LIHI responses
From: Sharon Lee
Subject: Response to Stranger on THV
Date: January 18, 2023 at 8:11:04 PM PST
We read the letter from the mutual aid groups concerning our operation of Tiny House Villages. As long time advocates for shelter and services for Seattle's homeless population we take all suggestions and criticisms seriously. It should be noted that the people who signed this letter did not have first hand knowledge about our practices. They did not contact us in advance and did not sit down and talk with us to learn the truth.
LIHI operates 14 villages in King County and we have a very dedicated staff that cares deeply about the health and welfare of our program participants. It won't be a shock to anyone that this is extremely challenging work; as a low barrier program we enroll homeless people with substance use challenges, mental health and behavioral issues, chronic health conditions, and many other factors.
When there is a safety issue for our staff, or if our other program participants are under threat from another client, we have to take those concerns very seriously. This is why we have a code of conduct for people to follow. Our case managers are trained in trauma informed care practices and de-escalation. Unfortunately, de-escalation alone can not solve every problem, especially if the safety of our staff or other program participants are at risk. When this happens we have an exit procedure that we follow that includes a right for the client to request an appeal. It is understandable that former clients that had their appeal denied would be upset. But we have a practice of lining up other shelter and program options for them so they are not turned out on the street.
In regards to the mutual aid groups assertion that we have left two deceased clients unnoticed for a week, this is simply untrue. We have a practice of conducting wellness checks on our program participants every 72 hours if we haven't seen them or if they haven't signed in. It is true that we recently had a tragic death due to a drug overdose, and this person was discovered within 72 hours. He was discovered because we followed our wellness check policy.
Anytime someone dies at a village it is a traumatic event for our staff and the other villagers. In this case a commerative service was held and grief counseling was offered to all villagers and staff. Like most other shelter providers we are seeing more cases of opioid overdoses. We have been proactive about trying to stop people from dying. We have Narcan kits available at the villages to reverse potential overdoses. We have longstanding partnerships with King County Public Health and the People's Harm Reduction Alliance. Our dedicated staff have saved many lives by coming to the aid of people who are in danger or have life threatening conditions. We have numerous cases to support this.
In regards to mental health, LIHI has led efforts in the City of Seattle's budget process to fight for more behavioral health services at our villages. We have behavioral health professionals from Therapeutic Health Services, Comprehensive Life Resources and Lifelong at our sites. The providers specialize in mental health and substance use disorders. We see the positive impact these services have for our program participants.
Anytime a villager has a concern about the provision of our services we want to hear about it, and learn from their experience so we can do better in the future. We are constantly making improvements to the program, and want to make sure our services are provided equitably.
We are pleased that our case management staff have a high rate of success in transitioning people into housing compared with other shelter programs.
We are happy to meet with the mutual aid group. We contacted them to request a meeting and are waiting to hear back.
Sharon H. Lee
Executive Director
Low Income Housing Institute
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