Shelters Help Men Get Lives In Order -- William Booth Center's Transitional Housing Offers A Bridge To Independence

This is one in a series of articles on The Times Fund for the Needy.

Rows of pill bottles line his small bedside table, testament to the illnesses that have drained his body and wearied his soul.

Beside his bed are a stack of single shoes. He hasn't needed the pairs since he lost three toes to gangrene last month.

The small room with a single bed, television and sink is home to John Jones, 63, a retired machinist who lives on a monthly Social Security check and relies on the Department of Veterans Affairs to take care of his many health problems.

"If I could not live here, I could not live," said Jones, of his room at the William Booth Center, a shelter for formerly homeless men operated by the Salvation Army near the Kingdome.

The center, which opened a year ago in a refurbished building in the International District, provides transitional housing for men like Jones who, for various reasons, have no permanent homes.

They may have lost their jobs or arrived in Seattle for jobs that evaporated. Some have just been released from jail; others earn such low wages they can't afford to live anywhere else.

Many have no families to provide the safety net often needed to pull through times of economic stress.

The 50-bed transitional-housing shelter is one of three for men at the William Booth Center, named for the founder of the Salvation Army.

Also housed in the three-story building is an emergency shelter, offering an overnight bed and meal to 100 men, and a mini-shelter that provides dormitory-style living for 40 men who have little income and need a temporary place to stay while they get their lives in order.

Men living in the transitional-housing rooms pay $75 a week and can stay for two years.

The mini-shelter, at $50 a week, provides room and board for up to six months. Ten beds in the mini-shelter have been set aside for the Millionair Club for men who are involved in a job-training program; five rooms in the transitional-housing wing are held for those released by the Department of Corrections.

"It's important for these men to have a space of their own, to have a little privacy," said Wendy Meyer, a case manager in the transitional-housing program.

"A lot of what we do they think they can't do on their own without assistance. A lot of gentlemen, when they get confused, they give up."

The center provides counseling, help in writing a resume and assistance in applying for Social Security benefits.

"A lot of these people don't have basic skills. They have never opened a checking account," said Meyer.

For Jones, who has lived there for a year, the William Booth Center is home. When he goes to the hospital, a frequent occurrence, his room is kept for him.

"It's important. You have to have a place to come home to," said Jones, who has no family.

"It's a place for your belongings, where you know your things are safe. There's no place else you can live for $300 a month."

The center is open to all men 18 and over. The only requirement is that they be sober and clean from drugs, or at least waiting to get into a drug-treatment program.

Ralph Bermudez was one of the first temporary tenants at the center.

A painting contractor in Los Angeles, Bermudez watched his life deteriorate with alcohol, and he knew he had to escape. He'd heard of a fishing job in Seattle, so he moved to the Northwest, only to find out there was no job and no place to stay.

What little money Bermudez had saved quickly evaporated.

"The alcohol was still here, my money was lower and lower," said Bermudez, 32, a big man on whom idleness does not wear well. He began drinking again and using drugs, and went to jail after being accused of assault.

After completing a monthlong program at an alcohol-treatment center, Bermudez turned to the William Booth Center for help.

To say it saved his life is no exaggeration, Bermudez said.

"Without this place I would probably have started selling drugs or making some kind of money hustling," he said.

That Bermudez was an eager, hard worker did not escape Harold Trujillo, the center's assistant director. After Bermudez had lived at the center for five months, Trujillo offered him a job as a security officer and counselor, a job he has held ever since.

Today Bermudez has his own apartment and plans to go to school to obtain a counseling degree. And, last June, Bermudez was married in a ceremony in the William Booth dining room.

"Things are better than I've ever had it in my life," Bermudez said.

The transitional housing and mini-shelter are new programs for the Salvation Army, which has always operated an emergency center for homeless men under the name of the Red Shield Lodge.

It costs about $700,000 to operate the two shelters for a year and an additional $660,000 to run the emergency shelter, Trujillo said.

The Salvation Army relies on federal and city money, as well as on private contributions such as The Times Fund for the Needy.

As is the case with many charities, the Salvation Army is not immune to the economic problems of the region.

"Our money is cut short due to economics, and United Way cut some funding, so we suffered," said Trujillo. "It all trickles down to us."

-- The Fund for the Needy provides necessities for the elderly, sick, unemployed, homeless and working poor, in addition to abused and neglected children. All contributions go directly to six local charities: the Salvation Army, Senior Services of Seattle/King County, Childhaven, Deaconess Children's Services, First Place School for homeless youngsters and Family Services of Seattle/King County. No funds are used for administrative costs, and no money or goods will be given by The Times to individuals featured in the stories. Contributions are tax-deductible. The fund is registered with the secretary of state's charities division in Olympia.