Residents of Calvary Lutheran, the West Seattle SHARE shelter that had planned to move into the vacant Calvery Lutheran Church in Ballard, said they would still be willing to move into the neighborhood, but maintain that sex offender and warrant checks are unnecessary.

According to a letter sent to Our Redeemer's Lutheran Church April 22, the residents believed that Our Redeemer had dis-invited the shelter because SHARE refused to comply with a request for sex offender checks on its residents.

The residents were mistaken and are back in formal communication with Our Redeemer, according to the letter.

SHARE agreed to comply with background checks for Tent City 4 in Redmond.

Calvary Lutheran resident Nickolaus Hendel said SHARE conducts these checks in tent cities but not for its indoor shelters because those are easier to self-police and have a monitored entrance and exit.

SHARE residents conduct their own interviews with prospective residents before they are allowed to move into the shelter and maintain that this practice keeps both the residents and the community safe.

"Who's going to be more worried about it, the community member or the guy sleeping next to them?" shelter resident Mike said.

David Jensen, another Calvary Lutheran Shelter resident, said SHARE has been running these indoor shelters for 18 years and have had no problems.

Lt. Steve Paulsen with the Seattle Police Department's Southwest Precinct said there has been zero problems with the shelter while it has been in West Seattle.

"I didn't even know we had it until I read about it in the blog," he said.

Hendel said the residents would still consider a move to Ballard as long as they feel safe and accepted.

"I want to make sure we're welcome and not treated as guinea pigs," Hendel said. "I want to make sure I can walk to the market without fear."

Residents said previous community meetings in Ballard, as well as comments in online forums, have left them feeling hurt and wary.

Hendel said some members of the Ballard community displayed feelings of paranoia and ignorance toward the SHARE residents based on their dealings with the patrons of a soup kitchen run out of the Calvary Lutheran Church building.

The residents of the Calvary Lutheran shelter are not the same people who come to the soup kitchen and disrupt the neighborhood, said David Jensen, another shelter resident.

Ninety-eight percent of the shelter's residents are employed and just want to come into the shelter at night to sleep, Jensen said.

Mike said neighbors might not understand that SHARE shelters are only open between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. and patrons are not allowed within two blocks of the shelter during off-hours and usually leave the neighborhood entirely.

The West Seattle Church of the Nazarene has agreed to extend the Calvary Lutheran shelter's stay in the building until June 1.