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Amazon To Build Homeless Shelter In Its New Seattle Headquarters (cnn.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the do-your-part dept.

Amazon is trying to do its part to help the homelessness problem in its hometown of Seattle. The company announced on Wednesday that it would donate more than 47,000 square feet of space within its newest Seattle headquarters building as a permanent location to house homeless people. CNNMoney reports: "Mary's Place does incredible, life-saving work every day for women, children, and families experiencing homelessness in the Seattle community," Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said in a statement. "We are lucky to count them as neighbors and thrilled to offer them a permanent home within our downtown Seattle headquarters." Amazon is partnering with local nonprofit Mary's Place to create 65 rooms, which will house more than 200 homeless people every night. The new Mary's Place shelter will open in early 2020. It will also have a resource center like those the nonprofit offers in North Seattle and White Center, where 40-plus local nonprofits and volunteers work with staff to help families obtain employment and permanent housing.

6 of 238 comments (clear)

  1. equal opportunity homelessness by crafoo · · Score: 5, Interesting

    "...life-saving work every day for women, children, and families experiencing homelessness..."

    Well, at least men got included as long as they support a family. Wouldn't want all of those useless, disposable freeloading homeless men taking up a shelter slot.

    1. Re:equal opportunity homelessness by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Far too much truth telling in your post. Few will want to listen to it. There's a lot we could do for treatment, but it would have to be involuntary - and that is just not going to happen now. They either have to be willing to get treatment, or they have to be an immediate danger.

      The saddest part - is that the people who are able to get on government disability, end up being worse off because it just enables their addictions.

    2. Re:equal opportunity homelessness by swb · · Score: 2, Interesting

      1. Setup large dormitory style structures with staff (social workers, mental health, etc) for homeless transitional housing.

      2. Vigorously enforce laws on trespass and vagrancy

      3. Give repeat offenders of #2 a choice to go the homeless shelter and get evaluated or go to jail for two weeks

      4. Create a separate section of the jail for homeless people, but make it more like boot camp. Mandatory wake times, showers, and labor.

      At the homeless shelter, screen for mental illness and commit people with serious mental illness. Everyone else gets intensive support to not be homeless, and those who actually want not to be homeless will have the tools/support to do it.

      People who *choose* homelessness and won't take support deal with strict law enforcement on vagrancy, trespass, etc. They'll move along versus spending more than a couple of cycles in a boot camp jail.

  2. Hmmmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I wonder how many of its own employees will take advantage of this.

  3. Re: Why? by thundercattt · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Of course men. Women have a valuable commodity they can trade for food/shelter/sugar daddy. I see them doing this as a tax write-off. Why not give them jobs? Even if it's a yard worker or garbage picker upper.

  4. Re: Why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Why not give them jobs?

    You have a deep misunderstanding of what causes homelessness and why it is such an intractable problem. They are not "just like you and me" except without homes. Most homeless people have mental health issues, substance abuse issues, and are in general very dysfunctional people. If they were employable, then they wouldn't be homeless in the first place.