A struggle for housing continues

Last July we wrote a column for the Kitsap Sun that recounted the tragedy that led to housing insecurity for a Kingston couple, Colleen and Rob. It was late November 2022 when their house, beloved pets and most of their possessions went up in flames. When they got the call Colleen was volunteering at the Kingston Severe Weather Shelter, and Rob was volunteering at his church.

When people can’t find affordable, stable and safe housing they are considered “housing insecure.” Many factors can cause individuals and families to be housing insecure – job loss, health conditions, and, as in the case of Colleen and Rob, unforeseen disasters. We’re writing again as an update on the couple, who we refer to anonymously to protect their privacy, as well as to illustrate how persistent housing insecurity can become in a market as demanding as what we now see in our region.

Nearly a year after the fire that destroyed their home and sent the couple to a rental home, Colleen and Rob continue to live the daily challenges of recovery. “There’s days that we can do this, and days of breaking down,” Colleen said recently.

As the couple struggles to get back to some sort of stability, Colleen noted a huge gap between what’s needed and what’s available when it comes to finding the essential resources. After the fire Colleen and Rob were left with just their cars and phones and the clothes on their backs. They lived in hotels for a couple of weeks, thanks to help from the Red Cross and NK Fire and Rescue. Friends launched a GoFundMe campaign and helped them find a house to rent.

Nearly a year later, it often feels like they take two steps forward and then one step back from their hotel days. Colleen says they feel blessed and lucky, but also “dropped on our heads by the universe.” They were told recently that the house they currently live in is going up for sale. They had understood it would be available to rent for at least a couple of years. Then, her employer of four years went out of business and then Rob was laid off of his job. Colleen says it “blew the wind out of our sails.” She’s taken whatever jobs come her way: gardening, cleaning homes, helping people move.

Her church family has helped her find gigs. Rob applied for unemployment but the unemployment process can be a bureaucratic slog and Colleen says 2 months after filing Rob learned his payments were delayed because of a missing piece of paperwork from an employer.

The promise of backfilling the benefits is hopeful, but it doesn’t help when bills are due. Rent, food, electricity bills don’t wait.

Finding another place to live with declining income is also problematic. According to 2022 Kitsap County Housing Solutions data, the average rent per unit in Kitsap is $1,765, ranging from $1,264 for a studio to $2,257 for a three-bedroom. Coming up with first and

last month’s rent, plus damage deposit, will require at a minimum $3,000 in cash. And of course, the other challenge is availability. The same data source notes that vacancy rates in Kitsap are 4.5%, meaning finding an affordable unit available to rent will be difficult.

Colleen called it devastating to have to find another home and move again. They were just starting to settle in, slowly replacing items like furniture and household supplies and now, depending on what they can find and afford to move into, they face having either to let go of or sell the replacement items or store them in a way that doesn’t add additional expense. Colleen says they were just starting to put things up on walls, plants accumulated, making the rental feel like a home. They still have no amenities like computers to access the internet - those were fodder for the fire.

That has meant even filling out forms or web searches for jobs or new housing can only be managed during the hours the library is open. They feel fortunate to at least live close to a branch.

“I’m one that plans ahead, like paying ahead on the electric bill just in case, but now it’s hard to budget when mostly it’s where can we tighten this up on rent, heat, food, gas,” Colleen says.

Meanwhile, they’re also digging their way through significant life milestones. Last month marked five years since the death of their beloved daughter Ella, followed by Ella’s birthday, and now it’s nearly one year since the fire took their home and pets.

“This time of year,” Colleen says “takes over our entire world.” She says it’s like “coming out of a harsh storm and seeing what damage was done outside.” While she is often consumed by the loss of her daughter, Colleen finds comfort in talking with Ella’s friends and family about her. The house fire, she says, is nothing like losing a child.

In spite of these challenges, Colleen has stepped up again to volunteer for the Kingston Severe Weather Shelter this winter. By nature, a giver, Colleen says it’s “discouraging, having to ask for help again. Even to have to ask.”

She tries to stay positive and when she wants to scream and yell, she takes a walk.

Charmaine Doherty and Ruth Westergaard are members of the Kingston Affordable Housing Working Group, affiliated with Kingston Cares and with the Kingston Community Advisory Council. This is a follow up to a column the organization submitted to the Kitsap Sun in July, intended to show how the loss of housing impacts different members of the community.