Letters to the editor
Published 1:30 am Friday, May 22, 2026
Compassion requires support
To the editor:
No vulnerable person should feel isolated from the care and support they need. Challenges can arise, however, when residents needing substantial support are placed in a geographically isolated community without adequate services already in place. Good intentions alone cannot substitute for accessible care and long-term stability.
In its IRS Form 990 filings, LIHI describes its long-standing mission as serving people experiencing homelessness and providing transitional housing. The proposed LIHI project at 625 Winslow Way is, in part, intended to serve residents facing housing instability.
These are important goals, and most Bainbridge residents support helping people in need. But compassion also requires honesty about whether the necessary support services are available before placing vulnerable residents in a community with limited resources.
Bainbridge Island is not Seattle. The nearest inpatient behavioral health facility, Kitsap Mental Health Services in Bremerton, is roughly 25 miles away, and many essential medical and counseling services already require difficult off-island travel.
Housing alone does not guarantee recovery, stability, or connection to care.
Vulnerable residents deserve realistic access to treatment, counseling, transportation, and emergency services.
David Schutz
Bainbridge Island
No housing at 625 Winslow
To the editor:
I am a proponent of affordable housing on Bainbridge, just not at the corner of 305 and Winslow Way E. Common sense alone would dictate that this location at the busiest intersection on Bainbridge, the gateway to our island, is a mistake. The city is trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.
I feel the city has lost its way and now lacks the insight, expertise, and common sense to plan large projects. Case in point, the Madison Avenue repair debacle. If any other business or homeowner had inconvenienced so many people for so long, due to that type of inadequate planning and project execution, they would have been shut down.
The City Council appoints its own Mayor, thus effectively eliminating an independent voice from being heard. I recognize I could be totally wrong about all of this, and talking out (my you know what), however, when something doesn’t pass the sniff test, it’s time to find the source, and for me, this project doesn’t pass the sniff test.
So, yes to affordable housing on Bainbridge, and I think anyone who cares about human dignity and diversity does as well. Affordable housing on Bainbridge is possible, just not at this location. Let’s build some affordable housing we can actually afford, and in an area that isn’t going to impact an already overburdened area.
Christopher Jacobsen
Bainbridge Island
Human Rights concerns
To the editor:
These gendered sports initiatives are gateway wedges to dehumanization and human rights violations. From the kidnapping of our neighbors, to mass incarceration and deportation, to disenfranchisement and the theft of bodily autonomy, all require the ability to deny the humanity of the person in front of you.
Dehumanizing bills that attack kids are where many states have gotten that practice. Don’t become a state of hate, Washington. Nip this virulence in the bud. Let all kids play.
Deanna Vandiver
Bainbridge Island
