MYERS WAY: City plans east-side cleanup next week, but not a sweep

(WSB photo)

Unauthorized camping and trash have been longstanding complaints about the wooded area east of Myers Way. In mid-March, the city joined the state in sweeping an area along the slope over Highway 509. Now, the city confirms a cleanup is planned in the area, but not a sweep. We heard about it from SPD, and checked with the city’s homelessness-response spokesperson Will Lemke, who replied:

There is going to be work to remove garbage and debris within the unsanctioned encampment next week. This will not be a removal of the encampment and no one will be asked to leave. (The Navigation) Team continues to conduct repeated outreach in the area, offering services and shelter, and will continue doing so during the trash removal and following weeks.

The area that was swept last month along 509 was found to have no more than four campers during pre-sweep outreach, Lemke said, one of whom was “successfully connected … to shelter at the Georgetown sanctioned encampment in early March before the encampment removal. During the removal, all remaining campers left voluntarily.”

65 Replies to "MYERS WAY: City plans east-side cleanup next week, but not a sweep"

  • MJ April 3, 2018 (3:36 pm)

    What’s the point of cleaning up the trash if the people making the mess are not being held accountable for it?  These same people will just make another mess until they are made accountable!

    • Penny Lane Pannek April 15, 2018 (4:29 pm)

      NO ONE LIKES To LIVE like this no one! And until your city has a plan to house these people the problem will still exist. Forward-thinking ideas are necessary to move forward to move people into housing and if it’s not available at that time then new ideas need to come to the table for instance solar powered trash compactors like they have downtown accept mini dumpster size. Again nobody likes to live like that but when your city has no plan what the hell are they supposed to do. as we approach the summer months you’re going to see a lot more of these encampments come to play as we climb out of the winter rain. And as we do this problem will get bigger just like it does every year but with preventive maintenance from the city and budgeting  their money properly instead of miss using it or misplacing it they need to be placing those funds into ideas and activities that work not just propelling the long-term problem but actually fixing it I believe our new mayor has the ability to do that and I back her a hundred percent but I want to see results and they need to happen now! there’s plenty of money here in this great City for people to come together and correct this problem it’s really not that difficult the problem is  lies within the mechanics and the workings of the city itself and until those problems are resolved and things are smooth lined like they should be and funds are not misappropriated like they have been, then and we can finally get this problem handled I’m excited to see what our new mayor is going to do and forward-thinking ideas need to come to the plate now more than ever let’s handle this situation do what we need to do to get these people into housing clean up our city and work together! And I repeat work together! and if that can’t happen then we will never get this problem taken care of and we lose! Everybody has the right to Safe housing everybody has the right to pursue happiness every single one of us! Nobody is excluded from that we must work together to solve this problem immediately!

  • MJ April 3, 2018 (3:40 pm)

    What’s the point if these people are not being held accountable for the mess they created? 

    Maybe a stern warning that if they do not keep the site tidy they will removed the next time!

  • Joanne Brayden April 3, 2018 (4:53 pm)

    the trouble is that “the” mess is often made by one or two campers or by someone who falls ill and simply can’t keep up. i would like to see the city acknowledge that there are campers there and provide dumpsters at the bottom of the hill that could be regularly emptied.

    • Alki resident April 3, 2018 (5:43 pm)

      You’re kidding right?

    • uncle loco April 3, 2018 (7:13 pm)

      It’s always one or two who ruin it for the rest of the bunch.

    • Also John April 4, 2018 (11:25 am)

       +1  “You’re kidding me”

  • Rick April 3, 2018 (5:02 pm)

    Naah,that would require a bit of personal responsibility and you can’t force that on people.

  • West Seattle Hipster April 3, 2018 (5:21 pm)

    Will the occupants of Camp Second Chance volunteer their help in the clean up effort?

    • Flimflam April 3, 2018 (7:30 pm)

      Right. I doubt it. It would be great if any campers or advocates would acknowledge some of the bigger messes and pitch in seeing as the city/taxpayers are chipping in quite a bit already. Seems like not much at all is expected or even asked of the homeless themselves.

