The 11 homeless shelters slated for closure Thursday due to a lack of city funds will remain open—at least for the next one month—thanks to $10,500 in donations. The non-profit Seattle Housing and Resource Effort (SHARE), which contracts with the City of Seattle to provide homeless services, announced Saturday that it was falling $50,000 short of the funds it needed from the city to buy bus tickets for its clients and keep 11 of its 15 indoor shelters running. SHARE annually receives $300,000 from the city, which is facing a $56 million budget shortfall next year. SHARE briefly met with Mayor Mike McGinn at City Hall yesterday but no clear resolution was found.

However, SHARE announced this afternoon that several generous donations had made it possible to keep the shelters open beyond Thursday. “There was one donation for $2000, but most of them are in the hundreds,” said a SHARE volunteer who asked to remain anonymous. If SHARE had closed the shelters, 400 people would have been without a place to sleep at night.

SHARE member Jerry Thomas said that the donations were made though PayPal on the SHARE website. “It’s fantastic,” he said. “I don’t know who these people are but I am grateful to them,” said. “Of course we still need emergency funding from the city to last us the rest of the year.”

11 replies on “Homeless Shelters Get $10,500 to Stay Open”

  2. Doubt it.

    Everything’s going to the Billionaires’ Tunnel – can’t you hear the Giant Sucking Sound already? Just ask people who park their cars near the waterfront – their rates are going up now.

  3. No, Share gets $10,500 to STFU.

    “it was falling $50,000 short of the funds it needed from the city to buy bus tickets for its clients and keep 11 of its 15 indoor shelters running.”

    Which one is it, $50k for bus tickets (their previous demand…you know, so bums can hawk them on Craigslist) or $50K to keep the shelters open?

    I know some of these guys have addled their brains pretty badly with malt liquor, but either SHARE is a bunch of disingenuous assholes or disingenuous morons on this one.

    Good move by McGinn, give them $11K, pat them on the head and tell them to fuck off like we did hear in Ballard.

    BTW everyone remember last years’ Share protest where homeless complained to the city council that Share basically told them if they wanted shelter they had to protest?

  5. No need to wait for city hall – donate! Maybe some kind folks who work for companies that match donations (i.e. the deathstar over in Redmond) will join in?

  6. How much money was raised to keep the Fourth of July fireworks exploding for everyone’s pleasure?

    How much money was raised to keep the lowest caste people of our society from falling to the bottom of humiliation and depravity?

    Priorities, People. Priorities.

  9. I’ve been following this story in the Stranger and the Times, and if you’re not reading closely, it’s easy to come away with the impression that shelters may be closing because the city cut SHARE’s funding. But as far as I can tell, that’s not the case. Instead, SHARE needs an extra $50,000 on top of the $300,000 they are already receiving.

    SHARE may well have some very good reason(s) for increased operating costs — I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve experienced increased need, higher rents, etc. — so why aren’t we getting details about why they need more money? It’s one thing to have a money crisis because your agency is suddenly receiving significantly less funding than it did the previous year. It’s quite another to say “We need money pronto or shelters will close” when you’re receiving just as much money as you did last year.

  10. @6,

    Millions of private and public dollars every year go to the homeless in this city alone. How’d you like a cup of shut the fuck up?

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