DROP-IN CENTER TRIES TO CONTINUE WORK WITHOUT HOME

Street Outreach Services' downtown Seattle drop-in center for drug addicts
and the homeless is gone, but service continues.

SOS, which lost its lease at Second Avenue and Pike Street and moved out in
April, is focusing on delivering public-health messages, said Executive
Director Kris Nyrop.

Financed mostly by the city, SOS still offers Alcoholics Anonymous and
Narcotics Anonymous meetings and women's group meetings at its 2028
Westlake Ave. N. location.

The agency is trying to work more on one-on-one counseling on the street.
It's a situation Nyrop says is less than perfect.

"On the street, it's difficult to build a dialogue about health- related
issues," he said.

SOS had served up to 300 clients a day at its drop-in center - sometimes
just offering homeless people a cup of coffee and a pair of new socks.

It was forced to give up the space it had occupied for 11 years when the
building's owner, Richard Nimmer, announced plans to redevelop the block
for retail and office use.

The drop-in center was near a King County-financed needle exchange that
serves 1,500 to 2,000 people a month. The lease for the exchange expired
Saturday, said state Rep. Kip Tokuda, D-Seattle. The county and the
landlord have agreed to a month-to-month lease until other arrangements are
made.

The closure of SOS has upset many of the clients. "There was an awful lot
of anger," Nyrop said.

Nobody in the ride-free bus zone downtown has come forward to offer new
space for a drop-in center. Nyrop said that comes as no surprise because of
the number of people who gathered at the former center.

Homeless people at the corner of Second and Pike have since dispersed, but
Nyrop added that things have not changed in the neighborhood.

Instead of Second and Pike, many hang out at Pike Place Market and in area
parks.

"We were, in fact, providing a space for these folks who didn't have
anywhere to go," Nyrop said.

Nyrop noted that June through September is the slowest time of year for
SOS. The drop-in center saw the most traffic from late November through April.

"A lot of the negative effects won't be seen until the weather turns bad,"
Nyrop said.