  • 1994 April 3, 2018 (7:24 pm)

     A little community service can boost one’s spirits – good idea – especially if they don’t have employment then they may have some spare time to contribute to the community!!

    • CatLady April 3, 2018 (11:26 pm)

      “They may have some spare time to contribute to the community!”

      You have no idea how difficult it is to be homeless, do you? When my boyfriend and I first moved to West Seattle we didn’t have internet. We were planning on getting it set up, but figured it wasn’t urgent. If we really needed internet we could go to the coffee shop down the street. A week after moving I was pulling my hair out, because having to plan out when to use the internet was driving me up the wall. It seems like such a little thing, until you don’t have it. Now imagine that’s the way EVERYTHING in your life is. Times ten. Add to that the fact that most people see you as less than human.

      They’re not just lounging around out there – homeless people are surviving in 3rd world conditions. Try and have some empathy. 

      • Also John April 4, 2018 (11:30 am)

        I’m old…..  I’ve gone the majority of my life without internet.  Are you saying I was previously living in 3rd world conditions? 

        • Angela April 11, 2018 (4:10 pm)

          I can’t stop laughing omg.  The people are homeless because its third world conditions without internet 😂😂😂

      • West Seattleite April 4, 2018 (1:01 pm)

        Isn’t there a middle ground here? Taking into account the
        comments of “Catlady” and “Blinkyjoe”, both have
        merit. Catlady, isn’t it obvious the way the city is handling this is
        untenable? Blinkyjoe has had real world experience; his suggestion seems to me
        what is necessary. Camp 
        Second Chance and other sanctioned encampments is the same idea
        simply on a smaller (likely less efficient) scale. The ad hoc camping needs to
        end. The way Mayor Durkan and those before her have handled this is
        wearing on our 
        empathy as well as finances and literally is trashing Seattle. No doubt Blinkyjoe’s approach would be objected to for a variety of
        reasons but with enforced standards as Seattle Housing Authority
        does, it would be better.              

      • Mark April 11, 2018 (2:24 pm)

        Really cat lady?!  I am 57 years of age and spent over half my life without internet and got alone just fine.  Even managed to make my first million $ before the internet!  But like you I have no hair left either.

  • Blinkyjoe April 3, 2018 (8:08 pm)

    Like squeezing a water balloon. Clean up, then sweep. Get them out. Is inhumane for us to let people live like that. Set up quonset tents on Terminal 5. It has infrastructure, power and space. And its on a bus line. Set up a tent as a mess hall, one for laundry/showers, one for sleeping. Put residents on a rotating schedule for trash and cleaning detail. Then drive the vans around and scoop everyone up and drive them there. And then ZERO tolerance for unauthorized camping. ZERO. When I was with Halliburton we did this in Bosnia in 1996 for more refugees than Seattle has homeless. For a fraction of what Seattle and KingCo pay now. It was humane, clean, and warm in the winter. Mayor Durkan do this now!! Lisa Herbold, if you read this, work hard to make this happen!

    • Jethro Marx April 4, 2018 (10:24 pm)

      As I recall, Halliburton has a funny way with math. What would that fraction be, of what we spend now?

      9/5?

      27/2?

      X/Y (integers redacted, to be filled in later)?

       Did you have a bill of rights, in Bosnia?

  • tm7302 April 3, 2018 (8:21 pm)

    Where are they putting the human waste?  I report every illegal encampment is see.  They all need to go.  Parts of Seattle remind me of some third world countries I’ve seen while in the military.

    • CatLady April 3, 2018 (11:29 pm)

      Where do you suggest they put it, since they don’t have bathrooms? I would suggest having the city put porta-potties out there, but I have a feeling you don’t agree with that. It’s not as if you stop having to poop and pee when you’re homeless. 

      • Katie April 4, 2018 (3:55 am)

        Why are portapotties not being used?  Human waste is extremely dangerous as a vector for disease. Is it concern over drug use?  Cost?

  • dsa April 3, 2018 (9:53 pm)

    I’m ashamed and embarrassed when friends from out of state want to visit now.  This homeless catering mess has to come to a better resolution.

