Pubdate: Tue, 03 Sep 2002 Source: Seattle Times (WA) Copyright: 2002 The Seattle Times Company Contact: http://www.seattletimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/409 Author: Luella N. Brien DROP-IN CENTER TRIES TO CONTINUE WORK WITHOUT HOME Street Outreach Services' downtown Seattle drop-in center for drug addicts and the homeless is gone, but service continues. SOS, which lost its lease at Second Avenue and Pike Street and moved out in April, is focusing on delivering public-health messages, said Executive Director Kris Nyrop. Financed mostly by the city, SOS still offers Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings and women's group meetings at its 2028 Westlake Ave. N. location. The agency is trying to work more on one-on-one counseling on the street. It's a situation Nyrop says is less than perfect. "On the street, it's difficult to build a dialogue about health- related issues," he said. SOS had served up to 300 clients a day at its drop-in center - sometimes just offering homeless people a cup of coffee and a pair of new socks. It was forced to give up the space it had occupied for 11 years when the building's owner, Richard Nimmer, announced plans to redevelop the block for retail and office use. The drop-in center was near a King County-financed needle exchange that serves 1,500 to 2,000 people a month. The lease for the exchange expired Saturday, said state Rep. Kip Tokuda, D-Seattle. The county and the landlord have agreed to a month-to-month lease until other arrangements are made. The closure of SOS has upset many of the clients. "There was an awful lot of anger," Nyrop said. Nobody in the ride-free bus zone downtown has come forward to offer new space for a drop-in center. Nyrop said that comes as no surprise because of the number of people who gathered at the former center. Homeless people at the corner of Second and Pike have since dispersed, but Nyrop added that things have not changed in the neighborhood. Instead of Second and Pike, many hang out at Pike Place Market and in area parks. "We were, in fact, providing a space for these folks who didn't have anywhere to go," Nyrop said. Nyrop noted that June through September is the slowest time of year for SOS. The drop-in center saw the most traffic from late November through April. "A lot of the negative effects won't be seen until the weather turns bad," Nyrop said. - --- MAP posted-by: Alex