Tag Archives: youth

19th Ave homeless youth facility PSKS to close as Seattle City Hall pushes away from shelter funding

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(Image: PSKS)

Peace for the Streets by Kids from the Streets, the mouthful of a name, year-round, overnight youth shelter on 19th Ave just off Madison must close before the end of the year.

“The Board of Directors of Peace for the Streets by Kids from the Streets (PSKS) has spent the past two years investigating the best possible future for our programs serving youth and young adults experiencing homelessness,” the PSKS announcement reads. “After in-depth conversations with partner service providers, the City of Seattle, and private funders, we have come to the very difficult decision that PSKS must close its doors no later than December 31.”

The Seattle Times was first to report the decision in an in-depth look at what the loss will mean for young homeless people who depend on the shelter’s 25 beds in a city cutting back on emergency shelter spending in favor of “enhanced shelters” and what city officials say will be longer term housing solutions.

“I would consider PSKS to be the canary in the coal mine,” PSKS board member and former board president Andrea Vitalich tells the Times. “Because the entire service-providing model is not sustainable.”

The decision to close the shelter comes three years after CHS reported the sale of the property by longtime owners Mount Zion Baptist Church and the few years remaining on its lease. Continue reading →

Seattle schools are now LGBTQ Safe Places, too

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(Image: City of Seattle)

(Image: City of Seattle)

“While we see a rolling back of civil rights protections for LGBTQ people in some corners of the country, Seattle remains inclusive and welcoming to all people.”

The SPD program launched on Capitol Hill in 2015 for businesses and organizations to provide safe haven for victims and raise awareness of anti-LGBTQ hate crime is now in place across the city’s school system.

All 98 Seattle Public Schools will now be Safe Places.

“While we see a rolling back of civil rights protections for LGBTQ people in some corners of the country, Seattle remains inclusive and welcoming to all people,” Mayor Ed Murray said in an announcement on the new rollout for the program. “SPD Safe Place brings together businesses, community organizations, and the public to stand up against hate and intolerance. I applaud Seattle Public Schools for bringing this important program to our schools, empowering students to speak out against anti-LGBTQ harassment.”

Known for its rainbow bad stickers, the program also includes SPDSAFEPLACE.com which is designed as a portal with information about bias crimes and prevention along with tools to help victims report incidents.

To be part of the program, participants must pledge to prepare their businesses as safe harbors for victims and train employees:

By signing this commitment pledge I agree to use these decals/signs for their intended purpose by posting them on my premise. I further agree to instruct my organization’s employees to assist the victims and/or witnesses to anti-LGBTQ crimes by calling the police on their behalf and allowing them to remain on my premise until police arrive.

You can sign up to get the decals here.

“Our district is proud to partner with the City and the Seattle Police Department to make all of our schools Safe Places,” Seattle Public Schools superintendent Larry Nyland said. “This is a continuation of our commitment to ensuring all our students feel safe and equal in our schools”

SPD says the Safe Place program has now reached 1,600 locations across the city.