MLK Jr. Day at Cate Apartments

MLK Jr. Poster created by children living at Cate Apartmentson January 19th

Upbeat on Jackson Concert Series Presents:

Jim Page and Reggie Garrett

January 24th, 7:30 - Ernestine Anderson Place

2010 S. Jackson Street, Seattle

The Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) and Seattle Department of Neighborhoods are pleased to announce the next show in the Upbeat on Jackson Community Concert Series at Ernestine Anderson Place:  singer/song-writers Jim Page and Reggie Garrett on January 24th.

Jim Page grew up surrounded by the political and social movements of the 1960s. These experiences stayed with him from an early age and greatly impacted the course of his music. Now a world-renowned musician, he continues to write and play music with a message. Jim's activism mixed with his personal blend of folk and rock has earned him a title as one of the "50 Most Influential Musicians in Seattle History." Perhaps one of Jim's most influential acts was his lead role in legalizing Seattle street busking.

Reggie Garrett is another fantastic Seattle artist. He performs mostly original songs mixed with pop covers and more traditional style folk ballads. He is the purveyor of a unique urban strain of acoustic folk and soul music. He has been greatly influenced by a diverse range of genres, including: Latin rhythms, blues, gospel, Celtic and more. His sound has been compared to everything from Bob Dylan to Bill Withers.

Each artist will perform solo, doing both mesmerizing originals and covers, and will also team up for an all too rare duet performance.

All Upbeat on Jackson shows are FREE and open to the public. Free snacks are also included.  Events take place at Ernestine Anderson Place, 2010 S. Jackson St., Seattle. The building is named for Seattle resident Ernestine Anderson, one of the great jazz vocalists of the 20th Century. The concert series is meant to honor Ms. Anderson's musical legacy and bring community members together to create fun and entertaining events that celebrate the history of the neighborhood. The series also allows LIHI to bring high-quality music to seniors and low income people who don't often have access to events of this nature.

Like us on Facebook and please share this with your friends, fans and followers. We hope you can join us! More info: www.upbeatonjackson.org

Mayor Murray Supports Tent Encampments

Nickelsville on Dearborn Ave.

In a bold move for the Mayor, he announced that he will propose an ordinance to allow up to three new permitted encampments in Seattle at any one time. This proposed ordinance, which will be forwarded to the Seattle City Council, will not impact the current encampments sponsored by religious institutions. The ordinance will instead add to the number of encampments by allowing City-owned land to be used as encampment sites. The new encampments will have strict regulations to follow, but this is the first time a Seattle Mayor has shown such support for tent cities and homeless encampments.

"Permitted encampments are not, in my view, a long-term strategy to end homelessness. But planned, organized encampments have less impact on our neighborhoods and provide a safer environment than what we see on our streets today," stated Mayor Murray.

The three encampments will be able to shelter up to 100 people at each site and will be required to move once every 12 months. The sites cannot be located in residential areas or public parks, must be located near transit, and cannot be within one mile of another encampment site. Locations that fit these criteria may be difficult to find. It will be interesting to see which sites are ultimately proposed and accepted.

In another proposed change, the three City encampments do not have to be sponsored by a religious institution. A social service agency can support the City encampments, but they must follow numerous requirements. The selected agencies will need to provide case management services and collect data for the City. There will also be community notification protocols and insurance requirements in place. The City of Seattle will provide staffing and resources to help walk agencies through the process.

"We have not seen the proposed legislation from the Mayor yet, but we are thrilled that he is supporting the use of City-owned property for tent city encampments," said Sharon Lee, Executive Director of LIHI and member of the Task Force. "For homeless families and individuals, it is much better to be living in a safe, well-run tent city than to be out alone sleeping on the streets. Too many homeless people have died from violence and exposure."  

Councilmember Mike O'Brien summed up the sentiment of the Mayor's proposal by stating: "Shelter is a basic human right. As leaders of the City we all have an obligation to make sure that everyone in our community has access to a safe place to sleep." 

Welcome Baskets for

Cheryl Chow Court  

LIHI's newest building, Cheryl Chow Court, accepted its first resident on January 15th.  Ballard and surrounding communities have been very welcoming of our arrival to the neighborhood. Several organizations have contributed donations of clothing, cleaning supplies and hygiene items for the new residents. LIHI would especially like to thank the Seattle Jaycees, St. Luke's Episcopal Church and the Sustainable Ballard Knitters for the Homeless for contributing items for the resident welcome baskets. Thanks to these gracious donations we've been able to completely furnish several of the units.  

LIHI staff display welcome basket items