    • JoB April 4, 2018 (6:49 am)

      the “homeless catering mess” would not exist without homelessness… 

  • MJ April 3, 2018 (10:39 pm)

    Blinkyjoe

    Interesting idea, but what will happen to all the beauracrats employed by the homeless industrial complex?

    MJ

    • Jethro Marx April 3, 2018 (11:47 pm)

      I’ve been seeing this term, homeless industrial complex, getting thrown around a bit here, and I’m curious: Who, exactly, is getting rich trying to provide services to the homeless? It’s not social workers or even behavioral mental health types; they generally pay a crapload for a master’s degree and then get paid less than a masterful wage. It’s not the people working at the desk of the shelters.

       Most of what you’re probably calling the complex is comprised of non-profit agencies, and a big chunk of their funding comes from private grants and donations. There are a handful of people in the upper reaches of the really big non-profits that make (barely) six figures, but as profitable industries go, homeless services is at the bottom of the list.

       I guess you just kinda hate homeless people, and maybe you picked up this term from breitbart or some other rabble source, but if you’re not speaking complete nonsense, give me some insight.

      • dsa April 4, 2018 (1:17 am)

        Jethro, in a previous thread I noted that the amount reported that the city alone spends on camp second chance divided by the 50 “campers” is equal to $50,000.00 per year per camper.  The return on investment is not reasonable especially when as you say there is a great deal of private grants and donations.

  • rico April 4, 2018 (7:21 am)

     Jethro, no one has stated the homeless industrial complex is about getting rich.  But it is about a whole bunch of full time jobs, for which there are no actual positive results achieved nor required.  That is the beef

    • Jethro Marx April 4, 2018 (10:07 am)

      Every single person who has ever worked providing services to homeless or otherwise marginalized populations would be able to provide you with stories of actual positive results you offhandedly claim do not exist.

       Any industrial complex is presumed to make people rich, generally in a corrupt way, so that is certainly the implicit theme of MJ’s remarks, although I have also seen explicit examples.

       Seattle has to deal with a large homeless population, and although many ideas are thrown around about how to do that, they all cost money. I found the $50,000 per person false statistic pretty funny, but that’s probably less than the cost of throwing people in jail for being poor and often dealing with mental illness and addiction.

       We like to make crazy claims about this population; i.e. they’re all criminals, they moved to (cold, rainy, expensive) Seattle because of our abundant services, they all got bussed here by other cities, I could go on and on, but the point is, “lock them up” or “cut off funding for homeless services” are not solutions, they’re costly, ineffective ideas from short-sighted and punitively minded people. Oh, and mercy: They’re lacking in mercy.

       But I was looking for some evidence of this homeless industrial complex: can you or MJ or anyone give me some examples of the bureaucrats involved in profiting from it?

       And do you want to address the problems of homelessness in an effective way or just punish people?

      • Aha April 4, 2018 (1:08 pm)

        I think it is far more punitive to allow people to self destruct and wallow in misery. Like trying help a wounded animal, they don’t want help, but without decisive action and redirection, they are doomed to suffer and worsen. 

  • Rick April 4, 2018 (9:39 am)

    You tell ’em, Rico!

  • Mike April 4, 2018 (11:16 am)

    Ok…ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!  We need to take our city back!  I agree with TM7302 and DSA’s first comment.  Can you imagine the amount of human feces, rats, needles, and waste that litters the area?  Let alone the crime that is associated in the areas that are affected.  Let us also think about those homeowners that live in the area that have to go out and purchase security systems (Cameras, motion detectors, flood lights, etc) to protect there property.   I am disgusted with the past administration and this current administration.  These administrations are too far left.  We all need to find common ground but allowing these individual to camp and ruin this beautiful city should not be allowed.  Let’s stop with the kid gloves here.  I have tried to give food to the panhandlers that are at the exits of Southpark and Sea-Tac.  They refused and just want money to support their drug and alcohol habits.  We also need to change the habits of individuals that give money to these panhandlers.  I want these people to succeed in life.  But living in inhuman conditions will not help them land on their feet.   Here is my solution (As a starting point).  Feel free to add your comments.  I am not trying to be harsh but c’mon man.  I was born and raised here and these city leaders have NO backbone.  

