EVERETT — On any given night, there can be nearly 20 top bunks empty at the Everett Gospel Mission men’s shelter.
That’s a lot of unused beds for a shelter with an average waitlist 12-40 names long.
Those beds are left vacant because many clients can’t climb up and down a ladder to get into the upper bunks.
“How horrible to be in a shelter and have an empty bed because you made it inaccessible,” said Sylvia Anderson, CEO of the Gospel Mission. “Our population is aging — bunk beds aren’t a good solution.”
John Hull, a shelter director, said the bunk beds were often cited as a reason many didn’t use the shelter.
“Nobody wanted to be on the top bunk,” Hull said.
Hull and Anderson set off to look for a better bed. But even after touring shelters around the country they didn’t find an improved model.
So they, along with an architect, set about designing a more accessible and private bed.
Two years later, in April, the Gospel Mission unveiled the new beds. Gone are the ladders and metal frames, replaced by stairs and solid wood. A lockable cabinet and power strips were added.
The stairs made it so anyone, even with a cane, could sleep in the top bunk. And the solid wood gives clients more privacy.
“The stairs allow for 100 percent occupancy,” Hull said.
The Gospel Mission said the newly designed bed system is the first of its kind in the United States. They eventually want to have the new beds in every room at the shelter. Now a prototype is being used in one men’s dorm.
“It’s a whole different experience than the old bunk beds,” said a 51-year-old mission resident named Mark, who declined to provide his last name.
He sleeps on one of the new beds. Mark said the added privacy gives clients, like himself, “more of a sense of dignity.”
“This is the Taj Mahal of the Mission,” said Mark, giving a tour of his dorm room.
Anderson and Hull would like to see these beds in other shelters. They hope to one day create bed kits that can be sold.
While the new beds take up a little more room, Hull said it’s worth it.
Anderson said the ladders and openness of the old bunk beds make the recovery process more difficult. The new beds, with added privacy, offer clients a more restful sleep, she said.
“If we want a better outcome, we need to provide better services,” Anderson said. “We wanted to remove every barrier we can for someone not walking in the doors.”
Lizz Giordano: 425-374-4165; egiordano@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @lizzgior.
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