experiencing homelessness in King County
that’s a really big number for me to get
my head around homelessness is a complex
emotional issue so much so that for most
of us we quiet our compassion and we
simply walk past those suffering two
years ago my father and I began
discussions about how we as architects
could use design to create a path for
everyone to get involved in ending
homelessness we want to do this for
those living on our streets
first and foremost but also for each and
every one of us because homelessness
affects all of us
we all carry a piece of it with us
regardless of our connection to it
so my daughter Jen and I were both born
in Seattle
and we absolutely love living here we
share so many similar feelings about how
amazing this place is
and a big part of that is that we know
that we live in a city that cares that
is willing to step forward to make
change happen when change is needed like
how we all recycle which is a great
example when I was growing up here
nobody recycled everything I mean every
little thing just went to the dump but
in 1988 when I was just one year old
Seattle led the nation in a curbside
recycling program a grassroots movement
led by one person picked up recyclables
from his neighbor’s in the Fremont
neighborhood and because of his actions
for the last 30 years we have all
recycled it’s profound to me the change
that one person can create here’s
another big change that happened in our
city when I was a kid you didn’t swim in
Lake Washington because of all of the
residential and industrial sewage being
dumped into the lake in fact the Post
Intelligencer called it Lake stinko but
by the time I was old enough to swim
Lake Washington was clean and beautiful
all set into motion by one person’s
research at the University of Washington
today it is still studied as one of the
best lake restoration examples in the
world and this some 40 years ago a my
high school in this city and I am deeply
ashamed to share this there were
students bragging about beating up gays
in the parks on weekends but I went to
the same high school as my father and as
horrible as that is I can tell you that
I had two friends that were openly gay
students there are times circumstances
conditions when we all know that we need
to come together to take action it’s
like when a river is about to crest and
flood a town and everyone pitches in to
stock sandbags and do whatever they can
to to help but today Seattle is flooded
with people unable to find housing for
two years now our city and our county
have a declared state of civil emergency
on homelessness with people sleeping
under bridges under freeways in parks
and along sidewalks it’s as if the
floodwaters of homelessness have Crested
and are now flowing freely through our
neighborhoods this is not the Seattle
that I grew up with nor is it the
feelings that we both have about our
city we are at a critical tipping point
right now right here on whether or not
we are going to accept homelessness as
some new normal for now and future
generations or if we’re going to step
forward and make the change needed like
the profound changes this city has made
in the short 30 years between the both
of us in this image there are nine
thousand faces representing the
approximate number of people currently
living homeless in Seattle each face has
been minimized so much so that they
blend into the one the oneness of
homelessness this is how we see the
homeless as a group it is a major
stumbling block we are all compassionate
people we all care
but often we don’t know what to do
because the problem is just too big too
monolithic but there is something we can
do when we zoom in to see just a hundred
and twelve of these faces we can begin
to see the uniqueness of each face and
when we come closer yet to see just
twenty eight faces something remarkable
happens we begin to see the individual
and get a feeling for that person and
then when we come to stand fully in
front of just three people Caesar
Cory and Shelly here and I tell you
something about each person about how
Caesar despite being homeless has
continued to pursue his voice acting
career and Cory who was a flight
attendant for six years married to a
pilot but is now right now sleeping in a
tent in the Arboretum or Shelly about
his work as a vendor and a board member
at the real change Street newspaper it
is in these connections that we can
begin to open and in that moment we no
longer see the huge monolithic issue but
instead a person a person like Tyler
here who lives in an RV with his father
every person here today would want for
Tyler what we have for ourselves and
that is not just shelter but a home in a
community to live in when we see the
individual person within the larger
issue this is the beginning of the
solution
we have an idea for a path out of
homelessness it’s called the block
project and what the block project is is
putting very small homes in people’s
backyards for those in need one per
block block by block
now before Airbnb the thought of
inviting a complete stranger into your
was unthinkable I mean really what if
they were an axe murderer but my mom who
is here today hi mom
hi granny sleeps just fine in fact
better than fine she loves all the new
friends she’s making in the reimagining
of our personal space much like Airbnb
and uber have done for our homes and our
cars we know that this will also happen
for our backyards we want to put a home
on every residential block in the city
when we do this everyone currently
living on the streets would have a place
to call home and we’re asking all of you
here today
to consider putting one in your
neighborhood now as architects we want
these homes to be beautiful and
thoughtfully designed and definitely
durable and maintenance-free but most
importantly we want these to be a
dignified place to live it is not enough
to just offer someone shelter from the
elements we need to go beyond that we
need to be able to say we believe in you
and we want you to succeed the homes are
125 square feet and they have within
this a kitchen a bathroom a bed storage
and a front porch to sit on a covered
front porch each home makes use of the
latest cutting-edge technology for us to
live sustainably and responsibly on our
planet our goal is that they’ll all be
living Building Challenge certified
which is the most rigorous benchmark for
[Music]
in our built environment meaning that
the systems are going to be completely
off-grid all of the power comes from
solar panels all of the water including
drinking water comes from roof water
catchment and purification and all of
the waste water is dealt with on site
through a composting toilet and
subsurface irrigation for shower and
sink gray water what this means is that
there’ll be no utility bills coming in
the mail for this home with one of these
on each block in the city acting as
little learning centers for
sustainability imagine how this will
transform and educate our city on living
green and even more importantly though
than the building itself is its
connections to the neighbors ending
homelessness is not just about building
housing as architects we can tell you
that’s the easy part
nor is it about finding compassionate
people to step forward there are
compassionate people everywhere
what this is about is giving
compassionate people a path to step
forward on we want to share the story of
the first people that stepped up this is
Kim and Dan shortly after they met Bobby
