Small new homeless shelter in PNW

[Lamentations]

I have about $550 to spend, and I'd like to open a homeless shelter in Bellevue to house about 5-10 people. I think I may be able to keep it open for two months on this budget, but there could be donations to do so with popularity.

I plan to obtain permission from a storage facility, then register as a nonprofit organization. There will likely be anarcho-communist literature available to share there. I will need one or two people to moderate and hand out food as volunteers, though I hope a max of 1/5 the supportable population will be regular donors, who stay there and do so.

I plan to live there myself, as I currently live in another shelter, and Bellevue doesn't seem to be shutting them down.

If you can help organize, volunteer there, research, or would like to donate resources or funds, please contact me.

 

[Deleted member 23824]

This is bound to be a short-lived project. Obtaining a location aside, 550.00 is going to last you about half a day in trying to establish a homeless shelter. Probably not even enough for permitting. You‘ need more like 550,000.00.

 

[Lamentations]

Well, with a little expertise, maybe I can get someone to donate the permits.
I figure I can use boiled water and soap for handwashing, and just spend a lot of time asking at restaurants and offices for them to send drinking water and food, and get the city to bring 2 portable bathrooms. I could advertise for donations of furniture, and split the cost of wireless internet, so, even if it starts out as a drop-in center, people have a place to research or share ideas.

 

[Dameon]

$550 is not enough to really get much of anything started...$550 is barely enough to rent a room for a month in Bellevue, if they somehow didn't want a security deposit or last month's rent, which isn't going to happen. You'd be better off using that money to set up a little kitchen or something to feed people.

 

[Glass Roads]

I would think you would be better off starting a food not bombs or mutual aid disaster relief in your area with those kinds of funds (if there isn't already one in your area).

You may also just want to find fellow egalitarian anarchists and rent a house together to help people. Though if you don't have revenue streams, that can become difficult to maintain. Maybe try hosting some concerts or renting out a room or two to people who are down. Cross your fingers for a chill landlord and be ready to hear complaints from the rest of the neighborhood.

I would think you'll have a hard time finding a storage facility to agree to that.

That all being said, I think it's great that you have the drive to help your community in that way, and I hope you figure out a way to make it work.

We're setting up a Food Not Bombs resource center in Moscow, Idaho. Shoot me a message if you have any logistical questions and I'll try to get ya any answers I can.

Good luck and solidarity

 

[Lysurgeon]

Did anything become of this?

 

[Deleted member 23824]

Of course not. Were you really expecting anything different? Same as the numerous people assuring us they’re heading into the wilderness to live alone, or in a community, to have little to no contact with civilization, forever more. How the hell they gonna get their checks?

Of course nothing ever became of it. Embarrassment at having publicly aired such a pipe-dream is probably why the OP hasn’t logged in since last October.