    1.  Pay them min wage.  For that minimum wage they can wear a reflective vest and clean up the waste in the area, litter on our highways, and our city streets.  A 32 to 40 hour work week is required.

    2. For that 32 to 40 hour work week,  give them assisted living housing.  We have plenty of outreach programs that will enable them to land on their feet to become productive members of society.

    3,  Put them on a 90 day probation like most employers do.  If they refuse to show up for work, then locate them and escort them to the bus station with a 1 way bus ticket to California to a city of their choice.

    4.  Monthly sweeps.

        Dropping off garbage bins and porta potties at taxpayers expense is NOT the answer.  Lisa Herbold and the mayor needs to step up act for the people that voted them into office.  One other thing I want to mention.  Let’s start having city council meetings, that require a vote, to be held at the 6PM or 7PM hour.  This will allow us individuals that have to work ample time to attend the meetings.  Having votes during the day only attracts those individuals that don’t work and want to push their agenda.  

    BTW just asking, I don’t see any homeless camps in Bellevue.  Please inform if you have.

    ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!

    • KBear April 4, 2018 (12:13 pm)

      Hey Mike, did you forget “#5. Lower that minimum wage to $2.65/hour”? Yeah, no porta potties or trash bins! Make ’em hold it! I like your idea of sending them to Commie California! What about gathering a vigilante posse and runnin’ ’em outta town?

    • Jethro Marx April 4, 2018 (12:47 pm)

      Some extremely expensive, tough-sounding measures with haphazard foresight- reminds me of our federal executive branch right now!

       I’m no expert, but I occasionally pretend to be one, so let me throw out some cost/benefit analysis for your proposals.

       1. I like the idea, but we’re talking maybe 10,000 new city employees. Add in payroll, human resources, benefits, == about 300 million a yr.

       2. I like that this idea actually solves the lack of a home that is a classic cause of homelessness!

       construction == 1 billion

       operating costs== 10 million/ year would be a bargain.

       3. Hard to price out, plus the bus ticket thing is poor policy that is hardly ever done, certainly not without verifying a support network on the other end of the ride.

       4. You’re talking about a crew of workers, police, equipment operators, and social workers, all dedicated to sweeps, working year round, so maybe about another 1-2 million a year, and that’s before you count the cost of jailing or hospitalizing those swept up.

       Now it’s starting to sound more like a complex!

       Where should we get this 1.4 billion over ten years? Maybe if we used the tunnel money and just put a sign over the viaduct saying “CAUTION: MAY COLLAPSE” we could have ended homelessness and reduced traffic at the same time!

       

      • West Seattleite April 4, 2018 (2:39 pm)

        Jethro writes well and is serious about the problem, that said I
        refer you to my response to Catlady and Blinkyjoe above. The costs would
        be reduced if a large site where created. The left is all about big centralized
        government so why not? Maybe some pay for cleaning up and weeding greenbelts,
        that’s already in the budget but the homeless aren’t doing it. What Jethro is
        missing is that if conditions and standards were placed on those receiving this
        support many would “self deport” buying their own bus tickets thus
        reducing the scale of the problem. 

        Since you mention “our
        federal executive branch right now” keep in mind the previous
        administration that gave 150 billion to the despotic evil Iranian Mullahs all
        the while its Deputy National Security
        Adviser Ben Rhodes boasted of deceiving
        the press over the deal. Some of those billions could have been spent on
        solving this issue instead of funding our enemy’s missiles and terrorists.    
                             
                             

         

         

        • Jethro Marx April 4, 2018 (10:13 pm)

          Well, they wouldn’t be self-deporting if they went to California; if you’re implying most or even a significant percentage of Seattle’s homeless population is made up of illegal immigrants you’re wrong. I’m a little puzzled as to why they would buy a bus ticket and leave.

           Unless you and Halliburton guy are thinking more along the lines of hunting down vagrants with a van and a big net and then putting them in a detention center at Terminal 5 with like, barbed wire and guards and $#!%; that does sound right up Halliburton’s alley though. I think Ice-T was in that movie.

