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SHARE was originally caught lying to Ballard citizens back in May when the question of running checks first came up. At first, in the neighborhood public forum, SHARE stated they could not run the checks due to the cost involved. Evidence was then brought forward showing that the King County Sheriff's Dpt. had been running both outstanding warrant and sex offender checks for SHARE's Tent City 4 for FREE. They then tried to put a new spin on it by saying that running the checks was "un-american" but again documentation showed they had been running them at Tent City 4.
One has to logically conclude that their steadfast refusal to run these checks in Ballard and instead leave these men without shelter means that they are knowingly harboring sex offenders.
To recap-it was only due to an alert neighbor that the sex offender was "outed" in the first place. This person alerted this very "my ballard' forum of the fact there was a sex offender at the shelter back in September. After it was made public, SHARE had no choice but to remove them as they had been caught.
Take a wild guess.
1: That at some share run tent cities, they DO warrant checks and sex offender checks. The KC sheriffs dept. does this for free.
2: At the ballard share run shelter they do NOT run these checks. Reasons are really irrelevant but have been cost prohibitive and un-american.
So that means Share has set up a system where offenders know they will be housed with no checks at the ballard site and to avoid the other camps where checks are known to take place. Facts point to Share willingly and purposefully setting up this discrepancy to house offenders and those with outstanding warrants. Plain truth given the facts.
My mom used to regularly donate to them, as did many of her rich friends. After this fiasco they are all horrified and will not be donating to SHARE ever again. In the end, it is the people who are homeless and struggling who will suffer. How an organization that claims to help the homeless can screw them over like this and have absolutely no remorse is really really sad.
Good luck trying to place these shelters in residential 'hoods with that attitude.
Good bye. Good riddance. SHARE is political circus at it's worst.
and before anyone gets in a huff and says this sounds like i’m blaming myballard- i’m not, nor am i pointing fingers or placing blame, i'm just speculating on a possible outcome of living in such an informed society, which i happen to appreciate (myballard news/info included).
"Anyone can pull up sex offenders in any neighorhood."
Yes, including any of the neighbors if they are so concerned as shanedillon was. The fact that the person was identified was because he was registered.
The fact that a sex offender was discovered and was promptly evicted with no harm to the neighborhood seems immaterial to folks who post on this blog. I'm glad to see that at least some people are sorry that twenty people will be ejected from shelter through no fault of their own.
"I just don't understand why when there are so many people willing to help ..."
Sorry, I must have missed the part about helping.
All I saw was a witch hunt going on and a campaign to villify one of the most effective shelter providers in King County. What I understand is that SHARE does check for a persons name being on a list provided by the Dept. of Corrections of registered sex offenders and this person's name was not on that list.
"Sorry, I must have missed the part about helping."
Maybe I saw it because I was talking to my neighbors in person and attending neighborhood meetings and listening to what people had to see. I had conversations with plenty of neighbors who wanted to help and actually did help.
I guess if you base your whole impression on the situation by what is written in online forums like this or KOMO news or Seattle PI or the like, then you would have an unrealistic idea of what was really going on.
There were plenty of people in online forums who posted about wanting a witch hunt for the homeless. There were also people like you who wanted a witch hunt of a bunch of compassionate neighbors who were just asking SHARE to show a little responsibility. I'm glad that knowing personally the people involved, the majority of the witch hunts on either side were kept to these anonymous forum pages and had little to do with real people or reality.
Not living in that neighborhood, I was not privy to the conversations you describe. I do know many people who are part of SHARE and I think very highly of them and respect them for their compassion, committment, and integrity. Some of the claims on this blog as to the supposed motivations of people from SHARE have been outrageous and I've been frustrated that no one has spoken up to refute them.
SHARE is a democratic organization with a very small and dedicated staff. Decisions are made democratically often under very difficult conditions. That sets them apart from many top down organizations that are much better funded and have PR spokespeople to defend them in public. SHARE puts all of its resources into empowering people to organize to help themselves and to advocate for themselves. That doesn't leave much time or energy for the bells and whistles.
Reality:
SHARE Clients Say They Were Forced to Participate in Protest
http://publicola.net/?p=16115
Ohhhhhh, I see! The shelter has ZERO impact on you, your home, your kids, your family, your neighborhood.
They do check against the list you are talking about at some of the tent cities - but to my understanding they were not doing that at this shelter.
it's a free for all. no stringent guidelines or boundaries. this is my OPINION.
