It seems ironic to me that the City of Olympia can pat itself on the back for all of its good deeds (and it has done some) when it is neglecting what could be the best deed of all -- taking a lead in the efforts to find housing solutions for everyone.

Last year, the Council took an important and compassionate step in adopting an ordinance that allows faith communities to host tent cities. This progressive action allowed Camp Quixote to form, legally, and to benefit both its residents and the Olympia community. The City of Tumwater followed that lead; it is my great hope that Lacey and Thurston County someday will come to the same decision.

So, my suggestion to the Council is this:

Step 1: Before you pass this RV ordinance, do your homework. Take a day off from your job, or a City Council field trip and go downtown and meet the RV residents where they are. Talk to them. Learn of their circumstances. Have them explain to you the discrimination they face from landlords because they have bad credit, because they are felons, because they have fallen on hard times and simply don't have enough money for what is required to move into an apartment here, if they can even find one they can afford (Olympia's apartment vacancy rate is 3.2 percent/actual rent for a 2 bedroom/2 bath apartment is $916, according to last Sunday's Olympian). Figure out, with them, what a solution might be before they chase them out to Tumwater, Lacey or Thurston County, where they will just be chased out again and into the woods, where adults, let alone children, will not be safe.

Step 2: Step out again in a leadership role in the area of finding housing solutions for everyone. A big push that began several years ago to find a regional solution is languishing. Get it started again. Bring folks together. Be creative. Look at what other cities and counties have done around the country. Develop a plan. Take action. The issue of no housing or not-affordable housing is only going to get worse as the economy continues to dive and foreclosures continue to rise along with rent. The already overburdened social service and faith communities can't do this alone, and already are doing the best they can.

And when the war is over, the number of veterans and their families who will swarm to this area because of its proximity to military bases and the health care and other services the bases provide likely will overwhelm whatever affordable housing is left. The already overburdened social service and faith communities can't come up with the solutions alone, and already are doing the best they can with ever-dwindling resources.

Step 3. Open your minds. Examine your hearts. I believe that each one of you has a good one. Find that place of fear in them that leads to stereotyping and muddled decisions based on anecdotal evidence. Represent all of your constituents, even the ones that are too poor to donate to your campaigns. Help people succeed as best you can. Reach out with whatever you've got to a homeless person or family. You will find that they have much more to give to you in terms of perspective, and in terms of love and graciousness, than you can ever imagine.
The solutions, if you want to call them that, seem very far away. In fact, it sometimes seems that none are possible. But if you don't put forth the effort, nothing will happen.

Constructively,

Quixotic