On a pretty Sunday afternoon in June, about 125 area residents resisted the call of the beach, opting instead to fill the Ocean Shores Lions Club to hear a wide-ranging discussion on homelessness and hunger on the North Coast.

The event was organized by Ocean Shores Block Watch and moderated by Dr. Doreen Cato, a former King County Housing Authority Commissioner.

Among the attendees were five Ocean Shores City Council members and the local Chief of Police. Event organizers Randy Peck and Susan Conniry recruited nine panelists who spoke on various aspects of the homeless and hunger problems that exist in this area. Panelists were: Cassie Lentz, Housing Resource Coordinator with Grays Harbor County Public Health and Social Services; Deborah Holcomb, North Beach School District Superintendent; Collette Gould, Pastor of Galilean Lutheran Church; Food Bank Executive Director Sandy Harley; Nora LeBlanc, Program Director with Coastal Community Action Program; Green Lantern Lunches founder Phyllis Shaughnessy; Odis Warren, with VFW Veterans Services; Audra Lutz of Sea Mar Community Health Centers; and Jeff Moyer of North Beach Senior Center.

Many panelists described the relevant services and resources that their particular agencies and organizations make available. They also spoke about the need to more effectively communicate the availability of these programs with their intended beneficiaries.

Several on the panel and in the audience spoke about creating an informal, local committee that would try to oversee and coordinate a variety of efforts and activities related to the topics. Leon Brauner, the former OS Food Bank Executive Director, volunteered to serve as a facilitator for such a committee.

Shannon Rubin, manager of the Canterbury Inn of Ocean Shores Blvd. and a candidate for City Council, offered to provide temporary housing at the Canterbury for homeless families with children during the off-season. She said the Inn’s owner would have to approve and she hopes to meet with Dr. Cato to establish criteria.

In closing remarks, Conniry, also a Council candidate, said the turnout and generally enthusiastic response to the event suggest there is energy and resolve locally to work together and move forward in addressing these ongoing concerns.