March  1, 2011 

through 

April 30, 2011 

Homeless In Kitsap  

The voice of and for  

the homeless in Kitsap County 

ìSallyís Campî 

Opens  

     On Monday, February 7, 2011, 

ìSallyís Campî was dedicated 

with prayer (see picture at left) 

and an open house celebration at 

900 Pacific Ave. in downtown 

Bremerton. 

     The camp, operated by  

The Salvation Army and with the help 

of Kitsap Community Resources (they provide case management 

for each screened and background checked family), will provide 

shelter for up to 17 families at a time, 24/7, for six months. It has 

bathrooms, a kitchen, a playroom for little ones, and perhaps 

most importantly, is a safe and sanitary place to be. 

     And ìfamilyî isnít limited to mom and kids. Dads are welcome, 

too, and sons 12 and over.   

     Consider giving yourself a break and taking this opportunity  

to get your life back together. Youíll receive assistance with  

employment seeking (if youíre under or unemployed) and  

securing permanent housing. Your kids will be in a warm, dry, 

safe and secure environment with trained staff to oversee day to 

day operations. This is a gift you can give to yourself and your 

family. If youíre interested call Jim Stowers at KCR, (360) 473- 

2047 or just go to Kitsap Community Resources at 1201 Park 

Ave., in downtown Bremerton.    

YOU MAY QUALIFY FOR A 

FREE CELL PHONE 

AND MINUTES  

     Those of you without homes do not 

have the option of a land-line, yet you 

have the same needs as everyone else: 

to contact emergency services, day care, 

doctor, employer, family and friends, etc.   

    There are several companies that are 

part of the Lifeline Assistance program 

which is supported through the Universal 

Service fund. This fund is paid into by all 

those with home service and appears on 

the bill as a ìRelated Monthly Chargeî. 

     You may qualify if you receive: 

• DSHS Chore Services 

• SNAP 

• SSI 

• TANF 

• COPES 

• SFA 

• Disability Lifeline (GA-U) 

• or if you meet income criteria. 

     Two companies to contact for  

details are Assurance Wireless, 1-888- 

898-4888, and Safelink Wireless, 1- 

800-378-3768. 

Bremerton Rescue Missionís 

MISSION GUY MEAL TRUCK 

visits the DSHS office, 4710 Auto Center 

Way in Bremerton, on Tuesdays and 

Thursdays at 11:30 a.m. to provide lunch 

by  

donation. 

Pay what  

you can  

for a  

nutritious 

meal. 

Larry Steagall, The Kitsap Sun 

Homeless? Hungry? Attending Olympic College?  

If youíre a student at OC and are having a hard time staying in school 

because you canít afford tuition and books AND housing and utilities  

AND food and childcareÖ and could use a little help, stop by the 

STUDENTS IN NEED GROUP (SING)  

office in the Humanities & Student Services Bldg., Rm 206 

Monday thru Thursday, 10 am to 3 

pm, or and/or call program manager  

Patty Thomas at (360) 473-6817. 

 Check out their webpage at  

http://www.olympic.edu/Students/ 

StudentServices/SING/ 

Page 2 

HOMELESS  

Your children CANNOT  

be taken away from you 

just because 

youíre homeless 

per 

WAC 388-15-009 

 (5)(a) 

The ìHomeless In Kitsapî newsletter is 

written and edited by Sally Santana 

(sally.santana @wavecable.com)  

bi-monthly and is reviewed,  

produced and distributed by Major Jim 

Baker of The Salvation Army .  

Send info and updates to Sally. 

What do you think?  

This issue we ask 

Denise Agee,  

program director for 

St. Vincent de Paulís 

women and women with 

children emergency 

shelter in Bremerton 

this question: 

What do you think 

is the value of 

emergency 

shelters? 

Her response: 

      ìJenniferî is sitting in front of meÖ 

with her two children (boys, ages 5 

and 3), telling me what had happened 

to them last night. Homeless for a  

couple weeks, they had been staying 

in their car in a shopping center park- 

ing lot and someone tried to break in 

while they were sleeping.  Jennifer and 

the boys drove around in terror until 

she found a police station. She filed a 

report and the police searched for  

resources to house them for the night. 

They called the crisis clinic and were 

able to find emergency shelter (St. 

Vincentís) that the family could go into 

immediately. There they were safe, fed 

and comfortable.   

     I believe that emergency shelters 

are a lifesaver, for those who go in 

and a crimesaver for the police and 

the community. 

     Emergency Shelters provide  

resources, safety, support and  

comfort to those who are in critical 

need of stability. î  

CHILDCARE 

FOR 

HOMELESS 

CHILDREN  

      

          KCRís Homeless 

Childcare Program assists 

in locating and paying for 

childcare for children  

under age 13 on a short 

term basis. 

