Homeless, Chronic Alcoholic Summit planned in White Center
Chamber estimates about 45 people living on White Center streets
Homeless, Chronic Alcoholic Summit planned in White Center
A man lays on the sidewalk in White Center in the middle of the day, smelling of alcohol. A summit to address the problem of homelessness and chronic alcoholism in White Center will take place on Oct. 21.
Photo by Patrick Robinson
Mon, 10/17/2011
Press release
The White Center Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission (www.ugm.org) and WestSide Baby (www.westsidebaby.org), is planning a working summit of White Center service providers on Friday, Oct 21 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Mt. View Presbyterian Church, 10806 12th Ave. SW.
The summit will bring together front line service providers who are currently serving the estimated 45 people struggling with homelessness and chronic alcoholism, who currently live on White Center streets.
The goal of this summit is to find ways to help our homeless neighbors and to establish a 10-point plan that addresses their service needs, plan a budget estimating the costs to provide these services, and discuss possible policies needed to address the challenges they create for our community.
“We are finding that more and more people are in need in White Center,” said Mark Ufkes, president, White Center Chamber of Commerce. “We estimate that our community’s homelessness has grown by about 30 percent this past summer. While I’m concerned about their needs, Chamber members want a family-oriented shopping district. I’m hearing from business owners that several of the new faces are aggressive and congregate in groups that can be intimidating.”
