For a number of years, homelessness has been a growing issue in Redmond and the greater Puget Sound area.
And while there are local shelters and encampments that give people a place to stay on a typically short-term and temporary basis, finding a permanent housing solution is easier said than done.
This is something 22-year-old Ellie Wilson has witnessed firsthand.
About six months ago, the Eastside native — who has lived in Redmond since she was 12 and in North Bend before that — was talking with some friends who had been going through a difficult living situation and were living in a van in the parking lot behind the Overlake Christian Church in Redmond.
The friends are now back home and living with family, but that conversation stuck with Wilson, who graduated from B.E.S.T. High School (Lake Washington School District’s alternative high school in Kirkland, now called Emerson High School) in 2011.
COMMUNAL LIVING WITH ONSITE SERVICES
Wilson initially thought about starting a community of tiny houses but that soon evolved into Treelight Village.
The community would mainly be for low-income families but would also have options for couples and singles.
Wilson’s vision for Treelight is to convert an empty school building into a multi-family community, with old classrooms serving as living units for families. The units for couples and singles would be constructed. While Treelight is still in its infancy and Wilson is still looking for a location, she said she sees up to 20 units for families and about a dozen for couples and singles. Residents would have their own living units and the school’s common areas such as bathrooms, music rooms and an auditorium would also serve similar purposes at Treelight. Wilson added that she sees the auditorium possibly being used as a theater. She would also like to have a community garden and daycare center onsite as well as transportation services to help bring people to and from appointments if they do not have the means to get there themselves.
In order to be part of the community, Wilson said Treelight members would share day-to-day tasks and chores such as cooking, cleaning and tending to the garden. She said this would help “give them a sense of working as a community.”
Wilson would also like to have onsite case managers and offer other services to help people, as well. She envisions holding workshops and classes to help people with applying for financial aid for school. There would also be a job board with opportunities for work as well as onsite job training for residents, she said.
Wilson said Treelight would be similar to a transitional living home but people could stay as long as they choose.
“As long as it takes them to get back on their feet,” she said.
Wilson added that Treelight will be a for-profit company because there were too much red tape and government restrictions that come with opening a nonprofit. She said they would also be charging residents rent, but it would be on a sliding scale and case-by-case basis with people paying what they can.
THE RIGHT LOCATION FOR THE RIGHT PRICE
In addition to trying to find a location — which may end up being constructed from the ground up if she cannot find a school building — Wilson is still working on securing funding. She has set up a Go Fund Me website at www.gofundme.com/treelightvillage. The goal is to raise $2 million.
“It’s a big number,” Wilson acknowledges, adding that they also hope to get some investors to help fund the project.
This money would go toward purchasing property as well as building renovations.
Ideally, Treelight Village would be located somewhere on the Eastside or at least within King County as Wilson said the job opportunities for members and residents are here. But depending on the price of the properties they see, she said they may end up looking further south.
Wilson said they would also like to be located by other schools and hospitals, if possible, as a convenience for their community members.
A SOBER COMMUNITY
In order to stay at Treelight Village, Wilson said potential residents would have to go through an application process that would include a background check and drug screening.
Treelight Village will be a sober community with no drugs or alcohol allowed onsite.
Wilson has struggled with addiction but is now six months sober and said her personal background influenced her decision to keep Treelight Village sober. She feels it is important to have a drug-free community for children. And for someone who may be in recovery, this is one less stress factor for them to worry about as they work to get back on their feet, Wilson said.
AFFORDABILITY ISSUES
One of the challenges of getting out of homelessness and transitioning to a more permanent living situation, Wilson said, is finding an affordable place that is convenient to job opportunities.
Levi DeTienne, Wilson’s partner in founding Treelight Village, agrees. He said if someone is working 40 hours a week, earning minimum wage, there is no living area in town that they could afford unless they get a roommate or find a better job.
For three months — from September to December 2015 — the 22-year-old was homeless and living in the back parking lot of Overlake Christian Church. He was attending DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond but had to drop out because he couldn’t afford to pay for school on top of his rent.
DeTienne said people should be able to have a place of their own, be able to pay their bills and still save some money.
Both Wilson and DeTienne are currently working two jobs and living at home with her family.
Wilson said people come to Redmond because there are shelters, services and job opportunities here but since the rents are too expensive here, they end up getting stuck in this homeless cycle. With Treelight Village, she hopes to help people get out of that cycle.