     Assistance must be  

for employment or  

employment activity, 

housing search, medical, 

substance abuse, court or 

counseling appointments. 

     Applicants must be  

homeless and not eligible 

for any other daycare  

subsidy program such as 

DSHS Working Connec- 

tions Daycare. 

HOMELESS  

KITSAP 

VETERANS! 

Contact Transitional  

Housing for Homeless Vets 

and Service Center, 1141 

Beach Dr., Bldg. 9 at Retsil 

in Port Orchard. 

call (360) 895-4394  

for details on housing and 

other benefits.    

 ~ FAST FACT ~  

Heat up a can of pop-top stew, soup,  

etc.by setting it on top of your heated  

car engine and stirring till suitably  

warm. You can also heat a can of baby 

formula or jar of food this way. 

Changes to the 

Americans with Disabilities Act 

Limits ìService Animalsî to Dogs 

Effective March 15, 2011 (http:// 

www.ada.gov/regs2010/factsheets/ 

title2_factsheet.html) is this change in the 

definition of ìservice animalî, as stated in 

the Fact Sheet: 

ìThe rule defines ëservice animalí as a dog 

that has been individually trained to do work 

or perform tasks for the benefit  

of an individual with a disability. The rule 

states that other animals, whether wild  

or domestic, do not qualify as service  

animals. Dogs that are not trained to  

perform tasks that mitigate the effects of  

a disability, including dogs that are used 

purely for emotional support, are not  

service animals. The final rule also  

clarifies that individuals with mental  

disabilities who use service animals that are 

trained to perform a certain task are pro- 

tected by the ADA. The rule permits the use 

of trained miniature horses as  

alternatives to dogs, subject to certain limi- 

tations. To allow flexibility in situations 

where using a horse would not be  

appropriate, the final rule does not include 

miniature horses in the definition of ëservice 

animal.î 

Page 3 

HOMELESS  

CALL 

2-1-1  

Or toll free 

1-877- 

211-9274 

if you need  

help finding  

services like  

medical, legal,  

housing and  

financial. 

~ 

Call 

Crisis Clinic  

of the  

Peninsulas 

at (360)  

479-3033 

if you need 

emotional 

support.  

 Necesita ayuda  

con el Ingles?  

Llame al Centro  

de Asistencia  

para  

inmigrantes al  

(360) 440-2376  

  

If you are a homeless  

SINGLE WOMAN 

without children, needing a safe 

car park there is one in Poulsbo. 

Call Rae Rodriguez at 

(360) 779-5190 or stop by North 

Kitsap Fishline, 18916 Third Ave.  

NE in Poulsbo.  

The January 2011 ìKitsap Community Guide for the Homeless and 

Low-Incomeî is now available. Pick one up at DSHS, The Salvation 

Army, Kitsap Community Resources, Kitsap Mental Health Services,  

Kitsap Transit, Kitsap Regional Library branches, and many churches  

and meal sites. Also online at The Kitsap Sunís ìSide Street Newsî  

blog  and City of Bremerton websites (and others).  

ARE YOU AN 

ADULT IN NEED 

OF EMERGENCY 

SHELTER? 

Call (360) 337-4625. 

Kitsap Recovery  

Center has 6 beds 

available and you  

donít have to be in 

recovery to get one.  

Need to 

Cash your 

PAYROLL 

or 

TAX REFUND CHECK 

and donít have a bank account? 

Walmart will cash your check 

(with state ID or Driver License) 

for $3 (if $1,000 or under) and 

$6 (if up to $5,000.) 

No personal checks cashed. 

~ FAST FACT ~ 

Last school year, we had 585 

known children without a home  

in Kitsap school districts. Each  

district has a liaison whose job  

it is to help the student and  

their family get in touch with  

resources that will help them  

stay in and succeed in school.  

Tell your childís teacher or  

office staff person that youíd like  

to speak with the 

ìhomeless liaisonî.  

Need an Address to 

RECEIVE MAIL? 

     You can have your mail delivered to your 

local post office for one month, free of 

charge, using  

General Delivery. 

After that, you would need 

to have it sent in care of a 

family member or friend, 

post office box, etc. All 

require a picture ID for pick-up. 

