Street Outreach can't find space
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With time running out for Street Outreach Services to find a new location, the director of the downtown Seattle program for homeless and drug-addicted clients says the drop-in center part of the program will be closed at the end of the month.
SOS will continue its one-on-one outreach on the city's streets, providing HIV- and AIDS-prevention information and service referrals, said Executive Director Kris Nyrop. He is continuing to search for office space for SOS, he said yesterday.
"We have looked at several locations, but they were either inappropriate for our needs or places that need thousands of dollars in renovations just to be habitable," Nyrop said.
"This is essentially going back to a 1980s level of HIV-AIDS prevention and education, where we approach people one-on-one, instead of providing a drop-in center where we reach hundreds more people a day. But that is our best choice right now."
At Second Avenue and Pike Street for the past 11 years, SOS lost its lease this year when the building owner announced plans to redevelop the block as retail and office space. The operation must leave the storefront location at 1503 Second Ave. by the end of this month.
SOS is a nonprofit organization that receives some of its funding from the Seattle/King County health department and raises the rest through grants and donations. It serves as many as 300 clients a day, most of whom are homeless and abusing drugs and alcohol.
Drop-in clients have been able to attend 12-step recovery meetings, watch TV, grab a cup of coffee and get referrals for counseling, drug-treatment and other social-services at the SOS storefront.
A needle exchange funded by King County is next door to SOS; its lease runs through August.
For years, before and since SOS opened its doors, business owners, tourists and residents of the area have complained about the littered and often crowded block. Many say they feel threatened by the presence of the people who congregate in the area.
When the SOS lease expired in February, Nyrop and clients staged a protest rally, refusing to leave their operation. A compromise was worked out, with the city agreeing to requests from landlord Richard Nimmer that extra police protection be provided for the area, and that a promise be extracted from SOS to move in 90 days.
At that time, Mayor Greg Nickels' office said it would help SOS work out details for a move once the program found a new location to lease. The Low Income Housing Institute, a nonprofit that develops and assists with community facilities throughout Seattle, was brought in to help with the search and relocation process.
But an affordable space that would work for SOS could not be located, Nyrop said.
"We need a ground-floor location — obviously it won't work for us to share a floor with other office tenants in a high-rise. And we need to be walking distance from the Metro Ride-Free zone."
While it is not clear yet how the SOS drop-in center's services might be covered by other agencies and programs, local service providers and public-health officials confirm that SOS fills an important role in serving the needs of homeless and drug-addicted people.
"We see SOS as essential partners in HIV/AIDS control and important for addressing other problems that the homeless and addicted clients face," said Bob Wood, director of Seattle-King County's HIV/AIDS Control Program. "One-on-one outreach efforts on the street are useful, but these clients still need comprehensive services, including counseling, assistance with housing and drug-treatment referrals."
Kimberly B. Marlowe: 206-464-2061 or kmarlowe@seattletimes.com.