating good viewing angles throughout the club.

Owner Joy Hutt is a 49ers fan and the food and drink specials reflect this with all prices ending in 49 cents. During the game well drinks will be $2.49. Food specials include corn dogs for $1.49 and baskets of chicken strips and fries for $4.49.

Prizes will be given out during the game, with a number of glasses and other objects with a sports theme. More info: (253) 564-0149.

John Larson

Janurary 30th, 2013

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editorial cartoon by Chris Britt

What’s right with Tacoma: Working smarter for the data to fight homelessness

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Jerry Burtts has an eye for encampments. He knows where most of them are in Tacoma and parts of Pierce County. He knows who lives in them, and why. He knows who is sick, who is addicted, wants safe shelter and who is not ready to try to get better.

He, John Eckstrom and Jack Stillmaker make up Comprehensive Life Resources’ PATH Team, which gets – or tries to get – people who are homeless and have a mental illness to accept and stick to services.

“We are the extreme outreach team,” said Eckstrom, the team’s supervisor. “Most people who are out there do have mental health issues.”

But on January 24 and 25, the extreme outreach team took its work indoors for Pierce County’s annual Homeless Survey, which the federal government requires if it is to send money to fight homelessness here.

On those two days Eckstrom, Burtts and some 50 other canvassers, gathered data that will determine which programs get funding, and how much. They wanted to work, and Thursday was a happy coincidence at Metropolitan Development Council’s health clinic at 2342 Tacoma Ave. S.

“This is mental health day,” Eckstrom said Thursday.

This was the day, and the MDC clinic was the place, where they were most likely to find their people and collect the data to help them.

That small, savvy shift was an example of how the people conducting the survey work a little smarter every year.

Since the survey began in 1996, the people who manage shelters, meal sites, clinics, libraries and schools have collaborated to find people who fit the federal definition of homelessness.

Last week, they brought out the questionnaires.

“Where did you or your household stay the night of Thursday, January 24, 2013?” they asked.

Were they on the street, camping, in a car, a vacant building, jail, a shelter, transitional housing? Were they couch surfing? Were their friends or family about to kick them out?

“Select all situations that caused household’s homelessness,” they asked, and ticked through domestic violence, a felony record, aging out of foster care, eviction, job loss, poor job skills, family breakup, disability, poor credit, medical issues and bills, substance abuse and mental illness.

It is never just one thing.

That is why the survey has been so useful. Providers and government use the information to put our tax dollars where they are needed, and to sift out waste, exploitation and gaps in service.

Last year, 1,997 people agreed to answer the survey. Of them, 687 people were single, mostly living outside or in shelters. The remaining 1,310 were members of families with children.

The figures are always lower than the reality.

Teens who do not have a steady home try to hide it. Families double up with relatives until their welcome wears out. Some people are too proud to call themselves homeless. Some people just will not answer the questions.

Still, the data have reshaped services in Pierce County.

Agencies like Lakewood Shelter Association, Tacoma Rescue Mission and Helping Hand House have developed housing services and resources for families and have learned from their mistakes. They know from additional research that they must give families the tools to stay stable, employed and educated. They know that some families will always need social services.

That understanding saves families from relapses, and taxpayers and donors from the high cost of failure.

The same strategies are working for people who live on the streets with mental illness, addictions and criminal histories.

Pierce County agencies followed federal urging and developed Housing First programs that have brought long-term street people into housing that is safe for them, and for their landlords and neighbors.

MDC, for example, is redeveloping the old Bay Watch Apartments into 38 units of secure-entrance housing. Residents will have services on site and will cease to be a burden on police, fire, court and hospital systems. Studies, experience and the survey show such programs are saving Pierce County taxpayers millions of dollars in emergency, legal and medical costs.

Catholic Community Services is raising money now for a similar project, which will combine a men’s and women’s shelter, 50 apartments, a meal site and day center and counseling services. The data from the survey will aid in that.

Eckstrom knows of people who are ready to come in from encampments, especially now that it is cold. He knows 49 people are on the waiting list for a bed at Tacoma Avenue Shelter.

He and Burtts know the survey gives each of those people a voice in the struggle for resources.

That, they said, is why they, and all their social services colleagues, are committed to working smarter with every Homeless Survey.

“Drive sober or get pulled over” Super Bowl weekend

TAM taps Haub collection curator

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