Pepper Fisher
PORT ANGELES – Serenity House of Clallam County is planning an expansion of its night-by-night shelter in Port Angeles with the help of CARES ACT funding from the federal government.
The application for funding is sponsored by the Clallam County Department of Health and Human Services and the City of Port Angeles to build a single-story addition at the rear of the shelter that would measure up to 2000 square feet and increase bed capacity to 98 during social distancing and 148 under normal circumstances.
Depending on the level of funding, a second floor to the addition is also being discussed. The site currently averages 60-70 people per day and anticipates an increase in demand as the weather turns.
Executive Director Sharon Maggard is hoping for the public’s support in expanding the organization’s capacity to serve the community.
“We really want the community to be excited about our project. We do have to go through a city hearing and, you know, we’ve worked very, very hard at being much better neighbors than we have been in the past. To the point where we’ve hired, you know, patrol cars to patrol our neighborhood areas and I’ve re-staffed all of our sites with nighttime shift people so they can chase people off and the neighbors don’t have to worry about it. So, I’m really hoping that through those good efforts the community can support us bringing in more homeless.”
The expansion proposal is currently open to public comment until October 16. Serenity House will respond to comments at a public open house event which will be hosted at the shelter on October 21 from 3:30 to 7:00 PM.
Email serenity@serenityhouseclallam.org with comments and see the Serenity House website and Facebook page for more details.
(Photo shows the proposed site of the proposed expansion at rear of the night-by-night shelter.)