Amid Seattle crisis, Millionair Club fighting for people on the street

It’s easy to drive along I-5 in Seattle and complain about the homeless. But it’s not so easy to actually do something about it.

A charity in Seattle takes pride in making a dent in the problem for the past 95 years.

Related: Seattle mayor signs executive order on ‘one-stop’ homeless shelter

Cary Calkins, Director of Business Development at the Millionair Club tells the Ron and Don Show that last year they placed 139 people into full-time jobs. Many of them were homeless and they were able to get them into housing at their apartments in Belltown — the DeSoto Arms.

“We’re one of the only organizations in the country that has connected jobs and housing,” Calkins said. “There are many that are doing great work, but many are not working with the population that we’re working with.”

The city declared the homeless issue a crisis in November 2015, but Calkins said the problem has been going on for awhile.

“We could have addressed this five years ago and had a clearer path to it, but we weren’t ready.”

He said the fact remains that there is not enough housing for people in Seattle. Even if you have a full-time job, it’s hard to afford housing.

“There are more jobs in this city than there are people that are available to work, especially in the entry-level jobs and that’s where we can help.”

The goal is to place people into jobs, whether at the stadiums in SoDo, on one of Microsoft’s campuses, or even stacking your firewood this fall. They believe that the routine of going to a job every day creates stability people crave and need to succeed.

Ron and Don are keeping a close watch on the actions Mayor Ed Murray and the Seattle City Council take to address the problem, but Calkins said one of their biggest allies is council member Sally Bagshaw.

Besides opening your door to employment opportunities and donating to buy workers uniforms, Calkins said the greatest thing you can do is think of homeless people not as homeless, but people.

Related: WSDOT crews in constant tug-of-war with Seattle’s homeless

“When we refer to people as homeless and we put ‘homeless’ before their humanity, we do a disservice because we begin to label,” he said. “We do that with everything in this country. We are dealing with people who are suffering from poverty and homelessness is one of those things, but there’s much more to it than not having a home.”

And likely, the next time you’re at a Seahawks or Mariners or Sounders game, you’re buying a hot dog or beer from someone employed through the Millionair Club.

Take a page from Calkins’ book and at least, when you’re walking through downtown Seattle, look up and say hello. It may be the nicest thing someone hears all day.

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