On July 25 while Julie Robinson-Jasper was visiting her neighbor she noticed some unfamiliar faces at the vacant house next door.

When she introduced herself, Jasper learned that these were two employees from Sound Mental Health who had been hired to prepare the house for their clients. As she continued to ask questions, Jasper learned that these clients were ex-convicts who would be living in the neighborhood as a part of Washington State's Re-entry Housing Pilot Program.

The program aims to facilitate the successful re-entry of offenders into their communities. The state provides funds to organizations, including Sound Mental Health, that offer supportive housing and other services to jail and prison offenders who are referred by the Department of Corrections.

Participants qualify for this program if they are high risk, high need or do not have a viable release plan. Offenders will not qualify if they have been convicted of cooking methamphetamines, arson or any sex crime.

The state requires that all participants in Re-entry Housing Pilot Program be supervised. Trish Blanchard of Sound Mental Health says the agency does have a specific plan to monitor all offenders that re-enter the community. Although the program does not require that a supervisor live on site, caseworkers and Department of Corrections supervisors make multiple weekly visits.

Sound Mental Health has received $871,000 to help up to 75 offenders through this program.

The organization was considering housing some of those offenders in the Sunrise Heights neighborhood on 32nd Avenue Southwest and Southwest Othello Street until Wednesday, July 30, when community outcry caused the organization to reconsider.

In a statement made by David Stone, chief executive officer at Sound Mental Health, he wrote that once local residents had voiced their concerns that the new neighbors would pose a danger, false information began to circulate.

After discussing this issue with the property owner, Stone wrote that the owner offered to void the lease and, "out of concern for our client's welfare," Sound Mental Health accepted the offer.

Initially Adam Merkl, who lives on 32nd Avenue, was relieved.

"I think it's a great testament of what you can get done by opening your mouth," Merkl said.

He and other members of the community have continued to vocalize their concerns regarding the program.

Neighbors did not feel that their area would be an appropriate area for the program due to the many young families that share the property's block. There are at least 10 young children on the street as well as Our Lady of Guadalupe School, Northwest Montessori School and E.C. Hughes Playground within a few blocks of the property.

Now, the neighbors want to know how a home in their neighborhood could have been considered appropriate for the program and where else Sound Mental Health plans to house offenders.

Trish Blanchard said Sound Mental Health had evaluated the neighborhood and did not plan to put violent offenders there, but still might house those with a history of narcotics use. The home was also considered suitable for its close proximity to services considered necessary for the offenders.

Blanchard said Sound Mental Health attempts outreach to other homes in the neighborhood to determine how successful offenders might be at a particular site.

But according to the neighbors in Sunrise Heights, they received no notification from Sound Mental Health and little information upon additional inquiry.

"(Sound Mental Health) told me that if there are any problems give us a call, but how can people call if they don't know?" Merkl said.

"By moving them in covertly, they're creating this fear," Robinson-Jasper added.

Unlike re-entry programs that deal with sex offenders, law does not require that the neighbors be informed when a program like this enters their community.

In his statement, Stone wrote, "Rarely do any of us have the opportunity to choose our neighbors, and we seldom have much knowledge of their backgrounds when they move in next door."

Chris Nishiwaki from Sound Mental Health added that even associating an offender with their organization's programs could be a violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and an invasion of their privacy.

Upon hearing this at a Sunrise Heights community meeting, one resident called out, "They have more rights than we do."

Sound Mental Health says its programs have put offenders in situations in which they are most likely to succeed and that also keep the community safe.

"We've been selected (by the state) because of our expertise and positive outcomes in improving mental health and bringing about re-employment," Blanchard said.

Still, the neighbors at Sunrise Heights urge other community members to hold Sound Mental Health accountable and question its methods of site selection.

"It's your civic responsibility to question how public funds are being used when it presents a hazard to the community," Merkl said.

Rose Egge may be contacted at 932.0300 or rosee@robinsonnews.com