Rootsinfo:
Please drag my ass up there to volunteer. My life as a sales room lackey is nothing with folks like you. Plus, you have a great cross-street.

Best,
Jonah

No wonder that area was always so trashy when I went to school. I guess they have to put shelters somewhere but the 18 - 25 angle makes the area bit more violent then your average vagrants.

Reality Check: I offered on three occasions to help out there and no one there EVER got back to me.

Please DONT volunteer there, I hope that place has to pack up and move. It sucks having a homeless shelter right there in the North-UW neighborhood. Worst place to house north seattle's homeless and vagrant population. It's a huge problem in that neighborhood.

Right, because people will stop aging out of foster care, getting kicked out of the house for being gay, or having mental health or substance abuse problems if we just make em sleep on the street.

In response to the comments about the shelter location, I would like to clarify that the homeless youth/young adult population existed in the U District long before there were services for them here. Many younger homeless individuals have been preyed upon by older adults -- in fact, last year, 75% percent of ROOTS guests indicated that they had experienced domestic violence at some point in their lives. This population tends to gather around colleges and universities because they feel safer around people their own age and can even blend in. The reason ROOTS was started in the first place was because the city of Seattle noticed that young adults (who are too old for youth shelters) were not accessing shelter in places serving older adults. They often feel uncomfortable, unsafe, and unwelcome in such places, and so the city approached the University Temple United Methodist Church about starting a shelter in this area for the young adults who were already here. ROOTS is still housed in the UTUMC basement, although we gained 501(c)3 nonprofit status in 2001 and we are a secular organization.

ROOTS gives these folks a safe place to sleep so that they will not be on the streets all night. We also provide on-site case management, laundry services, showers, and meals so that our guests can work toward goals such as housing, employment, or school. We do see many of these young people improving their lives -- something that would be near impossible if they were stuck out on the streets.

A note to Cato the Younger Younger: I apologize if we neglected to get back to you about volunteering here. If it happened recently, it may have been because we had a two-month period where there was no volunteer coordinator and it was difficult for the (very small) existing staff to keep up with requests. Volunteer inquiry e-mails also sometimes get pulled out by the spam filter and although we do try to keep an eye on the Junk folder, we don't always catch everything. Regardless of the reason, please be assured that your help (and anyone else's!) would be greatly appreciated at our shelter.

In response to the comments about the shelter location, I would like to clarify that the homeless youth/young adult population existed in the U District long before there were services for them here. Many younger homeless individuals have been preyed upon by older adults -- in fact, last year, 75% percent of ROOTS guests indicated that they had experienced domestic violence at some point in their lives. This population tends to gather around colleges and universities because they feel safer around people their own age and can even blend in. The reason ROOTS was started in the first place was because the city of Seattle noticed that young adults (who are too old for youth shelters) were not accessing shelter in places serving older adults. They often feel uncomfortable, unsafe, and unwelcome in such places, and so the city approached the University Temple United Methodist Church about starting a shelter in this area for the young adults who were already here. ROOTS is still housed in the UTUMC basement, although we gained 501(c)3 nonprofit status in 2001 and we are a secular organization.

ROOTS gives these folks a safe place to sleep so that they will not be on the streets all night. We also provide on-site case management, laundry services, showers, and meals so that our guests can work toward goals such as housing, employment, or school. We do see many of these young people improving their lives -- something that would be near impossible if they were stuck out on the streets.

A note to Cato the Younger Younger: I apologize if we neglected to get back to you about volunteering here. If it happened recently, it may have been because we had a two-month period where there was no volunteer coordinator and it was difficult for the (very small) existing staff to keep up with requests. Volunteer inquiry e-mails also sometimes get pulled out by the spam filter and although we do try to keep an eye on the Junk folder, we don't always catch everything. Regardless of the reason, please be assured that your help (and anyone else's!) would be greatly appreciated at our shelter.