Salvation Army maybe?
It would be a shame if nothing happens in the building over the winter months.
www.cfhomeless.org
A wonderful organization that screens the homeless that they serve AND they provide life coaching!
"nwcitizen" too bad those that are so supportive of SHARE couldn't work with them to do the right thing and run the sex offender checks. The same exact checks that they have run since 2004 at Tent City 4. Instead, they were more than willing to force those they serve out for what? Because it is "un-american" for them to run checks in Ballard but not on the Eastside?
On the flip side, Nickelsville currently has space available as they have moved to a new location as of Thursday and can now shelter up to 100 people. As of Thursday, they had 70 spots available, so perhaps that would be a good place for these men to go.
Since both Nickelsville and SHARE are run by the same man (Scott Morrow) it should be an easy transition for them.
I had hoped about a year ago O.R. would extend an invitation to the Church of Mary Magdalene Women's Day Shelter, but I think that ended up not being a good idea because it is too far away from the night shelters the women stay at and too far away from the resources they need downtown during the day. Which is too bad because that is a great organization that lost their long standing space downtown and I don't think they've found another yet.
level 1 & 2. level three the lowest is not on this list.
http://www.icrimewatch.net/index.php?AgencyID=5...
"These offenders pose a potential high risk to the community and are a threat to re-offend if provided the opportunity. Most have prior sex crime convictions as well as other criminal convictions. Their lifestyles and choices place them in this classification. Some have predatory characteristics and may seek out victims. They may have refused or failed to complete approved treatment programs. "
My sister prosecuted these creeps for three years. Her take? That they don't want to stop BECAUSE THEY LIKE WHAT THEY ARE DOING. Most will only stop when they are dead.
This, across the street fro a daycare and a block from a park.
Good riddance.
http://www.kingcounty.gov/safety/sheriff/SOSear...
Don't lump SHARE's self-righteous, messed-up agenda in with everyone who reaches out a hand to help when someone is hurt or struggling. SHARE is a bunch of whiny jokers but there are a lot of people who actually want to help - want to be a "hand-up" and not a "hand-out" and the Ballard Food Bank is one of them.
I hope that if you are ever in trouble - have cancer and can't work or afford to pay all your medical bills because of it, or get severely injured and can't work again, or develop health problems such as Alzheimers when you're elderly - that there will be less people with your attitude around you and more people who are willing to help you.
We all need a reality check here.
It seems SHARE would gain a ton more respect and support from the community if they were making more an effort to to encourage and support those staying in their shelters to become more self-sufficient.
They don't *want* to break the cycle of homelessness. Ask them - they'll tell you straight out that living in their tent encampments is a lifestyle choice, and their right.
This is not a some hidden agenda that they're subtle about - they're quite open about it. They demand that the public financially support their lifestyle choice.
And it does not cost money to provide transitional services. All it takes is the ability to connect the homeless with providers and services that they may need. There is no fee in that.
Congregations for the Homeless provides life coaching to the men they serve. These coaches are volunteers.
SHARE is a political group whose mission is not to break the cycle of homelessness, but to instead perpetuate it.
Many people on this blog talk about homeless people as less than human and needing to be repaired in some way. This is a very demeaning attitude IMO.
The SHARE model is very different from that of many other non-profit organizations. I encourage you to read about it so that you can understand the decision making process. It is important to note that paid staff do not have a vote in this process including Scott Morrow.
http://www.sharewheel.org/aboutus
"SHARE and WHEEL are self-organized, democratic, grassroots organizations of homeless and formally homeless individuals. SHARE was founded in 1990 and WHEEL was founded in 1993. For 15 years we have been working to eradicate homelessness, educate the community, and empower homeless people. "
"We practice self-management because it acknowledges and promotes the innate dignity of each person. All major decisions are made organizing meetings that all members are encouraged to attend, participate, and vote in."
Giving referrals to agencies in the community that would help their residents move onward and upward doesn't cost SHARE a dime and in my opinion would gain them some respect in the community.
"SHARE and WHEEL are self-organized, democratic, grassroots organizations of homeless and formally homeless individuals."
TRUTH:
SHARE Clients Say They Were Forced to Participate in Protest
http://publicola.net/?p=16115
Actually there are some sex offenders still in prison who have "served their time" because they pose such a threat to the community.