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Separate thread on the four shelters that Mercer Island council members and advocates of the homeless "camping" ban say are "available" and adequate to serve the needs of anyone found sleeping outdoors or in a vehicle on the island:
The first is the Congregations for the Homeless 7pm-7am congregate shelter, which moves around the Eastside and serves up to 30 men, who must be drug and alcohol-free, undergo a criminal background check, and jump through multiple other hurdles. That's the only one for men.
That one is run by a religious institution, as is the one for families, Catholic Community Services' New Bethlehem shelter in Kirkland. Kirkland is more than 10 miles away from Mercer Island.
The third is a shelter for single women with 48 beds total, also in Kirkland.
And the fourth is shelter run by Friends of Youth, which has multiple sites, but the closest to Mercer Island is in Kirkland.