           In the curious Iran money situation, as I recall it was money that belonged to them that we had seized, so, I don’t know, what are you gonna do? Describing leaders as evil does sound familiar… Oh, right, the wacky religious nuts in Iran always used to describe our country that way. A circle has no beginning, I suppose.

          I sort of assume our government’s always doing some shady stuff regardless of which party sits in power; usually if they’re doing something really sketchy, like subverting the constitution, they’re sneaky about it; that’s what’s so different with the current executive. Well, that and the fact that he confuses “due process” with “do process.”

          • West Seattleite April 5, 2018 (1:46 pm)

            I address this to Jethro and Cam,

            Jethro
            first: I rescind my previous comment that you write well. Self deportation was
            a reference to people willingly leaving, be it Seattle, Washington state or the
            country. And no, I wasn’t “
            implying most or even a significant
            percentage of Seattle’s homeless population is made up of illegal
            immigrants”
            .
              However I’ve met
            some that are. If leftist would simply let the government enforce
            immigration laws it would help at least with some of the homeless problem
            though. And yes, simply leaving Seattle would be self deporting. They
            would buy a bus ticket if they could go elsewhere to get the same services
            without anything asked of them other than to breathe (oh yes and poop). 

            “Hunting down”
            no, enforcing law yes. If a “vagrant” took up residence in your back yard I
            assume you would want the police to remove them, or would that be hunting them
            down?

            To the Iran
            deal; they are a terrorist state and in ways comparable to the Nazis. If
            the US held billions of the 3rd Reich’s funds would it have been smart to give
            it back to them especially during the war? If you can’t distinguish the moral
            difference between that theocracy and our, albeit flawed, democracy truly your
            moral compass is broken, as was Obama’s.  

            I don’t know
            if you’re a liberal or a leftist but nothing subverts the constitution like
            calling it “living & breathing”, in essence turning it into silly putty.

            Now to CAM: Speaking of silly, are the current sanctioned encampments labor camps? How is
            asking people to take some responsibility indentured servitude? You can actually
            require people to do something in return for a service they receive. It’s done all the time; if you get unemployment compensation you are required to look for work and/or get re-training. Providing “social
            services- without the expectation of any return”
            when people are able-bodied and able-minded is
            a very bad idea. You can see the fruit of that idea in the clean up that
            started this discussion. This is empirically self evident.   

             

          • WSB April 5, 2018 (2:33 pm)

            I am not familiar with how the other sanctioned encampments work, as they’re not in West Seattle so I’m not covering them, but regarding our area’s only such encampment, Camp Second Chance, all campers are required to work shifts as security – a few have been kicked out for shirking it – and more than a few have outside jobs, including several who spoke at last month’s meeting about its permit renewal.

          • Jethro Marx April 5, 2018 (4:48 pm)

            I guess you’re having trouble classifying me; first I’m good, then I’m bad; maybe I’m a leftist, maybe a liberal, although that’s hard to say ’cause everyone means something different by those terms; maybe my moral compass is broken; yada yada. 

            I was confused about your use of the term “deport” because it’s generally considered to mean booting a non-citizen out of a country.  I don’t know why I assumed you wanted to send them to California, but hey, it’s a popular destination.  Not a different country so far, though.

            I honestly don’t know what I’d do if someone set up camp in my backyard; perhaps I’m a rare Seattlite who would speak to them face to face rather than call the police/leave a passive-aggressive note/complain online about their off-leash dog first.  So, hey, don’t assume. Like Forrest Gump said, the internet is a box from which “…you never know what you’re going to get.”

            Nazi comparisons are fraught with problems; you got a real long list of similarities to check off before your ways hold true.  I know the way in which Iran and the Third Reich are most similar: their citizens are/were not a homogeneous mass calling out for blood with one voice.  If citizens of a country are assumed to represent their occasionally wacky and hateful leaders, we got some difficult days ahead right here at home. 

