Homefullness in so-called Whatcom County: Can we get a witness?

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Click the image of the POOR Press store webpage displaying the cover of the Homefulness Handbook for ordering a copy of the handbook. The page provides additional information about the book

November 15, 2021 Dena Jensen

Bellingham City Council held their November 15, 2021 Special Meeting – Public Comment session tonight. These sessions are not recorded. I have been trying to record each of them, myself, so I have a record of what our community members want their representatives to know. And I keep and submit a written copy of my comments via EngageBellingham, because over half of Council Members do not attend the public comment session each week that they occur, so they apparently never get to hear what has been said.

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Kristina Michele Martens shares post-election perspectives with Noisy Waters Northwest

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Image of Kristina Michele Martens, the apparent winner of Bellingham City Council’s At-Large seat in the 2021 general election. She will be the first Black woman to serve on that Council. She is smiling in the photo, is wearing a dark top with buttons, and there is green landscaping behind her.

November 8, 2021 Dena Jensen

But I just truly hope that a lot of people that would have normally never paid attention to a Council race or a campaign this long, and never thought that they could see themselves in local government and/or being able to have an impact – I’m hoping I inspired a handful who will go on to do the same, so that there’s just more people who understand the exact crises that we’re up against, being able to discuss them at a level that actually has impact. 

— Kristina Michele Martens
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No word on restroom access for unsheltered people in Whatcom County / Noisy Waters Northwest

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November 4, 2021 Dena Jensen

So here’s an email chain on which to reflect and see how we can break through this particular barrier to generate action. 

I wrote to Whatcom County Health Department Human Services Supervisor Ann Beck back on October 18. She had mentioned to me, in an email from September 27, a conversation which her Environmental Health colleagues, City of Bellingham staff, and the Homeless Outreach Team Manager had had about “available access to restrooms and other ideas that can help address public health concerns.” (Restroom access and other sanitary provisions like hand washing stations are recommended by the CDC in the guidance for encampments they issued in March of 2020 and which still remains in place.) https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/homeless-shelters/unsheltered-homelessness.html#facility-encampments

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Update on Ferndale ICE office deal with Boulos business / Noisy Waters Northwest

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Click the image of a 9/6/21 Facebook Dignity Vigil Event to access the C2C Dignity Vigils and Actions Facebook page where you can find details on past and current Dignity Vigils and more.

November 3, 2021 Dena Jensen

It’s been almost three months since I made a blog post about City of Ferndale permits being issued and/or processed for an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office on the business property of Mahmoud Boulos in Ferndale. I have done some more research recently and have additional details to share about this office that is hiding in plain sight in Whatcom County, at 1380 and 1390 Commerce Place in Ferndale.

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