The City of Seattle says most of the eight people still living in tents at the park found space at a temporary shelter facility. Some remain living outside. The Seven Hills Park encampment has been cleared.
Thursday morning, nine or ten city workers entered the 16th and Howell park to begin dismantling tents and collect discarded items left behind from the sweep. Volunteers were on hand to help some of the people move their belongings. One person in a tent was having a difficult time waking up and a community volunteer stopped in with her to help.
CHS reported here on plans for the sweep of the encampment that formed after months of complaints from nearby housed neighbors as a flashpoint in Mayor Bruce Harrell’s efforts to step up clearance and shelter outreach work in the city.
The city’s HOPE Team that leads outreach efforts has hundreds of “set-aside” shelter resources “that can be prioritized for individuals residing in priority encampments that may be subject to a removal,” a city official told CHS on the day of the sweep. These set-aside beds represent about 30% of the city funded shelter system.
But there is high demand and shelter availability “varies from day to day.” Thursday, the official said, there were at least 12 shelter beds still available including one space in a tiny house village and eleven spaces at enhanced shelters, facilities with services that can include elements like meals or hygiene facilities .
The official said shelters sometimes have more open spaces than “available beds” given the extra resources required to take in a new resident.
The city’s numbers on outreach efforts show progress with its statistics showing an enrollment rate of 47.37% of the people contacted from October through December. The program points to “enhanced coordination efforts” and reduced barriers “such as providing direct transportation to the shelter and storage of belongings” as driving the improvements.
The city official said consistently tracking enrollment remains difficult due to issues like privacy practices in record keeping.
The city says its funded shelter contracts are now with the new King County Regional Homelessness Authority and have raised the tracking issue with the new organization.
Despite the city’s outreach efforts, KUOW reported some Seven Hills Park campers said they planned to remain at encampments or find a new space to camp in the neighborhood.
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I’m disappointed that we don’t hear from the 3rd district council member about these sweeps and finding solutions for our neighborhood.
Sawant is a false prophet that only cares about herself, Socialist Alternative, and the Revolution. She never has and never will engage with the neighborhood to solve problems.
Pretty much wrong on all counts. She’s saved my butt a couple of times.
Ok.
Wonderful! Please enlighten us so these vicious, unfounded accusations of being worthless to her district can be put to rest.
Can you expand on that?
@Reality is correct. Her office never responds–even with a form letter–to calls or emails, which is unlike any other councilmember or, for that matter, city office. She’s not interested in helping her constituents, only in building her brand.
Yeah, I’ve written to a handful of politicians, including council members, and Sawant is the only one I never even received a canned response from. That’s the bare minimum you expect when you contact your elected official, yet she couldn’t even bother to do that.
Bravo for this follow up. Thank you.
I’m concerned about the still meager followup resources and more support to more permanent personal plans.
at least two of the people who were made to leave the park have not found a new place to live yet and are now in new, nearby, less safe spaces
If they continue to refuse services or go to a shelter, they should be swept. It is time for a camping ban city-wide. They don’t have a right to take over parks and trash the city just because they are drug addicts and don’t want rules.
Their (poor) choice. They were offered shelter.
Thank you!
Looks like Williams Place Park is open for camping again.
A significant number of the camping homeless are not from here, according to We 💚 Seattle who have met many of them. Seattle is being taken advantage of by red states sending us their homeless. Who are then coddled here by other recent arrivals. I’m born here and I don’t know anyone that wants them camping in parks or on sidewalks. We need a new Hooverville. Park camping is a fever dream of people like Nicole Thomas-Kennedy (from Iowa), Nikkita Oliver (from Indiana) and Kshama Sawant (from Mumbai).
Nobody born here wants homeless campers in parks.
This is an insane take and just wrong and also people are allowed to move here, so what is your point?
it’s not insane. it’s how 99% of residents feel. People down on their luck don’t refuse shelter.
Nobody born anywhere wants campers in parks. Not Sawant, Oliver or the 99%. You want to camp free, go into the wilderness of Alaska or Montana. Or under the freeway (just mind those propane tanks).
I disagree. Sawant and Oliver want campers in parks to punish the bourgeoisie and to use them as pawns to fundraise for the Revolution.