            Anyway, I see the difference between Iran’s form of government and ours, at least in principle; the fact that you have trouble distinguishing between Iran’s government and that of wartime Germany does not reflect well upon your critical thinking. 

            I didn’t mention the constitution, but, yeah, it clearly stopped breathing and might have lost a little relevance/spring in it’s step long ago.  Yet, for some reason we’re taught to revere it; pop-patriotism, I suppose.

            What did President Obama do that you had a problem with, just out of curiosity? Or do you have a vague, underlying feeling that he was an uppity black man?

          • West Seattleite April 5, 2018 (7:50 pm)

            To WSB (West Seattle Blog),

             Your comments support my position. Camp Second
            Chance has rules, conditions and standards. Unlike what is going on across the
            street. This is the direction the city should pursue in toto.

            To  Jethro,

            Honestly you started out well and it seems all downhill
            from there. You’re correct that
            leftist and liberal have various definitions, so here are mine: a
            liberal values the constitution, thinks people should be judged by ones values
            not skin color, believes in free speech not speech codes and sees personal
            responsibility as crucial. The main distinction from a conservative is that they
            prefer a bigger (and I think a more intrusive) government. Professor
            Bret
            Weinstein
            of Evergreen State College would be
            an example. True liberals are increasingly rare.

            Regarding your ad homonym about Obama with your uppity black mancomment
            along with your stated disregard for the constitution points to the leftist column.
            I already pointed out at least one problem with Obama (Iran deal). I have many
            more, all of which are critiques of character not skin color.  

            You dishonestly changed
            the debate by dropping “self” from deport. Regarding the hypothetical vagrant in
            your yard you don’t have to simply virtue signal how much we should all accept
            people camp anywhere without conditions, find someone and invite them to. Without
            that it’s sort of a secular version of “cheap grace” that you’re preaching. For
            example when it comes to immigration I married a foreigner and adopted another
            and did it legally.  Guess what, they’re
            a different race than mine. 

        • CAM April 4, 2018 (10:25 pm)

          What you are describing is similar in concept to indentured servitude and labor camps. You can’t force someone to do something just because you think it’s a good idea. We provide social services in this country without the expectation of any return because we as a society have decided that is the appropriate thing to do. 

    • Weatherby April 4, 2018 (1:00 pm)

      “Ok…ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!  We need to take our city back!” 

      Our city? How is it “our city”?  Is the city under siege from humans who do not have homes? Also, considering the massive quantity of transplants in this city from other locales in the country and the world, I’d say the city is, at best, dense transitional piece of land that serves as a place of coming and going. 

      I agree with TM7302 and DSA’s first comment.  Can you imagine the amount of human feces, rats, needles, and waste that litters the area?  Let alone the crime that is associated in the areas that are affected.  Let us also think about those homeowners that live in the area that have to go out and purchase security systems (Cameras, motion detectors, flood lights, etc) to protect there property. 

      Crime in any part of the city is not necessarily due to humans who do not have homes. My house was robbed last year, and there is no proof I have (and likely you don’t either) that this was because humans who are homeless live in the vicinity. Also, a great many people purchase security systems and cameras whether or not there are homeless humans nearby.  Attributing this obsession with security measures (which rarely prevents actual crime) is a bit one-dimensional. Also, human feces, whether on the ground or in a plastic bag in a landfill is a global issues that needs ground-up solution. Same with needles–what–is drug use within private homes a better situation because some of us don’t have to witness it? You are remarking on issues that again, are global, hardly relegated to only humans who don’t have homes, and yes, need to be addressed from a place of true understanding; believing people are scum does not actually resolve the issue. 

       I am disgusted with the past administration and this current administration.  These administrations are too far left.  We all need to find common ground but allowing these individual to camp and ruin this beautiful city should not be allowed. 

      The only real way to find common ground is either to find yourself with no home and no job or go and spend actual physical time with humans who do not have homes. People who are homeless are not ruining this beautiful city. They are probably, for the most part, doing the best they can in abject conditions. The lack of a long-lasting solution is part of it, and beat downs on people when they are in a most vulnerable position and weak with desperation is also what is ruining this city. 

