Just a quick note to explain my absence. I’m in Southern California attending a NASCAR race, trying to provide some insight on what happens at a race. We’re more interested in the impact on the community so we’re trying to maintain our focus there.
In the meantime, you might have heard that the Bremerton Area Chamber of Commerce expressed support for the city’s proposal to offer a 10-year tax exemption to property owners building new stuff within certain areas.
See you next week.
Don’t we need to know what kind of people “Nascar” people are made up of? Are they Red, White or Blue Collar’d? Do they prefer fortified beer and wine on their local grocers shelves? Average age, how many children, married-divorced-single, pets, education? Does anyone have that information?
I doubt that the Condo owners will be very receptive of those of us that live downtown. However, for some strange reason, I feel that all would be good with the Nascar crowd no matter what the color of the collar or “no collar” color. Interesting.
I wonder if any of the Condolians know about the apartment building that was there before or the low income residents that were given thirty days to get out because their home was being torn down. That took out about 30 or 40 “no collars” downtown, alot less for them to have to run into while out strolling the proposed new walkway to Evergreen Park or the downtown park at Pacific and Burwell or the fountains at the Harborside. Doubt if any of it matters much to anyone escept those that are still without housing because of it.
Maybe we should start thinking about the less fortunate people in our lives and in our town. Instead of removing them, why not fight to make things better for them, for all of us that live here in the heart, not just for a chosen few. Lets make this heart beat. Isn’t that what its really supposed to be all about?
Lets bring DSHS downtown, have daycare in the Norm Dicks Center, Grants and Scholarships to Bryman, more low income apartments and housing for homeless people and students not shelters. Lets offer them a home, medical/dental/drug-alcohol treatment, pet care, food and clothing to those on the street, camped in the woods, living in cars or under bridges. My God, we have enough empty buildings going to waste, why are we being so stingy?
The Bremer Building just sits there empty, the store front of the old Elks Lodge is probably the most in need of help, lets give that one up, it has low income housing there already. lots of room for more. And its across from the Norm Dicks Center, perfect.
If money is the issue maybe we can get a subsidy from the government to house them like foster children. We could get paid to take them off the hands of other cities that don’t want them to frighten off potential buyers of their condos. Sorry being rude and flip and stupid again. Someone please set me straight.
Peace and Hope
Barbara
Interesting concept.
Had not thought of filling the town with homeless folks and services to care for them.
I do not want to fight to care for them, pay for their housing, food, medical, dental, and clothing.
I want them to fight to make things better for themselves….
Such as, get a job, or apply to be retrained if needed.
Our tax dollars should help those folks working hard to help themselves… not hand them a town and supply the means to live there.
Bremerton was once filled with immigrants…folks who believed they could get ahead by working hard.
They had a sense of pride as they slowly improved their lives and made life easier for their children.
They were a remarkable group, our immigrants, simply remarkable.
Steve — good job taking your reporting on the road. Too much of our analysis is with our eyeball one inch off the road. No perspective there.
Hailing from BI, many self-proclaimed “elites” here don’t want any inconvenience from what they dubb Kitsap-appalacia.
Again, thanks for the articles and the sense of what NASCAR means other than slogans.
Your absolutely right and I don’t think they want handouts either. However. sometimes life just isn’t all that cut and dried when it comes to getting that job, any job. Please tell me where an unskilled, computer stupid, man or woman 45 and up can find a job.
Funny thing, the new immigrants have the meanial jobs and other than being a cleaning person, there isn’t anything.
I think Vocational Rehabilitation is a joke, no matter how much money they invest in rehabing a person, buying them tools, equipment, work clothes, auto repairs and the like, unless you’ve really got it going on your probably not getting the job anyway.
So many obstacles in the way. How can someone on a fixed income or a minimum wage earner survive and if you can get help its not for the rent let alone any of our daily needs.
The Max Hale Center has 33 SRO (single room occupancy) apartments in downtown Bremerton. They are overseen by HUD, Bremerton Housing Authority, Archdiocene Housing Authority, Washington Housing Finance Commission and the bankers. The assistance for these 33 units, starts and stops with those units. Unlike the other subsidized apartments that allow a person to move out and rent another place that accepts vouchers these SRO’s stay with the units Section 8 is years and years of waiting, if at all so you can’t move on. The rent there is 30% of your income and for some its free until your on your feet.
The average single person on assitance gets about $339. a month and it has been that amount for 9-10 years atleast. Rent is $102. for an SRO. For that you get a single furnished room with a kitchette, some rooms share a bathroom with another person.
I don’t feel that all homeless people or very low low income people are there because they want to be below poverty level. frequent foodbanks and eat at the Salvation Army.
I guess the only thing I know for sure is that we are all human beings and I could be that person tomorrow.
What should be done for them, they aren’t going to go away?
Peace,
Barbara
How about working at a job?
Two or three jobs, if necessary…
Folks who want to get ahead will work and be the best they can be.
What is wrong with cleaning jobs?
The last time I checked, house cleaners were making more money than many white-collar workers.
In addition, there is a great need for folks to do odd jobs and clean yards… what is wrong with that?
Rather than complain of insignificant public assistance pay … GET A JOB!
Worthy organizations are crying for volunteers…why aren’t the public assistance folks volunteering their time to help other folks?
Fact is, often times volunteer jobs lead into paying jobs.
I once had a person on unemployment come to see me about a job.
She told me that she was obligated to interview at x number of places a week in order to stay on unemployment.
She asked me to sign a paper stating that she had applied for a job. Trouble is, she did not intend to get a job until her unemployment ran out. She was shocked when I refused…apparently, everyone else ‘understood’.
Seems to me, if we were not paying the work dodgers not to work, we would have the funds to pay our children’s teachers.
Our teachers should be the best and among the highest paid in the nation.
Our police officers stand between harm and us yet are not paid a living wage either. They risk their lives for us…what do we do for them? Certainly not pay them a living wage.
Where are our priorities?
If work pay is a barometer of worth, we clearly do not think teachers are worth much.