BY ANDERSON HOBBS for WEEKLY VOLCANO 6/12/26 |
The Hosmer Business Association is one antidote to problems that the notoriously rough area has faced over the years.
Renee Cline, president of the HBA, makes no excuses for where Hosmer Street has been, but she is optimistic about where it is going.
“We want to create a safer and more welcoming environment for people in the Hosmer corridor,” said Cline, owner of Crossroads Treatment Center, located in the district.
In fact, Cline is the only business owner on the HBA board. The other board members are mostly people who live in the neighborhood. Cline is looking to get other Hosmer business owners involved as part of an effort to turn the neighborhood around. One obstacle to this, she said, is that many of these business owners are running so lean on labor that they don’t have the availability to step away.
As for strides made by the association, one credit goes to the security team it hired, Cline said. She acknowledges the intersection of 96th Street and Hosmer Street can still be problematic, for example, with people using drugs in public.
Other efforts to improve the neighborhood over the past year include monthly street cleanups every third Saturday. The next one starts at 9 a.m. June 20. Volunteers can meet at Crossroads Treatment Center. The HBA will provide the doughnuts, coffee, vests, bags, and gloves. The group will go from 84th Street to 96th Street and Steele Street.
Cline, a Tacoma native, said the diverse area needs a voice. In addition, the HBA is consistently working to bring people together, whether through an upcoming community barbecue in August or the annual “trunk or treat” in October.
“It was really bad here three years ago,” Cline said. “Don’t listen to everything you hear about Hosmer. Come on over and see for yourself.”
About Crossroads Treatment Center
Located at 8717 S. Hosmer St., the outpatient facility provides treatment for drug and alcohol problems. The facility offers “hope and help to assist our clients in the acquisition of skills needed to make healthy choices for change. We believe that once the addiction is out of the way, the human being can live,” according to its website.
Crossroads has day, evening, and weekend programs. Crossroads is also a preferred provider for a number of insurance carriers. Individual interest-free payment plans are also available.
“I was in addiction for many, many years,” said Cline, who has been sober for eight years and counting. “You just need to call and schedule an appointment for an assessment.”
Learn more at crossroadstreatment.org.
This content sponsored by Hosmer Business District
