June 13th, 2018 Jim Peterson
Opinion
Whatcom County is nestled between the Salish Sea, Mount Baker and Canada, about 100 miles north of Seattle. By most accounts, it is an idyllic location: a university town (Bellingham), agriculture, outdoor recreation, a beautiful climate. But it has problems too, including ever-increasing homelessness.
In June 2017 Doug Gustafson and I founded HomesNOW! Not Later, a 100 percent volunteer program headquartered in Bellingham. As a homeless activist and having been homeless myself for 17 years, I saw that despite the efforts of local organizations, the homeless situation was worsening, and overnight shelters could not come close to providing a solution. One of the primary goals of our organization is housing first with social services following. […]
