Orcas Island’s Pea Patch Campus advocates tell their stories to state legislators
Friday, February 14, 2025
FROM OLYMPIA
by Jeff Noedel
Video by Jeremy Tyler
“When we all help each other, we all rise together.” That’s the message Orcas Island resident Alex Callen shared with state legislators in Olympia Wednesday. Callen told state legislators his apartment is “real small… but it’s been a real game-changer for me… My health improved, my productivity improved… Just having my tiny little apartment makes me feel rich.”
He was part of a delegation of Orcasonians asking for $6.5 million from the state government for site work that would quickly lead to the construction of 20 new affordable housing units in Eastsound.
A previous video report by SanJuans.Today is here.
Wednesday’s delegation included:
- Suzzane Olson, Pea Patch Community Campus Lead
- Bob Morris, OPAL Trustee
- Rusty Lynn Diggs, OPAL Trustee, and homeowner of an OPAL-built home
- Mariah Armenia, OPAL volunteer and on the waiting list for an OPAL-built home
- Alex Callen, tenant of an OPAL-built home
Before the lobbying began, the group got a deluxe tour of the office of Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, arranged by Rick Hughes, who is organizing the Opal Land Trust lobbying effort.
Diggs, Armenia, and Callen told their stories over and over throughout the day, hoping to help OPAL get traction with the $6.5 million ask. Each of the stories was deeply personal, and we are grateful they shared their stories with SanJuans.Today in the video below.
Diggs’ amazing story is not just about the resilience of a loving mother, and the irreplaceable function of stable housing. It’s also a story about the generosity and community spirit of Orcas Island. “There was a community there that took care of us. That knew us. Believed in us. Supported us when we needed help,” she said.
A courteous “thank you for listening” could help…
To contact our State Legislature’s 40th District Senator and Representatives to thank them for listening to the Pea Patch Campus delegation Wednesday:
HERE’S THE ASK:
A total of $6.5 million in funding from the state’s capital budget for the Pea Patch Community Campus site work.
To read more about the OPAL Community Land Trust, click here.
