under west bridge seattle rv park

[dean]

Have you been by the rv park under the west seattle bridge? Makes a person wonder just what the mayor is doing to help the homeless besides offering lip service and raiseing taxes.There isn’t any garbage cans there not saying they would use them. No santicans either. Now,just where are these folks going to the restroom at. I will bet they make the treck to one of the available spots that are so convent. This area is not only an isore but a bio hazard. Lets not forget the safety hazard to the public. They get moved out every once in a while gone a week then back.I understand everybody has to be somewhere but this isn’t an answer to the problem. Don’t waste our tax dollars on studies use it to fix the problem. I for one get tired of the lip service and political correctness. Do something already!

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[amazing]

This is what the Mayor is doing for the Homeless…putting in “Safe Shoot-up Places, painting crosswalks in pretty colors… ” which means he’s doing absolutely NOTHING for the Homeless!
I for one wonder why do we need safe places for drug addicts to shoot up…isn’t that illegal, are we condoning illegal activities now?

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[VVT]

After “the jungle” was cleared out last year, the space under the WS bridge near Spokane street started filling up with temporary homes. I drive by there every day for work.

As far as being a safety hazard to the public, in my limited experience there is only Port traffic and vehicle traffic from port employees occupying those streets on a regular basis. I’m not saying average commuters don’t use that route, but it’s certainly not on the same scale as commuters on 1st Ave S. City police don’t go there often and I always assumed it’s because it’s adjacent to Port property, which means city of Seattle police leave it up to Port officers to enforce the rules, which perhaps they only do to the Port traffic and not the regular vehicle traffic.

I’d love to see some clarity on the laws in that part of town and which entity really has the authority to enforce them.

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[JanS]

better a “safe place” than your back yard

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[skeeter]

I’m worried about the multi-use path (bikes, peds, etc) that connects the lower bridge and sodo. The homeless campers are really close to the path in many places. I’ve noticed several campers now have dogs too. All the garbage and human waste have nowhere to go except bushes along the trail. Getting really, really bad. Every week there are more and more homeless. I can’t imagine how bad it will be when the weather is better this summer and it will be more comfortable to camp under the bridge.

I used to be opposed to allowing homeless camping in Seattle parks but I’m rethinking that as the homeless population grows. We really need garbage cans and portable toilets. I’d be willing to “give up” some parks to authorized homeless campers in exchange for enforcement of laws that prohibit camping in public places.

Seattle isn’t struggling alone. I was in Reno visiting family last summer and took a big bike ride. There is a lovely downtown park in Reno along the Truckee River. The park was completely overrun with homeless. Hundreds of people are living in the park. The bathrooms – designed to handle park visitors and not campers bathing and doing laundry – were in bad shape. What’s most messed up is I didn’t see any families/children using the park. It was basically taken over by homeless. It’s really depressing.

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[buttercup]

There is an adjacent boat Marina down by that RV park. It’s been on and off again for several years. It’s a disgrace and a environment hazard as well as safety. The city needs to take a lesson from our homeless officer in West Seattle and take care of this issue.

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[VVT]

For those walking and biking – having used this route for my daily commute for the past few years I’ve never heard even anecdotally of a a problem between commuters and those occupying temporary homes under the bridge. I’m sure others can offer more insight. In my experience, port traffic, due to the varying schedules of T-30 and T-46, is the cause of traffic problems in this area of SODO.

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[angelescrest]

I keep playing this out in my mind–often. What future is there for the homeless in Seattle, when even so many with decent jobs can neither find nor afford a place to live in the city? How would someone ever get out of homelessness when there are no homes? When going the conventional route means having a sustainable (and proof of) income, a good credit score and at least 2k to for first/last and deposit. I think of the shipping crate model, and then I think of stacks of shipping crates, and a teeming mess unless the social services are in place to help people get back on their feet and remain there…are there answers or models that work? I am starkly aware of how easy it is to lose one’s footing in an unforgiving, safety net-less society that we live in where a motorhome becomes the next step down to a tent on the street. I want to hear that there is a way out.

