Amazon just opened a permanent homeless shelter in its Seattle HQ, offering vulnerable families a place to stay. (real estate)

[homesinseattle]

Take a look here. https://www.businessinsider.com/mary...-office-2020-5

“Amazon's Seattle headquarters is now home to a new homeless family shelter. Mary's Place Family Center opened its doors on the Amazon campus in March, just as the coronavirus pandemic was growing in the US.

This new permanent shelter has been planned since 2017. From 2016 to 2018, the shelter operated out of a vacant building on campus until this location was ready. The eight-floor shelter has 63,000-square-feet of usable space, increasing the center's previous capacity by 40%. Mary's Place can shelter up to 1,000 people a year, and 2,000 people each night, as described by Amazon VP of global real estate and facilities, John Schoettler.

Amazon has faced criticism over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. While millions file for unemployment, CEO Jeff Bezos increased his wealth by $24 billion. In April, over 30 workers at a warehouse outside of New York City tested positive for COVID-19. Despite the surge in orders, Amazon announced that it would end hazard pay raise for warehouse workers at the end of May, though many workers say it's too soon. The original plans for the shelter have adapted as the coronavirus pandemic made shelter and isolation even more important.

[xPlorer48]

I hope this is for families, single moms/dads, individuals, etc. who need and want help. I would prefer that the habitual druggies and drunks are not allowed in.

[bergun]

Originally Posted by xPlorer48

I hope this is for families, single moms/dads, individuals, etc. who need and want help. I would prefer that the habitual druggies and drunks are not allowed in.

Yes. One can only hope that this will be the case.

[Diana Holbrook]

Amazing that Amazon can get bad press just for being a company who was perfectly well set up to get us ANYTHING we need, delivered to our door, within a day or two, during a pandemic. For being Johnny on the spot when we needed it.... they get badmouthed for being wildly successful and making money.

This area has been blessed with more than our share of brilliant entrepreneurs, and yes, they've become very rich. But they've also made many many other people rich too, and have given back far more than anyone should be required to.

No good deed goes unpunished, I guess.

[rjshae]

Probably cheaper to set up a homeless shelter than to pay a $10 million head tax.

[dav51lin]

whats the point of prime now

[elkotronics]

Seattle could probably use about 5 or 5 more of those homeless shelters, Jeff Bezos. Hop on it. Instead of Washington State, mainly King County, using McNeil Island as a homeless shelter/drug and alcohol rehab center Amazon has decided to pick up the fumbled football and not just pounce on it - they're heading towards the Seahawk's end zone.

I agree with Diana Holbrook - how can this new homeless shelter be painted as a stinkbomb?

[PilgrimsProgress]

So will these tenants be required to work for Amazon? That might be a good idea to give the unemployed some marketable skills and a company to put on their resume so they could move out and get a real job elsewhere, freeing up space for new unemployed.