Your Feelings About Seattle City Council's Plan for Homeless Encampments?

[andasai]

The following petition is simply asking the Seattle City Council to defer a vote on Bill 118794 for at least 6 months to study the environmental and societal impact of homeless encampments in public parks and public spaces. Thank you!
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/stop-seattle-turning-our-parks-into-homeless-camps?utm_medium=email&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=Send%2Bto%2BFriend

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[squareeyes]

Signed. Thank you for posting the link.

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[Michael Waldo]

What I want to know is, has anybody done a proper survey of the homeless. Not how many, but who they are.
We hear that Seattles raising rents are why there are so many homeless. But is this true? How many people camping in Seattle are there because their rents were raised so high they ended on the streets? Or rather because they are drug addicts and spend their money on drugs instead of rent? Or, like a friend of mine, are mentally ill and when they go manic, they trash the place they live in and get evicted? Or are not even from Seattle but came here because they heard how easy it is to be homeless here? We need to fully understand the problem before we can put forth solutions. Anyway, about your question, I am not comfortable with people camping wherever they please. I don’t want to trip over a campsite while hiking in Lincoln park.

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[Jeannie]

Bump

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[waynster]

No for parks ….this would be a better idea….

http://komonews.com/news/local/tiny-houses-could-take-pressure-off-seattles-homeless-crisis

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[West Seattle since 1979]

Signed. Thanks so much.

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[anonyme]

Signed.

Michael, reasonable as your question is, there is a LOT of resistance to it. There is little argument as to the accuracy of the numbers done in homeless counts; the demographics are much more difficult to come by.

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[JoB]

I hate to be a killjoy in the midst of all this “reasonableness” .. but Seattle has just been issued a high wind alert for the latter part of this week. While you are presumably safe and warm in your homes, Seattle’s homeless will be on the streets or in the woods during this event.

Yes Michael Waldo.. studies have been done. In my opinion, Seattle’s homeless population is one of the most studied in the nation, but you don’t hear much about the results of those studies because they don’t fit the public perception of Seattle’s homeless.. people from somewhere else who prefer to be homeless and came to Seattle for our “great” services.

What they show is a rising population of single displaced women (often homeless as a result of domestic violence), single displaced elderly whose limited incomes can no longer cover Seattle’s rising rents, displaced families whose working adults can’t cover Seattle’s rising rents, disabled people who are in the process of applying for Social Security Disability with legitimate health claims (some for as long as 9 years) but whose benefits when they are granted won’t cover housing costs and last but not least our community’s mentally ill (many of whom are addicted to both legal and illegal substances).

Our supplemental housing lists are so large they are run by lottery and if you are lucky enough to be granted a voucher you might not be able to find housing before it expires.

That’s the reality.

Yes Waynster. tiny houses would be a better idea and in many cases would actually benefit homeowners. I can tell you from personal experience that the homeless i have had helping me with my gardens have been invaluable to me. If i wasn’t a renter i would be parking an RV in the back yard. It breaks my heart to have them come work with me during the day, to feed them and befriend them and then send them back to a tent on the hillside where they are subject to being run off on a regular basis.

Andasai.. you want 6 months for further study. No big deal, right? Except.. those 6 months include another winter with more homeless deaths due to hypothermia and weather related illnesses.

Seattle instituted a 10 year plan.. with an incredible amount of study. After 10 years, that group concluded that the solution was housing. The Mayor didn’t like their plan and commissioned yet another study which was followed by another. Again, the solution is housing. Yet, you think putting our homeless population at risk for another 6 months for yet another study is the answer?
Not likely.

The only logical result of postponing this plan, which would designate specific areas as possible temporary shelters with services is to gain time to keep them out of your neighborhood.

All if can say is look around. They are already here (hiding in plain sight) and their numbers are increasing.

We need immediate solutions that address the core problems.. not endless studies with little or no real action.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 6 months ago by JoB.

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