Led by Chamber President Mark Ufkes, the White Center Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission (www.ugm.org) and WestSide Baby (www.westsidebaby.org), is planning a working summit of White Center service providers on Friday, Oct 21 from 9am to 12pm at Mt. View Presbyterian Church - 10806 12th Ave. SW.

The summit will bring together front line service providers who are currently serving the estimated 45 people struggling with homelessness and chronic alcoholism who currently live on White Center streets. The goal of this summit is to find ways to help our homeless neighbors and to establish a 10-point plan that addresses their service needs, plan a budget estimating the costs to provide these services, and discuss possible policies needed to address the challenges they create for our community.

“We are finding that more and more people are in need in White Center” said Mark Ufkes, president, White Center Chamber of Commerce. “We estimate that our community’s homelessness has grown by about 30% this past summer. While I’m concerned about their needs, Chamber members want a family-oriented shopping district. I’m hearing from business owners that several of the new faces are aggressive and congregate in groups that can be intimidating.”