‘Safe park’ for Poulsbo’s homeless is a good start

Last week the Poulsbo City Council discussed setting up a “safe park” area to give those people living in their cars a place to sleep overnight. The safe park would allow them to park without being targeted by criminals or breaking the law themselves. It also would grant them access to restroom facilities and — here’s the step in the right direction — a case worker.

The case worker, we’re presuming, would be able to give those who are homeless access to services from which they can benefit. The goal, of course, is to move them from their cars into a permanent home, according to Leif Bentsen, human services planner for the county Department of Personnel and Human Services.

“Living in your car is not a solution,” he said. “It gets them in the loop of getting out.”

He and homeless advocate Sally Santana were at a meeting last week at Olympic College during National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week to promote the idea.

This Friday, when those who are blessed with an abundance are mobbing shopping malls and fighting off tryptophan sluggishness, we have a need for pause.

There are those right here in our communities who don’t have a roof over their heads or enough to eat. We need to reach out to them; to give them the resources they need to turn their lives around.

A safe place to park their cars at night and a case worker to act as their advocate is a good start.

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