Services needed to address more regular occurrence of severe smoke events / Letter to Whatcom County officials

Posted on by

October 18, 2022 Dena Jensen

Keep sharing the things you learn and observe with our officials that will help result in more and better services for our community members who are in crisis or are in danger of being so.  

Here is an email I sent this evening to the Whatcom County Council and the County Executive:

Sent: Tuesday, October 18, 2022, 05:31:04 PM PDT

Subject: Services needed to address more regular occurrence of severe smoke events

Dear Whatcom County Council, and County Executive Sidhu:

I have been watching the rapid increase today in poor air quality due to wildfire smoke. I am including a couple screenshots. 

Continue reading →

Calls for action regarding 2022 plans for Whatcom County severe weather shelters / Letter to the Whatcom County Council

Posted on by
Click the image of a screenshot of a chart that is included in the Whatcom County Coalition to End Homelessness 2022 Annual Report to access the chart in the report on the Whatcom County website

October 14, 2022 Dena Jensen

I sent the following email to the Whatcom County Council this afternoon related to the presentation on severe weather sheltering that was given on September 27, 2022 by the Whatcom County Health Department Human Services Manager to members of the County Council’s Committee of the Whole at their meeting that day. Here is a link to a transcription of that presentation along with some highlights from it: https://noisywatersnw.com/2022/10/05/transcript-update-from-the-whatcom-county-health-department-on-severe-weather-shelter-plans-noisy-waters-northwest/

Continue reading →

Voice your support for Whatcom County Council passing an ordinance establishing a Racial Equity Commission / Noisy Waters Northwest

Posted on by
Click the image of the event information graphic for the Whatcom Racial Equity Commission Bring All the Bright Celebration to access information on the Facebook information page for the event

October 10, 2022 Dena Jensen

I sent in my email of support for the Racial Equity Commission this last weekend. I’m including that email, a response from Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu, plus my email reply to him below. 

Meanwhile, there are addresses at the bottom of this post where you can send your own. There is a Public Hearing for the ordinance establishing the REC at the October 11, 2022 Whatcom County Council meeting that starts at 6:00 p.m. Additionally, there is a celebration starting at 4:00 p.m. the same day on the Bellingham Public Library lawn in honor of all the work that has been done to create this community-driven public/private advisory commission.  (Pizza and cupcakes will be shared!)

Continue reading →

Transcript: update from the Whatcom County Health Department on severe weather shelter plans / Noisy Waters Northwest

Posted on by

Click the still frame of a video recording of the 09/27/22 Whatcom County Council Committee of the Whole meeting to access the recording via the Whatcom County website

October 4, 2023 Dena Jensen

At Whatcom County Council’s September 27, 2022 Committee of the Whole Meeting, committee members received an update on severe weather shelter plans for the upcoming cold weather season from the Whatcom County Health Department’s Human Services Manager, Ann Beck. I am providing a written transcript of that presentation in this blog post.

Continue reading →

Calling on Whatcom County officials to protect those exposed to extreme climate impacts/ Letter to Whatcom County Council and Executive Sidhu

Posted on by
Click the screenshot to access a Facebook post by Community to Community Development displaying a video of Skagit Farmworkers out in the pumpkin fields during smoky conditions in early September 2022

September 18, 2022 Dena Jensen

Many of our friends and neighbors are put in a position to feel they have to work, without critical protections under severely smokey or hot conditions. There are currently no sufficiently protective provisions from our local, state, and federal governments for farmworkers and certain groups of people whom we have left to live or work outside during dangerous weather conditions.

I am including below an email I sent to Whatcom County officials today to call on them to take action locally and use their influence to urge state and federal governments to take action, as well.

Continue reading →

Whatcom mayors press for new jail ahead of services / Noisy Waters Northwest

Posted on by

September 6, 2022 Dena Jensen

September 9, 2022 is the next meeting of the Justice Project Stakeholder Advisory Committee. They need to know the public wants to participate in decisions about mental and behavioral health services for our community and a potential new jail. This is their email address: sac@co.whatcom.wa.us. Here is a link to the Sept. 9 agenda: https://www.whatcomcounty.us/DocumentCenter/View/68996/Agenda—SAC-Group-Discussion—Sept-9-2022

Continue reading →

Transcription of remarks about barriers to homeless sheltering and housing for veterans in Whatcom County / Letter to Whatcom County Council

Posted on by
Click the screenshot of a summary of the HUD VASH program for supportive services for homeless Veterans to access it on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website

August 18, 2022 Dena Jensen

Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2022, 06:32:14 PM PDT

Subject: Transcription of remarks made about barriers to homeless sheltering and housing for veterans in Whatcom County at the August 4, 2022, Whatcom County Coalition To End Homelessness (WCCEH) meeting

Continue reading →

Whatcom County Council Members need more education related to homeless services / Noisy Waters Northwest

Posted on by
Click the still frame of the recorded 8/02/22 virtual meeting of Whatcom County Council meeting as the Health Board to access that recording on the Whatcom County website

August 2, 2022 Dena Jensen

Our Whatcom County Council Members continue to need additional education and oversight on their positions regarding homeless services in Whatcom County. You can contact your Council Members with your input regarding the following information with contact information provided at the bottom of this post.

Continue reading →

Some relevant perspective regarding Whatcom County concerns related to 22 North / Noisy Waters Northwest

Posted on by
To access the full set of slides for the presentation “22 North Stabilization Progress Report,” click the image of a slide from a presentation to Whatcom County Council’s Finance and Administrative Services committee on June 21, 2022, provided by representatives of the Opportunity Council

July 13, 2022. Dena Jensen

I was not able to attend the Whatcom County Council meeting last night in order to give public comment, but I did manage to send off an email I’m including in this post, right before the meeting started.

Continue reading →