HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 42 - 08-14-2020 - Hearing Exhibit - COR 19 - Declaration of Sam McKnightITEM NO. 42
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COR 19
Declaration of Sam McKnight
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DECLARATION OF SAM McKNIGHT - 1
Daniel T. Satterberg, Prosecuting Attorney
CIVIL DIVISION
W400 King County Courthouse
516 Third Avenue
Seattle, Washington 98104
206) 477-1120/FAX (206) 296-0191
BEFORE THE CITY OF RENTON
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
In re the matter of the Appeal by
Renton Hotel Investors, LLC,
Downtown Emergency Services Center,
King County
Appellants.
Case No. CODE20-000321
DECLARATION OF SAM McKNIGHT
Sam McKnight declares as follows:
1.I am competent to testify and have personal knowledge of the matters herein.
2.I serve as the Shelter Program Manager for DESC.
3.I have worked at DESC for almost 4 years. I previously worked as a Shelter
Coordinator, then Day Shift Supervisor, and Housing Project Manager, before assuming my
current position.
4.I oversee DESC’s day-to-day operations, currently at the Red Lion, and at
Exhibition Hall in Seattle Center. I spend a third of my time working directly with clients, often
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DECLARATION OF SAM McKNIGHT - 2
Daniel T. Satterberg, Prosecuting Attorney
CIVIL DIVISION
W400 King County Courthouse
516 Third Avenue
Seattle, Washington 98104
206) 477-1120/FAX (206) 296-0191
when they are in crisis, have questions, or informally. I also work with and support staff on
enhancing our services and training, our clients’ progress, and make decisions on client referrals.
5. I began working in shelters during college, first at a drop in shelter, then an
overnight shelter, and later at transitional housing, all run by the Santa Cruz Community
Counseling Center (1992-1997). I earned a BA in Psychology, and BA in Women’s Studies, at
the University of California at Santa Cruz.
6. I have observed that since they moved to the Renton Red Lion in early April,
nearly all of our main shelter clients have responded very positively.
7. A newcomer to homeless shelters might not notice the differences that I have
seen. However, the changes I have observed are rather profound.
8. I have seen that our clients are less agitated, less guarded, and not as quick to
anger if we say “no”.
9. I have observed far less chaos compared to the main shelter.
10. We are not seeing fights like we used to at the main shelter and I have not had to
bar clients nearly as frequently.
11. Our clients are no longer preoccupied about theft of their belongings.
12. Clients are now volunteering to help at the Red Lion and participating more than
before, no longer passively waiting for their name to be called for a housing appointment, as they
often did in the main shelter.
13. I am seeing more spontaneous joy, smiles, laughter, even gratitude, hearing the
words “please” and “thank you” more commonly.
14. Our clients seem to be taking more pleasure in being social while still social
distancing.
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DECLARATION OF SAM McKNIGHT - 3
Daniel T. Satterberg, Prosecuting Attorney
CIVIL DIVISION
W400 King County Courthouse
516 Third Avenue
Seattle, Washington 98104
206) 477-1120/FAX (206) 296-0191
15. Simply having a private space to go to when they need it, the ability to get good
sleep, use a restroom and shower when they need to, and 3 meals a day, appears to have
improved our clients’ moods considerably.
16. We all have a psychological baseline for functioning at our best. While in the
main shelter, our clients often appeared unable to rise emotionally to reach their individual
baselines because they began their days with deficits of sleep and food, on top of significant
stress, while having to carry all of their belongings wherever they went, including to the
bathroom.
17. Our clients are now relieved of the mental burden of having to think through all of
those issues every single day.
18. Our clients’ improved moods are mirrored in our staff.
19. When working Case Manager and Shelter Coordinator shifts, our staff are the on-
duty counsellors and supervisors of the facility and clients. I have personally filled this role on
numerous occasions.
20. In the main shelter, Case Manager and Shelter Coordinator shifts were very high
paced and particularly exhausting as they involved monitoring and managing shelter chaos and
client agitation with 200 people packed uncomfortably into a crowded room.
21. When a Case Manager or Shelter Coordinator employee called in sick, DESC
staff from other projects resisted taking their shifts because of the high pace and chaotic nature of
the main shelter.
22. This is no longer the case at the Red Lion.
23. Our clients are now easier to work with, more relaxed, and our staff are filling
Case Manager and Shelter Coordinator shifts more readily.
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DECLARATION OF SAM McKNIGHT - 4
Daniel T. Satterberg, Prosecuting Attorney
CIVIL DIVISION
W400 King County Courthouse
516 Third Avenue
Seattle, Washington 98104
206) 477-1120/FAX (206) 296-0191
24. We no longer have frequent open shifts, and our staff are not becoming sick as
before.
25. With the improved milieu at the Red Lion, our staff is also better able to build
rapport with our clients and now provide a greater level of consistency.
26. Our clients are also not going into crisis before help arrives, as was more common
in the main shelter. Our staff is now better able to intervene early because the level of overall
chaos is so much lower to begin with in the Red Lion.
27. At the main shelter on Third Avenue in Seattle, we called the police daily, even
twice a day. Now, we call far less, perhaps several times a week.
28. I have worked with a particular client with a volatile temper whom we barred
from the main shelter 4 times in 4 weeks for fighting. Now, since April, this same client has
successfully stayed at the Red Lion without any fighting and without being barred. In
conversations with me, the client is showing greater self- awareness about his need to control his
anger, and expressing his wishes about not being barred.
29. I have also observed small indicators that our clients’ physical health has also
improved.
30. At the main shelter, it was common to see clients with skin problems.
31. I often smelled clients’ infections and abscesses in the main shelter.
32. I have not observed the same level of skin problems, infections or abscesses in the
Red Lion.
33. I have seen that people are also taking better care of the health. We now have
clients exercising, by walking around the building. A few clients even took up jogging.
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DECLARATION OF SAM McKNIGHT - 5
Daniel T. Satterberg, Prosecuting Attorney
CIVIL DIVISION
W400 King County Courthouse
516 Third Avenue
Seattle, Washington 98104
206) 477-1120/FAX (206) 296-0191
34. I have also seen that clients are not seeking medical help as an attention getting
behavior as much as before.
35. Certainly, many of our clients still have significant mental and physical health
issues, but they can now be more proactive rather than just reactive about their conditions.
36. Staying at the Red Lion has been a wonderful experience for our clients.
I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Washington that the
foregoing is true and correct.
Respectfully submitted this 5th day of August at Seattle, WA.
See Attached Signature Page for
SamMcKnight
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