Emergency shelter for the homeless moved to new Bellingham location on Friday
An emergency shelter for those who are homeless opened in a former grocery store in the downtown on Friday, July 17, to give up to 200 adults a place to sleep at night.
Operated by Lighthouse Mission Ministries, the newly named Base Camp, 1530 Cornwall Ave., will shelter those who had been staying at Bellingham High School since the pandemic’s early days because more space was needed for social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
People moved to Base Camp starting after lunch on Friday. They either walked the short distance from the high school or were shuttled to the new space, Hans Erchinger-Davis, executive director for Lighthouse Mission Ministries, said to The Bellingham Herald on Friday.
Erchinger-Davis said the move went smoothly, and that people were “kind of marveling” at the space as they looked around their new homes.
At 25,106 square feet, there also will be enough room for staff and volunteers in the remodeled Public Market building, which housed a grocery store, food court and small eateries before closing in 2018.
The city of Bellingham and Whatcom County are contributing a total of $1.5 million toward leasing and improvements, while the Lighthouse Mission will pay that much in operating costs during its three years of operation in that space, with a possibility for a fourth year.
The shelter had to move from its temporary home at Bellingham High School, where it’s been since late March, by mid-July to accommodate the anticipated start of classes in late August, according to a previous Bellingham Herald article.
The city of Bellingham fast-tracked the project because the shelter had to leave the high school even as the respiratory illness continues to circulate in the county and the U.S. Still, some area business owners were unhappy about the location and feared the harm that could be done to their businesses.
“We have created a healthy living space for people experiencing homelessness during this public health crisis,” Bellingham Mayor Seth Fleetwood said in a news release on Thursday, July 16.
“I am grateful to city staff, the property owner and the construction teams who completed this project under great time constraint. They turned a grocery store into a spacious and functional facility that offers a welcoming and supportive environment for shelter guests, volunteers and staff. It is truly a remarkable effort that benefits the whole community by reducing the risk of a COVID-19 outbreak,” Fleetwood said.
From store to shelter
The building at Cornwall Avenue and York Street will give up to 200 people a place to eat, sleep, shower, store their belongings, wash their clothes and allow for the social distancing required to limit the spread of COVID-19, according to a previous Bellingham Herald article.
“This is a large open space. It’s designed to move a lot of people through,” Erchinger-Davis said during a tour on Thursday, July 16.
There’s a huge need in the community, Erchinger-Davis said, adding that he expected it to increase with the economic challenges caused by COVID-19. “I think it will fill up, unfortunately.”
About 150 people are staying at the high school now — down from a high of 196, he said.
Erchinger-Davis said the original plan was to once again return to its Drop-In Center site at 1013 W. Holly St., where the shelter was located before moving to the high school, but that space was too small with social distancing requirements. It would have limited the space to just 50 people, leaving 100 or more people on the streets, he added.
On Thursday, Erchinger-Davis took visitors, including Fleetwood and City Council member Hannah Stone, on a tour through the space — starting from a courtyard with seating, potted trees and a fence around the large parking lot.
Erchinger-Davis said games such as cornhole and tables for pingpong will be made available to those staying at the center.
He described Base Camp as an enhanced shelter, an entry-level space for people who could go on to the Lighthouse Mission’s other programs. It can house 200 people overnight and 300 people during the day, offering a host of services that include case management, housing referral, and health care from Sea Mar.
There are at restrooms. There are washers and dryers and showers, including those that offer privacy — all in all, a way for people to stay clean — and what Erchinger-Davis called “flex rooms,” which are spaces for people with social anxiety or for moms and dads with children who might show up in the middle of the night seeking shelter.
Base Camp offers a place for those who are homeless to come and stabilize, to feel safe, to think about what comes next and to be seen, he explained.
“People see you but they don’t want to see you,” Erchinger-Davis said of those who are homeless and on the streets.
What he wants people to understand is “how necessary something like this is for people that have lost everything,” he said.
“For them to be able to have a place that they can go where they’re wanted and welcomed and not be a burden to anybody,” Erchinger-Davis.
This story was originally published July 16, 2020 at 4:07 PM.
