OLYMPIA — The organizing force behind the innovative Quixote Village homeless community in Olympia is expanding the concept to serve homeless veterans in Pierce and Mason counties.
Located on a 2.17-acre campus in an industrial area on the city’s west side, Quixote Village features 30 free-standing cottages for chronically homeless adults who agree to sober living.
Each single-room cottage measures 144 square feet and includes a bed, half-bathroom, closet, front porch, heating and electricity. A community center includes a kitchen, showers, mailboxes and a laundry room as well as access to social services related to mental health, addiction or employment.
The roots of Quixote Village on Mottman Road stem from a nomadic self-governing tent city for the homeless that formed in 2007. But the current incarnation opened in December 2013, and has attracted international attention as a template for helping the homeless. The nonprofit organization Panza led the effort to build the village for about $3.1 million and now serves as landlord.
Panza is now working to replicate Quixote Village at two more locations in the Puget Sound region.
One of those sites is the Washington Soldiers Home and Colony in Orting, in Pierce County. The project is still in the early planning stages and depends on an upcoming application for assistance with the Washington State Housing Trust Fund. In a best-case scenario, construction could begin in 2018 and the village could open later that year, said Panza board member Jill Severn.
The estimated cost for the Orting village would be about $3.8 million, Severn said, noting that the project would include six units that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
A key partner in the Orting project is the Puget Sound Veterans Hope Center, which would help place residents at the village.
Larry Geringer, president of the center, praised the Orting village’s potential for helping veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or other ailments. In addition to living in a more tranquil environment than a city, the veterans will benefit from living among other veterans, he said.
“They strengthen each other, they help each other,” said Geringer, who served 26 years in the U.S. Air Force. “Veterans have a common bond and experience, and it doesn’t matter what branch they served in.”
Geringer also serves on the board for the Tacoma Rescue Mission, which reserves 10 beds every night for homeless veterans. The waiting list for those beds is 12 people deep, and Geringer averages nearly 350 visits a year from veterans who need stability in their lives.
“I don’t think that it’s really enough,” Geringer said of the proposed project’s size, “but we have to take what we can get.”
Another replica of Quixote Village has been proposed for Shelton.
Tom Davis, a volunteer veteran mentor coordinator for Mason County, said the search is underway for a site and more information should be available in a few weeks. A timeline for construction is unclear at this time.
Davis said up to 10 percent of Mason County’s jail population consists of veterans, many of whom encounter trouble with the law amid the struggle to transition from military to civilian life. Housing can bring stability for veterans who are trying to get their lives back on track, Davis said, noting that the proposed Shelton village should incorporate military values.
