By RICHARD WALKER
rwalker@soundpublishing.com
KINGSTON – Debbie Masio’s introduction to the new reality of renting in North Kitsap came when she had to find a new place to live and thought, “I’ll just go out and rent a place.”
Easier said than done.
A 32-year resident of Kingston living on fixed income, she not only found rents to be out of reach (a two-bedroom apartment at Liberty Ridge in Poulsbo that cost $900 a month in 2012 now costs $1,455), she also found waiting lists for affordable rentals for people living on fixed income. She went to Hostmark, Fjord Manor and Fjord Vista apartments in Poulsbo, and found waiting lists of one to three years. She found the same thing at Time Square and Village Green in Kingston.
“I called from Bainbridge to Port Orchard. There was nothing open,” she said.
Masio now lives month-to-month in a 150-square-foot room at the Blue Water Inn.
If you’ve bought a cup at Starbucks at Colman Dock or called the front desk at Clearwater Casino Resort Hotel, you might have crossed paths with her. She’s now disabled and living on a fixed income. What she learned during her search for an affordable rental turned her into an advocate and a visionary.
She’s organized a public meeting on the housing crisis in North Kitsap, 7 p.m. July 28 at the Village Green Community Center. She said Sen. Christine Rolfes, D-Bainbridge Island, is scheduled to participate, as are staff members of Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Bremerton, and the Kitsap County Board of Commissioners.
This is no informational meeting — it’s a call to action, she said. She’s drumming up support for an owner-build neighborhood of tiny houses; if you’ve followed the Tiny House movement, you know that some tinies are as big as her hotel room. The community would be managed by a board of directors comprised of neighborhood residents. The neighborhood would be self-sustaining, with food-producing gardens.
She has a name for the community: The Mustard Seed, a reflection of the faith that drives her. (In Matthew 17:20, Jesus tells his disciples, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”)
Masio has participated in panel discussions on the lack of affordable housing in Kitsap. She’s frustrated that discussions are often nothing but. She believes a neighborhood of tiny houses could provide another route for those seeking housing stability, and would empower advocates “to put a hammer in one hand and a nail in the other, to put action where your mouth is.”
According to TheTinyLife.com, 68 percent of tiny-house people have no mortgage, compared to 20.3 percent of all U.S. homeowners; 55 percent of tiny-house people have more savings than the average American, with a median of $10,972 in the bank; 78 percent of tiny-house people own their home, compared to 65 percent of homeowners with traditional homes. The average cost to build a tiny house is $23,000 if built by the owner. The average standard U.S. house is 2,100 square feet — the equivalent of nearly 11.3 tiny houses.
A Kingston woman named Melodie, profiled in the November 2015 Kingston Community News, bought a tiny house from Tumbleweed Tiny House Company for $13,000 and was putting the finishing touches on it — roofing, windows, wood siding — on a lot on Ohio Avenue. The house is powered by solar and battery, has a kitchen, and has a bathroom with shower and low-flush toilet that can be connected to sewer or holding tank.
For many, economic recovery continues
Barb Fulton said the Kingston Food Bank’s clients include 12 homeless individuals. Overall, 50-60 individuals regularly visit the food bank. “Every day we are open, we get one or two new families,” she said.
“I have someone who is sleeping on the porch of the food bank. I leave a sleeping bag and a few blankets on the porch for that,” she said. “There’s a homeless encampment in Indianola. I drive out there with clothes and shoes, because they don’t have cars so they can come to us.”
The food bank also provides clothes that are suitable for job interviews, and as well as hygiene items.
“The economy is getting better, but when you’ve already lost everything, it’s not getting better for them because they are starting over brand new,” she said.
Faith and moxie
Masio is a picture of determination. She uses a cane because she has no feeling in her legs except for numbness and tingling. “I don’t let it stop me,” she said. “It might take me a little longer to get there, but I’ll get there.”
She’s taking that moxie — and faith — to The Mustard Seed project.
“The Lord has put me on this journey,” she said.
