PORT ANGELES — Serenity House of Clallam County has a new executive director whose goal is to make the nonprofit, which is dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness, 50 percent self-sufficient before he leaves.
“I have a long ride to go,” Richard “Doc” Robinson told those at the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce luncheon Wednesday.
When asked about the biggest challenge he faces as director, Robinson said both the city of Port Angeles and Clallam County need to take responsibility for residents and the social services they need.
Another hurdle the nonprofit faces is funding, he said. Serenity House needs to find alternative sources of funding after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development changed the definition of housing.
“HUD won’t fund it, so I have to find alternative funding,” he said.
Sheriff Bill Benedict urged Robinson to begin talks with with Clallam County Sheriff’s Office and the Port Angeles Police Department to see how Serenity House can help once inmates leave the jail.
“I’m taking heroin addicts and I’m getting them straightened up and treating them medically,” Benedict said. Then, when people leave the jail, “they don’t have any place to go.”
The jail can’t provide outpatient services, he said. Once inmates leave, they go right back to the environment that fueled their addiction and crime, he said.
“I would really like to have somebody [from Serenity House] show up at the jail’s door literally when we release them.”
Robinson, who attended to talk about the business of Serenity House, said it saves the county and city money by doing “the right thing.”
His goal is to provide housing for those who need it, which is often the first step to getting their lives back on track.
Once people get into housing, they are far more likely to seek mental health care, reduce drug use, seek rehab and get employed, he said.
While it benefits clients, it also makes fiscal sense, too, Robinson said.
He said a severely homeless person uses about $24,000 of county resources every year, citing costs of law enforcement, incarceration, ambulance rides and hospitalization.
Serenity House clients only cost the nonprofit about $9,000 each.
“Doing the right thing is also the best thing for us financially,” he said.
The people who are on the streets of Port Angeles are locals, he emphasized, saying that no one is bused to Port Angeles to take advantage of its services.
That sentiment was echoed by Benedict.
“First and foremost, Port Angeles is not a destination for homeless people,” Benedict said. “If you’re homeless in Seattle, you have much, much better resources than here.”
Officials at the luncheon said the idea that homeless people are bused into Port Angeles is a rumor that needs to be attacked.
Serenity House works extensively on outreach, reaching out to homeless people where they are, Robinson said.
In a joint effort with the Port Angeles Police Department, the nonprofit’s staff reaches out to the homeless population at their camps and on the street.
“It’s not as simple as walking up to somebody who is homeless,” Robinson said.
He said often the homeless aren’t interested in help and it takes significant work to connect them with services.
Robinson took the helm of Serenity House in November. He has experience in business, public management and fundraising.
The nonprofit’s former director, Kim Leach, stepped down in September.
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsula dailynews.com.
