Remodeled downtown hygiene center for the homeless already at capacity

John Studley worked 36 years as a hot press operator at a plywood mill before losing his job and some of his dignity.

"I've never been homeless all my life until last year," said Studley, 62, formerly of Klamath Falls in rural southern Oregon.

Through word of mouth, he heard that Seattle was a "homeless-friendly city," a place that helped the down-and-out so much that "they jokingly call it 'Free-attle.' "

That's evident at the Urban Rest Stop, a downtown hygiene center offering showers, laundry facilities and restrooms at no charge to homeless and low-income people. The center recently expanded its laundry facilities, added a women's restroom and created office space.

In September, use of the free center rose 15 percent compared with the same month a year earlier, including a 55 percent increase in laundry users.

Good hygiene is important because "people who are homeless are not necessarily getting the best of care, are not eating well, are not getting enough sleep," said Ronni Gilboa, who manages the Urban Rest Stop for the Low Income Housing Institute, a nonprofit housing and advocacy organization. "Their immune system is compromised."

The remodeled facility at 1924 Ninth Ave. will hold a grand opening from 10 a.m. to noon Thursday.

More than 4,500 people use the facility every month, most of them multiple times, with demand far exceeding the five-shower, nine-washer capacity, Gilboa said.

By early next year, the center hopes to secure funding for an onsite nurse and referral services for housing, employment and substance abuse counseling.

The $660,000 expansion project was funded by the city and state and by private foundations. The center itself operates on about $600,000 annually in federal and city funds.

Regular clientele include Studley and Lionel Berry, who live in shelters, and Judy Smith, who sleeps in a tent.

Seattle is "the place where (homeless) people can eat during the day and not have to beg or bum for change," said Smith, 34.

She returned to Washington from Florida, one of many states the Phoenix native has lived in through the years. About five years ago, Smith worked for a traveling carnival, helping to set up and take down equipment.

Berry, 41, said he hasn't worked much in the past decade after witnessing the slaying of his childhood friend in a random shooting in Seattle. The incident left him with "post-traumatic stress depression," said Berry, a native of Stockton, Calif.

An estimated 60 percent of Urban Rest Stop users are employed, Gilboa said.

When the center opens at 5:30 a.m. weekdays, the working poor already stretch a half block from the front door, waiting to shower before heading to day labor, food service, cleaning and other jobs or to job interviews.

Smith and Berry live on public assistance. Studley receives Social Security payments.

"I could put an Urban Rest Stop in every neighborhood in Seattle and within a month we'd be up to capacity," Gilboa said.

Other Seattle facilities also provide free hygiene services to the homeless, though the services usually are part of comprehensive programs.

The Connections program run by the Downtown Emergency Service Center serves more than 900 people monthly, offering not only free showers, laundry facilities and restrooms, but also housing, vocational, health and other services, executive director Bill Hobson said.

"Hygiene centers by themselves are not where we need to be," he said. "We need to be comprehensive and address a multitude of needs. Cleanliness is one of them."

About 1,000 people per month use the hygiene facilities at the Compass Center, which has an onsite nurse.

"As a human being, the capacity to clean up and to use a toilet as opposed to an alley makes a huge difference in the way you feel about yourself and toward life," executive director Rick Friedhoff said.

Hygiene centers should be seen as "an interim survival mechanism," not the solution, said Bill Block, director of the Committee to End Homelessness in King County.

"It doesn't directly put people into housing," he said. "About 30 percent of homeless people work. It's very difficult to work if there's not a place to shower and wash your clothes as well as (take care of your) basic health."