If you’ve spent any time at Teen Feed or in the U-District community these last few months, chances are you’ve heard the name Gossett Place. Whether you’ve heard the name or not, let me tell you that it’s pretty awesome! Gossett Place is brand-new subsidized housing sponsored by the Low Income Housing Institute and Sound Mental Health. It’s part of a larger group of housing facilities with units for “high-utilizers” – folks that, because they don’t have a safe place to call home, end up stuck in various parts of our larger service system: treatment centers, jail, ER’s, shelters, etc. Gossett Place is open specifically to individuals dealing with long-term chemical dependency and/or mental health issues.

Gossett Place is located in the heart of the U-District and has one incredibly exciting different feature than its housing counterparts: several units were set aside specifically for young adults accessing U-District agencies! To briefly summarize the referral process, Teen Feed has been working closely with other U-District service providers over the past few months to submit referrals for young adults that meet the “high utilizer” criteria or who are assessed by Gossett staff to be “highly vulnerable”. There have been many meetings, presentations on youths’ histories and lots of applications to fill out…but the reward has been great!
The reward is that to date, 14 young adults have moved into Gossett Place. These 14 young adults now live in the nicest, newest building in the entire U-District, each with their own state-of-the-art studio apartment. The building has many perks including a common area with a big screen TV, a computer lab, on-site laundry and direct access to professionals who provide support for their chemical dependency or mental health needs. Residents pay 30% of their income as rent; if they don’t have income they don’t pay anything. Gossett’s biggest perk is that young adults enter as they are; it’s truly a housing first model. This means they don’t have any expectations to fix their “problems”…they simply get to move in, get settled and then receive support to work on the issues they feel are important to them.

The young adults creating new homes and futures for themselves at Gossett Place talk often about how nice it is to be out of shelters, to know they have their own bed to sleep in, and to enjoy the feeling of sleeping in.

They talk about how nice it is to live in a community where they feel supported and not expected to change themselves at a moment’s notice.

They’ve told us they now have the time and space to dream about what’s in store for their future. Their stories have lost the concern or fear of the present and have picked up a beautifully contagious sense of hope.

My hope is that all those we serve will catch a case of this hope and to get experience their own version of Gossett Place.

-Ryan

Ryan Fouts is Teen Feed’s Support Coordinator, leading the Service Links for Youth (SLY) program. To learn more about SLY, click here.

DISCLAIMER: In the Teen Feed News newsletter, Larry Gossett should have been listed as a King County Councilmember, not a Seattle City Councilmember. We apologize for the oversight.

Teen Feed is launching into what I think will be a really incredible process. We’ve just unveiled our newly-renovated office space, a space that was designed to help those we serve feel comfortable and invited to connect with us. We also just launched a new strategic plan that will carry us through the next five years. I am particularly excited to be at Teen Feed right now, and I feel fortunate that I can share in the lives of those we serve. What better time to remind ourselves why we are committed to doing this work…

I’m currently reading an amazing book called In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts by Dr. Gabor Maté. It focuses on his work in Vancouver, BC with homeless people facing chemical addictions. There are many reasons that I highly recommend this book, but a major one is that Dr. Maté creates a very human perspective on drug addiction. He makes an eloquent presentation that his patients have experienced immeasurable pains that very few people could understand and turn to drugs as a way to escape the daily horror and turmoil that is their life. In a world that looks down on addicts, he calls the reader to first see people that are traumatized…people who, like all of us, just want to survive and cope with the pain of life.

One particular passage of the book has really stayed with me. “When my addict patients look at me, they are seeking the real me. Like children, they are unimpressed with titles, achievements, worldly credentials. Their concerns are too immediate, too urgent. What they care about is my presence or absence as a human being. They gauge with unerring eyes whether I am grounded enough on any given day to coexist with them, to listen to them as persons with feelings, hopes and aspirations that are as valid as mine. They can tell instantly whether I’m genuinely committed to their well-being or just trying to get them out of my way. Chronically unable to offer such caring to themselves, they are all the more sensitive to its presence or absence in those charged with caring for them.”

Wow, what an epic challenge to remain committed to the homeless youth we serve! It’s not enough for me to just order ID’s or to hand out housing applications with an idle, “fill this out and get it back to me.” It’s not enough to shuffle around plates of food or to pass out socks without an accompanying hello and a smile. The youth we serve at Teen Feed have incredibly accurate honesty meters built in. They have to…many of them have not had the luxury of being surrounded by supportive, caring friends or family for most, if not all, of their lives. They can immediately tell, even in a simple hello, whether our staff and volunteers care about them or are just there to build themselves up. In the six years I’ve been working with homeless youth, I can think of so many times where they have called me out for not being genuine and have invited me to join them in a place of deeper honesty and beauty.

What will make our nice, new office and our ambitious strategic plan successful is our commitment…our heart. My teammates are so passionate and deeply committed to the youth we serve, and I consider myself so fortunate to share my Teen Feed journey with them. But, my teammates and I can only carry the direction of Teen Feed so far. You, the greater Teen Feed community…volunteers, donors, friends, family…you are what will help Teen Feed go from good to great. I envision our commitment to youth as a series of concentric circles around them…they are always at the center. No matter how “close” you are to those we serve, your continued commitment to caring for our youth is as vital as it ever was. Continuing to give your time and money, making nutritious meals, investing in real relationships and never, ever giving up on the potential our youth have…this is how you will help us ensure that our youth have the best possible chances to meet their future off the streets. Let’s get started…

-Ryan

In 1998, filmmaker Maria Lovett followed the “Kids on the Ave” – homeless youth living in the University District of Seattle, Washington – and documented their lives.  The film is not only a respectful portrayal of the realities and struggles of homeless youth, but a series of stories and truths told by the youth themselves.

A short trailer of the film is below:

If you’d like to have a viewing at your home or school, DVDs of the film are available for $20.  Teen Feed staff are also able to visit your group to show the film and lead a discussion afterwards.

To purchase or for more information, email the Executive Director.