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[aa]

When Mayor Murray talks all I hear is blah blah blah. I don’t fear for others when I see this trailer hell. I’m sad for them that our city can’t seem to find a way to do the simple task of picking up the frikkin’ garbage, I’m sad that wherever I turn I see a tent tucked alongside the highway, I’m curious what the new hire is doing that Murray brought on to deal with homelessness, I’m curious how Murray or the city council members would feel if the trailer mess or all the other similar places were next door to their homes. I bet the garbage would get picked up then. How come we never see photos of the Mayor and city officials posing at that site? No, lets walk around a clean neighborhood for the photo. hmm… maybe this should have gone in the rant section.

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[LINDA4747]

Its the worst Ive ever seen,the mayor is very disappointing, what can we do?

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[JanS]

just recently saw a house for rent that required about $5400 in deposits before you ever got in…that was first, last and a huge, huge $2000 deposit. Who has that kind of money these days? So, yes…there is no housing for the homeless. Until the mayor and city council can sit down honestly and come up with something better than standing in line at 4pm for a bed, out in the early morning to roam the streets, there will be tents, and there will be homeless people. And if a city/county dumpster is not available, and picked up regularly, think about it. Wjere would your trash be after 3-4 weeks if you didn’t have regular pickup. Complaining here is unloading. Now take action by contacting and calling out the powers that be who talk a good story, but get nothing about this topic actually accomplished.

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[melissa]

I do not understand why so many of you blame the mayor for the increase and state of our homeless population. As others have pointed out, rents are astronomical in this city, as well as unreasonably high in surrounding areas. I am thankful daily for the roof over my head. If you are unhappy with what the mayor is doing, I’m interested in what you think he should be doing differently. I’m also interested in what you are doing to help the situation of homeless people in this city.

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[JoB]

melissa. .i think he should pick up the garbage and install porta potties..
spending the money allocated to combat homelessness by running camp sweeps and moving the problem from one place to another isn’t even a short term solution.

as for what i am doing.. i have been speaking up and advocating for the homeless for years now.. I contribute regularly to groups that actually help homeless individuals.. and i call more than one homeless person a friend.

as for the rest of what i do.. that’s personal.. between me and the people I help..
i only hope i have helped them as much as they have helped me. friendship is like that.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 1 month ago by JoB.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 1 month ago by JoB.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 1 month ago by JoB.

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[Michael Waldo]

I heard an interview with the Union Gospel Mission, which is working with the city during sweeps. They stated that 90% of the jungle residents were addicted to heroin, meth or alcohol. And they had beds available but folks did not want to go because they wanted their “freedom” and didn’t want to live with rules. Most had come from out of town because they heard about “Freeattle”. A Porta potty just normalizes living in tents. We cannot just tolerant people setting up tents where ever they want. Accept help or leave. The consultant the city hired put out her report. No tent cities at all, that was her number one recommendation. I have compassion for folks down on their luck. I do not accept that we should put up with people stealing tents and bikes (ask REI), engaging in child sex trafficking for drugs, per news reports last week, breaking into cars and homes to get stuff to sell for drugs, the shootings, the rapes, this has all been reported. No other American city looks like Seattle. Allowing people to flaunt the law, live in their own filth and engage in multiple illegal activities is not compassion. I don’t have the perfect solution. That is want we elected and pay our city leaders to do. We paid a consultant $90,000 for a plan and it has been ignored. The city has to stop tolerating illegal and unhealthful behavior.

