Bellingham opens this new temporary winter shelter for the homeless
A temporary winter shelter for the homeless in the parking lot of Frank Geri Softball Fields on Puget Street has opened, and 10 people are living there so far, according to the Bellingham nonprofit that is operating the site.
Known as Swift Haven, the encampment opened Saturday, Dec. 26. The first residents are living in tents, which will soon be replaced by tiny homes that are expected to arrive at the site starting the week of Jan. 4.
Another 18 people are waiting to be cleared by the Bellingham Police Department, which will check for warrants — a normal process, said Doug Gustafson, chairman of HomesNOW!, operator of Swift Haven.
“Things are going smoothly,” Gustafson said to The Bellingham Herald on Tuesday, Dec. 29.
A total of 28 people will live in tiny homes in the parking lot for the softball fields, which are part of the city’s Civic Athletic Complex in the Puget neighborhood.
HomesNOW! already runs Unity Village, a tiny homes community located in the parking lot at 210 McKenzie Ave. near the city’s Post Point Water Treatment Plant in the Fairhaven neighborhood, and Gustafson said they will put that experience to use at Swift Haven.
“We’ve learned a lot with running our two tent encampments previous to Unity Village as well as Unity Village,” he said.
HomesNOW! encampments
HomesNOW! has operated an encampment in three different locations in Bellingham, with the approval of the city. Each time the encampment moved, it was renamed.
The first was a tent encampment called Winter Haven, which existed from January to March 2019 behind City Hall at 210 Lottie St. The second was Safe Haven, which was on part of the What-Comm Dispatch Center parking lot at 620 Alabama St. in the Sunnyland neighborhood from April until August 2019.
The third is Unity Village. By the time it opened, the tents had been replaced by tiny homes.
Unity Village has 20 tiny homes, which can house up to 25 residents if some are couples.
“It continues to run smoothly, just like it has been, and we’re doing good,” Gustafson said.
Swift Haven at Geri Fields is a collaboration of the city of Bellingham, Whatcom County government and HomesNOW!
“I think it’s a good thing. It’s not the end. There’s still a lot more to do,” Gustafson said of Swift Haven and ongoing efforts to help those who are homeless.
About Swift Haven
Under the collaboration, the city is providing the site for Swift Haven and paying for utilities. HomesNOW! is the operator. Whatcom County has agreed to buy tiny homes from Ferndale-based 360 Modular Building Systems.
The first 25, which are heading to Swift Haven, will cost a total of $197,018 — or $7,250 each plus taxes, as previously reported by The Herald. The price for the structures covers delivery as well as basic amenities, such as a bed and pad, lights inside and outside and an electric heater.
The county has agreed to buy up to 50 or more tiny homes.
The winter shelter at Geri Fields will close in spring, when a longer-term facility at a different location will open, Bellingham officials have said.
Swift Haven will:
▪ Provide shelter to those who have been screened by HomesNOW! and the Bellingham Police Department.
▪ Be drug- and alcohol-free.
▪ Be supervised 24/7 by HomesNOW!
▪ Not allow sex offenders.
‘A temporary solution’
Gustafson said about 80% of the residents at Swift Haven will be those who had been staying at Camp 210, a group of homeless campers living in tents on the lawns of Bellingham City Hall and the Bellingham Public Library since November to protest the lack of shelter.
“We have acknowledged that local governments need to increase winter sheltering capacity and we are making solid and diligent progress to do so,” Mayor Seth Fleetwood said in a prepared statement to The Bellingham Herald. “Partnering with Whatcom County and HomesNOW! is a key step in that process.”
Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu responded to Swift Haven’s opening by saying, “It’s a temporary solution, but it helps address some immediate needs in our community.”
The Swift Haven site isn’t expected to be the only one in Bellingham.
Fleetwood said is the city was “actively in discussion with a potential operator for an additional site.”
Swift Haven, combined with Base Camp, an emergency shelter operated by faith-based Lighthouse Mission Ministries, increased the available spaces for those who are homeless, according to Fleetwood.
Room at Base Camp shelter
Located on Cornwall Avenue, Base Camp has room for up to 200 people. A total of 110 people stayed there on Wednesday, Dec. 30.
The city and county are leasing the space for Base Camp.
“This progress to increase winter shelter capacity creates the conditions to end the encampment at City Hall, which we expect to occur in January,” Fleetwood said.
Lighthouse Mission Ministries also has said it will open an overflow shelter at its former Drop-In Center, 1013 W. Holly St. in Bellingham, should it need to. That space would accommodate up to 39 men during cold, winter months.
Sidhu also referenced the shared efforts.
“This year, working with our partners, we have significantly increased the number of beds available,” Sidhu said in a prepared statement to The Bellingham Herald.
“However, some of that capacity remains underutilized, and I encourage those experiencing homelessness to make use of the opportunities available today,” Sidhu added, referring to Base Camp.
This story was originally published January 3, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
