Homeless smoothies at the I-5 rest stop | Federal Way letters
February 15, 2011 · 12:15 PM
In a Feb. 2 article on the homeless count, I am wondering if anyone checked the rest stops.
Our small non-profit serves coffee and cookies at the Sea-Tac rest stop. It is behind Wild Waves Theme Park on Interstate 5. Every year, there are always many homeless people, families even, who live in their cars there. The maximum time a person can stay parked at a rest stop is eight hours, but most just stay, period. There are others who will drive away and come right back to start another eight-hour clock running. It seems like they survive by drinking our coffee and eating the cookies. But it is alarming how much dried creamer they use. I refer to them as the rest stop "smoothie." And there is another one, which again has a half cup of creamer and coffee, and they ask for a spoonful of cocoa in their cup. These I refer to as "uptown smoothies."
Every year, they are there and desperate for help, housing and hot water for their cup of noodles.
It is troubling that nothing seems to change after years and years of serving coffee there. I was wondering if they, indeed, count homeless people at the rest stop.
B. Dianne McQueen, Federal Way
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