All Bremerton mail  (return address): 

Your Name 

General Delivery 

Bremerton, WA 98337 

Pick up your mail from the post office at: 

802 Pacific Avenue. 

All South Kitsap:mail (return address): 

Your Name 

General Delivery 

Port Orchard, WA 98366 

Pick up your mail from the post office at: 

1125 Bethel Avenue 

All North Kitsap mail (return address); 

Your name 

General Delivery 

Poulsbo, WA 98370 

Pick up your mail from the post office at: 

19240 Jensen Way 

All Bainbridge Island mail (return address): 

Your name 

General Delivery 

Bainbridge Island, WA 98311 

Pick up your mail from the post office at: 

10355 NE Valley Rd. 

DUE TO 

BUDGET CUTS 

the DSHS office 

at 4710 Auto 

Center Way will 

be CLOSED on 

• March 11 

• April 22 

• June 10th 

However, the Online  

Application for Benefits service 

will be available. Go to: 

http://www.dshs.wa.gov/ 

onlinecso/applying.shtml 

You canít see the opportunities of  

tomorrow if you are focused solely 

on the problems of today. 

Find something to  

express gratitude for each day.  

From a student who wishes to remain anonymous... 

 I was born into a Christian family, but I didnít take it too seriously. I 

was a hypocrite going to church, and leaving to do whatever I wanted in this 

material world. I had to go through things to learn from them. I was becom- 

ing a person I knew I wasnít.  Iíve got one life to live, which sucked so far, 

and I was going to have as much fun as I could. Sound familiar? While I  

always had God speaking in my heart, and I was a relatively nice guy- as my parents taught me to be, I started 

becoming rebellious at the house doing what I wanted, and leaving whenever I wanted.  I thought I could take 

care of myself. Thatís when I moved out at 15. 

         From 15 to 18, I continued to rebel and make poor choices.  I lived between homelessness, couch surfing 

and making false promises to my parents, just to stay with them briefly if I had no where else for shelter.  I was 

pretty much living the life I wanted -  I was partying, popular with women, high every day, tagging the city 

(graffiti,) and getting into fights with or without my friends, hence making myself a reputation.  I was having 

all that fun really no effort to find a job, but once my friends parents started getting tired of me being around 

making no progress at 18, homelessness was becoming more of an issue.  Survival became my focus. I began 

to smoke meth, sleep in a tree house, look really unhealthy, and get myself into life threatening situations with 

a crowd I wasnít meant to be hanging out with, crack heads. Those crack heads ended up stealing a great 

amount of money from my bank.  Every day I looked for the next high to avoid dealing with my homelessness 

and the life I was living, which is why I hung with the crowd I did.  My friendís parents who had taken me in 

or helped me before were no longer there. I was left at the mercy of everyday. 

I tried going back home one last time. While I was waiting for my parents to come home I broke into 

their house just for some food. When they arrived home and my dad calls the cops. Spent a couple days locked 

up When I got out I lived with my aunt, in a tent in her back yard, trying to gain my familyís trust back; Iím 

glad that I had one last chance. While I was with her I did A.A classes and community service for court.  

My family told me I had to take some urine tests if I was going to be living with them. A couple 

months of living with them, I had to take a test, I failed. They also found some pot in the house, so I was 

kicked out of that house. I tried to make it to another court date, but I ended up being late too many times 

(thatís what happens when you have to rely on others,) so the judge arrested me. Once again, Iím locked upÖ 

 More people read the bible in jail than you think.  I did, and I grew quite a bit in there. I get out and 

moved immediately to a co-workers house and his parents. I was only supposed to stay there for 3 days but 

they understood the predicament I was in, and motivation I had for correction. So they let me stay for a while. 

In that time I was doing all 112 hrs of community service in the 1 month I had. For me, from my time in jail to 

staying with my friend and his parents my growing faith in God helped me to mentally focus and straighten out 

my priorities with dedication I never new.  I was still quite far from what youíd call a ìproper citizen of soci- 

etyî. Since I wasnít going through such rough times by then, I had stopped using meth. But to comfort the un- 

stable times I was still going through; drugs, sex, booze and cigarettes were still a part of my life. 

 As the days went by, still having trust in something I couldnít see (aka faith,) I was getting strength, 

motivation and dedication I never once had before on a regular basis.  My friends became others who had 

something going for them- that could mean anything from a positive personality, to studying their way through 

college for a masters degree. These kinds of friends motivated me to keep the ball rolling the other way. I was 

getting closer to finally getting myself out of this homeless entanglement I was in, and thatís no understate- 

ment. My life seemed to be getting better constantly. Since I was doing all this pretty much on my own, it was 

going very slow. But I got my license, I got out of the drug habit (all the way down to not even drinking or 

smoking cigarettes,) I voted too. Iíd say these things arenít just repeated coincidental luck, rather, help from 

God.  

 I will be graduating from alternative high school in June.    

My Voice  

A column from   

our homeless people