Submitted by Bruce Dammeier, Executive.
Grabbing a shovel and helping turn the dirt that will become the Good Neighbor Village was a fantastic way to begin the holiday season.
We are a week away from the day our nation sets aside to be thankful for the many blessings we enjoy. However, for the men and women in our community trapped living on the streets, many with untreated mental illness and addiction, I suspect Thanksgiving may ring a bit hollow for them. In many instances, bridges to family members and friends have been burned and they are isolated from true community.
However, yesterday’s groundbreaking offers hope for those who may feel hopeless and alone. A transformative community with services, supports, employment and 285 micro-homes for our chronically homeless neighbors is under construction.
The Good Neighbor Village has reached this important milestone after years of planning, permitting, and hearings. I’m grateful for everyone who helped us get to this point, especially our partner, the Tacoma Rescue Mission. The broader community will now have the chance to be part of this transformative effort – through volunteering, advocating, and donating.
I can’t wait until the first microhomes are finished and new neighbors move in – beginning their recovery, working, paying rent, and joining the community. While that celebration is still in the future, we can now see it on the horizon, and it’s beautiful!
Thanks for reading.
REALLY?
“I can’t wait until the first microhomes are finished and new neighbors move in – beginning their recovery, working, paying rent, and joining the community. While that celebration is still in the future, we can now see it on the horizon, and it’s beautiful!”
Bruce Dammeier, PC Exec & TRM.
GREAT! Let’s keep this fantasy in mind for review in one year, two. Remember the concept, model, funding, promise; maybe could have waited for Musk to populate Mars. Hey, there’s an option. Call me a skeptic. Keep track of costs and consequence. Truthiness will tell.
Well said!
Considering that they’ve already started grading roads and disrupting wetland flows without the proper environmental studies or permits, it’s hard for me to believe that this project won’t do permanent harm to the ecology of that area. Who is going to monitor the construction and make sure this project doesn’t permenantly damage those vital wetlands and habitat? Are there going to be consequences if they cause environmental damage? Will they be required to make it right? In spite of the concern of the citizens of that community, it looks like the county and the TRM are bound and determined to impose this solution upon all of us.
Another environmental disaster… loss of a thriving ecosystem.
We need to provide for people who are homeless but this location was
a poor choice!