• From Councilor Joe DePinto on Yelm’s Homelessness Taskforce meeting:

“Tonight [Aug. 20] there was a meeting for the Yelm Homelessness Taskforce, which was created by resolution of the Yelm City Council.

“Councilmember Carmody and myself cochair these meetings. One important portion of the resolution was to identify and create a comprehensive list of services that are currently being provided by different organizations in Yelm, which we have completed.

“We are now in the recommendation phase and tonight’s meeting we discussed multiple options including doing nothing, making the comprehensive list readily available for the homeless, expanding hours of our cooling and warming stations (during extreme heat and cold weather the public safety building is currently available during normal office hours), supporting local organizations that currently provide services, providing city funded property and/or housing, and creating a city position (like a homeless ombudsman) to help the homeless out of poverty. Currently nothing is set in stone and the task force’s recommendation will have to be approved by the entire council.

“I really would like to hear what you think the city should or should not do, so please comment below (try to keep it civil and tolerant of different perspectives). Lastly thank you to everyone who showed up tonight, I appreciate ya!”

Click here to comment.

Click here for a thoughtful response by citizen Andrea Lee Montierth.