To whom it may concern at Transitional Housing Re: Helen’s House 4226 Pickett Road Bellingham WA 98226 From day one there has never been any oversee or rules of conduct to follow in a residential neighborhood just a free for all gathering place. The main house has the women of “clean and sober living” as listed on website (but I question that statement as when they first moved in and I tried to talk directly about the loud party scene, I was offered a beer by Harlan, further tries were then followed by obscenities when trying to get the party to settle down, it hasn’t in 3 years). The out building on the property houses the men from what looks like on the internet list of meetings NA rehab place to live, blast their bass, work on cars, hang out etc, in COMPLETE disrespect for the neighbors living close by. For the last 3 years we (myself and direct neighbor) have been above and beyond tolerant and patient only to be left maximally stressed, and at our wits end, this “party” house posing as “transitional housing” with no oversee or rules of conduct to follow at all. I have 3 years of documentation over and will supply Affidavit if need be. We have gotten no results with the person listed as a contact for the house. In fact over the last 3 years every time I contact (via text and phone calls) things only get worse. The tenants and all their friends that hang out like to rebel after we desperately try and get some help from the person that is listed as a contact but does not live there, he gives a text to them they settle for a few minutes then start back up again that evening or the next day. Everyone that lives there men’s (out building) and women’s (main house) house on property has their own set of friends constantly coming and going blasting their bass in their cars to announce their every arrival and departure. Last night we sent the last text to Steve stating we are done playing this game, so he has a heads up that we are digging deeper on how to get this situation dealt with properly. State of Washington mandates such as gatherings, masks and social distancing has never applied to this place even during the complete lock-down, even more people hung out as it was the only place they could gather, very stressful during these very challenging times. I work all day in a mask and have to follow very strict mandates at work and in the city, only to come home and deal with the “party scene” where these rules do not nor have they ever applied since the pandemic began. Thank you for any information you may have or direction of where to take this issue. We have no choice at this point to pursue this from every angle, as this has got to stop. Regards, (so far I have two neighbors willing to talk about the issue. The other neighbors need to be contacted by mail, as during COVID we cannot walk up to their home unannounced, we will start this process this week)

Helen House was conceived in June of 2017 because there was a lack of resources available in Whatcom County for woman seeking recovery from substance use disorders. Woman seeking a safe place to stay after leaving a treatment facility, jail, prison, homeless shelter, or sometimes the streets face limited options for structured sober living. I have been clean and in recovery for 33 years and have worked in the addiction treatment field for 32 years. Helen House was named after my mother who was heavily involved in the fellowship of Alanon for over 30 years prior to her death in 2015. In the 3 years that Helen House has been in existence many people have had the opportunity to lead a clean and sober life as a result. It came to my attention from a woman who moved into the house this week that she was afraid to come after reading a scathing review by a neighbor. I read what was written and feel the need to defend Helen House and its mission. Furthermore, a letter such as written by the neighbor could potentially prevent someone from taking the step that could save their life. The neighbor who I know as George authored the review and made some claims such as "it is a party house", "there are no rules that are in place or enforced", "the house manager, offered me a beer", etc. George has indeed contacted me as well Harlan, the former house manager, a number of times over the past 3 years. We have done as well as we can to address any concerns. One of the first complaints that George lodged was when some yard waste (leaves, branches, etc. ) were being burned. We stopped doing this at that time. Sometime later a couple of women with their children who were visiting them were roasting marshmallows and hotdogs in the firepit which is located about 150' from George's house. George complained to me that the smoke was bothering him. As a result we have not allowed any campfires for some time. Another complaint I had was when a contractor who was doing some remodel work was playing music from his small jobsite radio. The complaint I got from George that the contractor was playing "thunderous bass". I asked the contractor to be cognizant of the noise level and he complied. George infers in his letter that Helen House is "not a clean and sober house" and that Harlan offered him a beer. The fact is that any use of alcohol and drugs is cause for an instant eviction from the house. Sadly, complete abstinence can be difficult for some people to maintain and this has been enforced a number of times. Each resident provides an observed 14 panel UA drug screen panel on a weekly basis. Harlan, the former house manager who lived on the premises with his wife and child, also provided a UA on a regular basis. He is a solid member in recovery who has been clean and sober for over 4 years. I simply do not believe the above mentioned action took place. The fact of the matter is that young people who are newly sober are sometimes emotionally immature, rebellious, and at times loud. Though it is regularly addressed, sometimes peoples actions can be outside of our control. Recently one of our residents responded to George's partner in a rude and obnoxious manner (other residents observed this and informed me of her behavior). She had some history of having conflicts with other residents. When she was confronted with her interaction with the neighbor she refused to take any responsibility and was evicted. There are weekly house meetings where residents have to provide proof of treatment, meeting attendance and working a program of recovery. A day or two prior to his review George had sent me a text at about 6 pm that the residents were having a large gathering and had music blasting. I was about 5 minutes away so I stopped by the house to deal with it. The "loud party" that George was complaining about consisted of the 12 residents and 3 of their partners/family members having a barbeque. They were playing a stereo at a moderate level in a location about 200' from George's house. They had sort of a talking circle going and each was sharing what they were grateful for. The residents live together, and furthermore the majority had been vaccinated. It was the first nice sunny day in the spring. I saw such a small gathering as being very positive. Sometimes a little enjoyment can save a life.

Helens house, I really loved living here, staying at the Helens house I was able to put myself on a regular routine and started back visitation with my daughter's and I feel like the sister hood I felt at Helens house is rare and helped me a lot, women were respectful nice kind and caring I felt safe at the Helen house. I enjoyed my time at Helen house and believe it will always be an amazing experience and made alot of good memories with clean and sober friends and anonymous above is not telling the truth about Helen house I had a really good time at Helen house, I loved it.