We took part in Housing and Homelessness Advocacy Day on January 28th. Though we had wanted to advocate for funding in the past, we were a bit intimidated and lacked confidence. But when the opportunity arose this year, we were ready—and honored— to be present as representatives for Plymouth Housing Group.
Story by Theresa Hohman & Brandon Getz, Building Managers, Plymouth Housing Group
We were in a group of about 35 people who were invited to meet with Rep. Frank Chopp, Speaker of the Washington State House of Representatives.
Any of you that might be feeling a little bit skeptical about the political process these days should keep reading. Really. Theresa, building manager of Plymouth’s Pat Williams Apartments (our first clean and sober building!), recounts a genuinely inspiring experience:
I said, “Hello, I want to thank you for your ongoing support. I work for Plymouth Housing Group which, as you know, is an organization that houses almost 1,000 people who were once chronically homeless. So I was trying to think of the best story to share with you to highlight the vulnerability of our residents—the vulnerability that makes support like the Housing Trust Fund, ABD and HEN so essential.”
“I thought that maybe I’d talk about the resident I spent New Year’s eve with—in the hospital. The man whose life was so ravaged by relentless emotional pain that he drank hand sanitizer 13 times between December 13th and January 3rd in an effort to commit suicide. The same man who was released to me at the end of the evening because there was no place for him in the mental health system.”
“But maybe I should tell you about the tenant who lived under a bridge for 20 years before he came to live at Plymouth. Or the tenant who barks and has conversations with people I can’t see; the schizophrenic man who paces the hall; or the tenant who says very little and just stares. And the three tenants with head injuries for whom Plymouth means safety at home instead of vulnerability on the streets.”
In the end, I mentioned them all. And then I posed this question:
“Where would these people be if they were not in permanent housing with support services? I’m here today to ask you to continue investing in the Washington State Housing Trust Fund so that we can provide enough safe, healthy, affordable homes and supportive services to meet the need of our state’s most vulnerable residents.”
And you know what? Representative Chopp really listened. He graciously thanked me for sharing these stories, saying they gave him exactly the information he needed to educate others on the importance of adequate funding.