Providence House wrongly condemned

With seven sex offenders living in the area concentrated around18th Avenue Northeast, neighborhood safety is a pressing concern in the U-District. It is an issue that permeates throughout the county.

And although you wouldn't know it from the recent collective condemnation of the Providence House organization, the local faith-based group is actually driven by a desire to enhance the safety of King County neighborhoods.

After three years of deliberation and development, the Providence House committee decided to develop its first transitional home for sex offenders in the Wallingford District.

The proposal left many Wallingford residents up in arms, including one person who was up in firearms. This unidentified offender shot out 14 windows of the planned Providence House with a BB gun in what appeared to be a dramatic attempt to scare the transitional home out of the neighborhood.

It worked. The resident outcry led the organization to scrap itsplans for the house. Some called it democratic resolve, but in reality, the public's collective objection to the Providence House was only an uninformed demand that restrained a serious community development effort.

Now that the community's collective knee-jerk reaction has kicked Providence House out of the district, the question deserves to be asked: What exactly was the purpose of having a group of sex offenders living in a common household?

The Providence House planned to provide a controlled transitional environment for about eight level-1 sex offenders, who are at the lowest risk to re-offend.

Truth is, there are already 21 level-2 and level-3, or moderate and high-risk sex offenders, living within the Wallingford zip code -- two within a couple blocks of Hamilton Middle School.

Take, for example, a Level-3 predator who was convicted for raping a child, and who now lives three blocks directly south of Hamilton Middle School. Or another man convicted of raping a child, who currently resides within four blocks of Woodland Park.

Even high-level sex offenders like these, who have done their time, are free in society, existing on their own under minor, hands-off supervision. So long as they do not have contact with their former victim, released sex offenders can live where they please.

The offenders aren't under any sort of direct regulation like they would be in the Providence House.

Even worse, while many released sex predators struggle to find legitimate shelter, many turn instead to mobile housing. The 300 sex offenders currently living transient lifestyles in the county make it difficult for police and community members to keep tabs on potential threats.

The Providence House was designed to combat transient and downtrodden sex convicts by providing low-cost housing. The home would help reestablish community living for offenders, encouraging them to progress in an occupation. Moreover, the transitional house also provides a program to help sex offenders continue treatment and accountability while they live within the community.

As of October, there were nearly 1,500 registered sex offenders living in Seattle and more than 4,000 in King County, according to the Seattle Police Department.

Approximately 170 sex offenders return to living in King County each year, according to the Department of Corrections.

This year, the Providence House organization was hoping to house a small number of those offenders in a controlled shelter.

It seems that local residents would prefer that these recently released concerns for society should have free choice of their place of residence.

So be it. Without a tangible plan, they may just end up in Wallingford anyway.