back in June Kim and Dan live in the
Beacon Hill neighborhood and Bobby
standing in the middle of there has
lived in Seattle on the streets and in
shelters for ten years and this is Bobby
two months ago
having dinner with friends outside of
so how did this happen for starters the
number of folks living on the street
really troubled Kim and Dan and when
they heard about the block project they
saw a way they could make a difference
and they loved how there was a place for
everyone to get involved whether that
was with time skills funds or simply a
backyard this is important because many
of us want to help we just don’t know
how what’s also important to know is
that Kim and Dan are regular people just
like all of us did they have worries
when they first look into this project
of course they did
for example they self-identify as
introverts and they were worried about
their privacy but in that very same time
they were motivated to look for
solutions there was lots of questions
but Kim and Dan worked closely with
facing homelessness the nonprofit that
now owns and manages the project to find
answers for instance they learned that
each resident comes with professional
services for their specific needs
once they felt comfortable they filled
out an application and began the
matchmaking process and here’s Bobby
flying a sign downtown Seattle he’s 75
years old he is First Nation Cree people
and he’s working with Chief Seattle Club
to have some of his needs met when Chief
Seattle Club contact looked into the
block project through facing
homelessness they suggested that Bobby
would be a good fit for the block
project and for Kim and Dan all of the
agencies involved in this project
including Chief Seattle Club the Sophia
Way community psychiatric clinic and
Mary’s place all work closely with
facing homelessness to free up the host
family of any responsibility
coordination and even the landlord
tenant contract is between facing
homelessness and the resident so once
all of the information had gone through
and the check boxes checked it was time
to see if the three of them actually
were a good fit and what they learned
was that Bobby and Dan both loved to
play music and Bobby and Kim are Bobby
Kim really enjoy gardening and would all
three
them absolutely and unbelievably love is
cats for these four for these four it
was love at first sight next Kim and Dan
took handouts to all their neighbors on
the Block explaining their plans to put
a block home in their neighborhood and
to invite them to an evening gathering
at their place to talk about any
feelings and concerns this is a really
important part of the block project
process while the homes are completely
legal under current zoning we do not
want to put a block home on a block if
even one person is against it this is
not about finding housing for people
that are currently homeless only to make
people that are in homes feel
uncomfortable
this isn’t about trading comfort this is
about creating healthy loving
communities of neighbors and we are
extremely excited to tell you that
everyone on Dan and Camus Block right
from the beginning including the
neighbors that are adjacent to the
backyard Pete here and Scott and his
family were all 100% supportive and
welcoming – Bobby – this block to give
you an idea of how involved the larger
community has been all of the legal work
for this project has been donated all of
the engineering including structural
civil and mechanical has all been
donated all the landscape architectural
design was all donated and almost all of
the actual construction labor was
donated this project is community funded
now we all need our connections and our
worth in community for those that are
living outside homeless they must
transition from being seen as the other
to a place where they feel they belong
and for all of us living inside whether
it is homes in apartments condos we too
need our connections we need to feel
that we belong in this city and that we
live in a city that cares about each
other this is an important part of the
block project and its ability to bring
people together and to turn strangers
into friends Sam a neighbor on Bobby’s
block and I cooked too much lasagna I
can offer extra to him or if it’s
laundry day for me I may ask him if
there’s anything he needs washed in turn
he may ask me if there’s anything I’m in
need of by being neighbors we get to
know each other and we can offer what we
have this is important part of this
entire process is the getting to know
each other because in that moment we can
offer what we have and we have so many
ideas that we’ve been talking about to
facilitate that one of the ones that
we’re very excited about is hooking up
exercise bikes to each of the Block
homes battery pack for the solar panels
so that when neighbors come to visit and
they chat they can also spin and
literally
[Music]
and literally give their energy to the
block block residents we’re also working
on an app that not only connects people
on the block but residents to residents
and host families to host families
making it easy to reach out and take
part everything being done on this
project is driven by the question can
this bring neighbors together now we
know on Kim and Dan’s block it has
brought neighbors together but really
can we do this across our entire city
block by block with Bobby’s home just
completed I am thrilled to tell you that
we have over 50 families that have
already stepped forward to say yes yes
in my back
this is Dave and mashaallah and their
sweet dog Maria they live in the
Greenwood neighborhood and said they’re
fortunate enough to own a home and they
have a backyard
of course they would do this and they’ve
invited Cesar who’s lived on the streets
for five years to come live in their
backyard
[Applause]
and this is Lex and Mariana they live in
the crown Hill neighborhood and they are
80 years old and they have invited a
young woman with a newborn that is
currently being seen by Mary’s place to
live in their backyard and this is
Nathan and Sonia and their two kids sky
and ocean and they’ve said yes yes to
Shelly Shelly who will tell you himself
that he is 64 years young and I can tell
you that he is maybe the sweetest man
I’ve ever met and what we know about him
is that community is the most important
thing for him and that this family
already makes him feel like he belongs
when we were standing on their front
porch getting ready for all of them to
meet for the first time I looked over at
Shelly and I was wondering about all the
questions that must be running through
his head such as the very basic one will
they like me and in that very moment the
door swung wide open and Skye with her
beautiful smile said hello welcome come
in this is the block project and what
it’s doing it is welcoming us all in for
the last seven years I have been taking
pictures and listening to the life
stories of people that are homeless and
I can tell you that what has been woven
through every single one of those
exchanges is the need to belong to
simply belong three months ago my
husband Josh and I brought these two
beautiful boys into the world
[Applause]
in the thirty years between my father
and myself homelessness has become a
crisis and now with another 30 years
between myself and my children I hope
our hope is that my kids will be able to
grow up and look back and say that
homelessness is no longer an issue
because they live in a city that cares
to make change happen when changes needed thank you