Letter to the Editor

Help the homeless

To the editor:

I was at the Bainbridge Island Safeway shopping center recently, when I noticed a woman in a wheelchair doubled over in the rain with no raincoat or umbrella. Water was pouring down the back of her neck. Her left foot was bandaged, but both feet were dragging in puddles.

Other people were oblivious as they walked by. I rolled her wheelchair up next to the building, underneath the awning.

After a passerby called 911 we were connected to police. We spent the next 20 minutes haggling with the officer, who said first responders were already there twice that day but she declined their help. He said she is homeless and has been living on BI for four years. She lives in a park, but doesn’t have a tent because the city doesn’t allow camping, except at Fay Bainbridge Park, but she can’t afford to pay.

He said there are no shelters on BI. She would have to apply for housing but has refused because they don’t allow alcohol. I was told she could go into a store to get out of the rain, but would be kicked out for loitering. Police could throw her in jail if someone accused her of trespassing, but then they would have to let her go.

An aid car finally arrived to take her to a hospital. I was totally shaken. Here it was a week before Christmas on this affluent island, and yet this poor soul has fallen through the cracks. I have one thing to say to our elected officials. The most important duty of government is to provide health, safety and sanitation for all our citizens. That duty comes before all others, before a single dime is spent on anything else.

Steven Grassia

Bainbridge Island