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[JanS]

so….lets just let them use the streets as a bathroom? That’s your solution? Good grief. Have you ever met a homeless person? They’re human, with human functions, Michael. Better a porta potty than rampant diseases spread by animals going through urine and feces. Where the hell do you want them to go, and whatever made you think that any human being in the world, whether they’re addicted or not, should be treated like trash? The city needs to stop spending money on consultants and start working to fix this, whether it’s through sanctioned tent/tinyhouse cities, rehab, training so people can have productive lives, healthcare…food….I am disgusted with people who think that we should just send them somewhere else, so we don’t have to deal. Do you jhonestly think Seattle is the only city with homeless people, so let’s run them out of town and let someone else deal? Out of sight, out of mind? There but for the grace of some goddess go I, my friend. I am about 2 inches from being homeless myself…disabled, a senior with health problems that needs healthcare (organ transplant). Not real crazy about your attitude towards your neighbors. You’ll come on here and b**ch and moan, but you won’t help the problem get better :(

http://www.facinghomelessness.org/

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[Michael Waldo]

Take a chill pill. You have no idea what I do. My wife and I have “adopted” a disabled woman who at one time was living in a tent city. She could not wait to get out. She said most people got up in the morning and either went to buy drugs, sell drugs or sell themselves for drugs. We helped her navigate the system, got her on a waiting list for Seattle Housing authority and after 3 and half years, her name finally came up. So yes, I have met a homeless person. Did you even read my remarks? Everything I stated above has been reported by the press. Child sex trafficking , drug dealing, robbery, shop lifting, murder. I am sorry, care me a prude but I do make a judgement on illegal and immoral behavior.

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[VVT]

JanS, I’m not suggesting that many folks who are down in their luck can afford these fees, but I do want to point out that the days of thousands of dollars down are behind us. As of January 2017:

Security Deposit, Pet Deposit, and Move-in Fee Limits – New limits on deposits and fees that can be charged at the beginning of a new rental agreement include:

Security deposit plus move-in fees cannot exceed the amount of the first full month’s rent.

New Deposit and Move-in Fee Limits and Payment Plans

I am currently seeking new housing as a renter and my legal office informed us of this change in a recent seminar.

New Deposit and Move-in Fee Limits and Payment Plans

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[Kake]

$300 bus tickets back home, wherever that may be. Back to a better support network. That may get the numbers more manageable for providing services and support to those who choose to stay in Seattle. Think about it.

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[shauna]

Is there anything that can be done to remove the tent dweller who has set up camp in the blue tent just as I make a right from the bridge to go onto beach drive? How come I hear the beach being cleared by the police loudspeaker every night at 11 pm but someone in a tent camping near the beach cannot be told to move on? I am frustrated like everyone else( especially since my taxes just skyrocketed to pay to live in this beautiful place)….

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[JoB]

Kake.. and what will you do for those whose home is in Seattle?
I am friends with several of Seattle’s homeless.. people who call tents on a hillside home.. and most of those i know are home…
getting them to reconnect with their support services is not as easy as handing them a bus ticket

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[shauna]

JoB- not sure what the solution is….but we can’t go on like this.It is unsanitary (let alone unsightly) for ALL of us.So NOT connecting with services has to have consequences besides pitching a tent somewhere else.I’m just saying we all can’t live like this anymore.

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[Michael Waldo]

Our tax money goes toward $50 million a year for homeless services. What is this money being spent on? That is a lot of money. Maybe the city should build some more apartment buildings. Took a friend 3 and a half years to get into Settle public housing. Crazy.

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[JoB]

shanua.. we couldn’t agree more.. we can’t go on like this. But the answer isn’t using such a large chunk of our homeless dollars in sweeps when sanitation services are so much cheaper.
as for consequences.. i would like you to pitch a tent in your back yard and then go spend the next rainstorm in it.. and tell me how long you last..
For the most part people are not living in tents by choice.. they would much prefer housing .. just like you and i would… with locks and indoor plumbing and cooking facilities.
The largest gift i give the guy who lives in a tent and comes to work in my yard isn’t the meal i always feed him but the use of my shower a couple of times a week and a share of the bounty the garden produces.

it’s too easy to forget that the homeless are people just like us.. with the same hopes and dreams for themselves and their loved ones that we have.

• This reply was modified 7 years ago by JoB.

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