      Let’s stop with the kid gloves here.  I have tried to give food to the panhandlers that are at the exits of Southpark and Sea-Tac.  They refused and just want money to support their drug and alcohol habits. 

      You are construing a desire to help, and helping itself, as weakness. It is never wrong to offer help over disgust. I wouldn’t be surprised if your food was rejected. For all they may know, you’ve done something to it. As far as just wanting money for drugs and alcohol–jesus. How do you really, actually know that? You can’t know. I’ve had friends who needed a place to stay, needed to borrow money, needed a meal–but I don’t assume it was because they lost everything due to drugs and alcohol. Even if they in fact are addicted to drugs and alcohol, do you really think lack of shelter, unmolested food, and lack of money are going to improve that situation? No. There are ways to help without enabling, and they need to be explored extensively. But assuming people without homes just want to grab your cash and shoot up is an incredible leap of ignorance. 

      We also need to change the habits of individuals that give money to these panhandlers.  I want these people to succeed in life.  But living in inhuman conditions will not help them land on their feet.   

      Do you really want that? How about first acknowledging the possibility of you having no earthly clue about being without shelter, penniless, and being considered the scourge of the city, and secondly, consider that many people who do not have a home may be saving up those little bits of dollars to get a place to live or get a bus ticket, yes, somewhere they know somebody who can offer them shelter (and perhaps kindness). 

      Here is my solution (As a starting point).  Feel free to add your comments.  I am not trying to be harsh but c’mon man.  I was born and raised here and these city leaders have NO backbone.  

      Yes, you do seem to be trying to be harsh, actually. It takes a lot of backbone, doesn’t it, coming from a place of having everything you need and pointing your fingers at those who don’t and those who are trying to figure it out. 

      1.  Pay them min wage.  For that minimum wage they can wear a reflective vest and clean up the waste in the area, litter on our highways, and our city streets.  A 32 to 40 hour work week is required.

      Hm. How about first, check on their health condition, get a couple of nights of sleeps in a warm safe place, a couple of good meals. And then maybe see what kind of work they are interested in, qualified for, and able to do. I mean, I don’t know–treat people without homes like they are, in fact, humans with preference? 


      2. For that 32 to 40 hour work week,  give them assisted living housing.  We have plenty of outreach programs that will enable them to land on their feet to become productive members of society.

      I agree with assisted living.  Although, I’m not sure I’d want to know what you in particular think a productive member of society should look like or behave like.  A society lacking a persevering compassion is pretty unproductive. 

      3,  Put them on a 90 day probation like most employers do.  If they refuse to show up for work, then locate them and escort them to the bus station with a 1 way bus ticket to California to a city of their choice.

      What? Just…what? 

      4.  Monthly sweeps.

          Dropping off garbage bins and porta potties at taxpayers expense is NOT the answer.

      AGREED! It’s not even remotely close enough to what would be enough help. Although it is maybe a little better than nothing. Then again, maybe not. Also–as far as taxpayer dollars, I can’t think of a better way my tax money could be spent than helping vulnerable populations. What? Should it be used to fill potholes instead? 

        Lisa Herbold and the mayor needs to step up act for the people that voted them into office.  One other thing I want to mention.  Let’s start having city council meetings, that require a vote, to be held at the 6PM or 7PM hour.  This will allow us individuals that have to work ample time to attend the meetings.  Having votes during the day only attracts those individuals that don’t work and want to push their agenda.  

      Meetings are okay. Compassionate Action is better. Take a trip over to Second Chance Camp, they have volunteer days on meetup. Be open to a paradigm shift in thinking in regards to fellow humans without homes. Seems like you yourself have plenty of time to push an agenda in the middle of the day, maybe that proves your point. I’m curious though, do you feel misunderstood in your own life? Are people not deeply listening to you? Are you truly feeling harmed by the humans who are homeless in the city? 

      BTW just asking, I don’t see any homeless camps in Bellevue.  Please inform if you have.

      I haven’t either, but there are a few pretty stand-up encampments on the eastside. Although, I once worked in a large warehouse right off of Bellevue Way. There was another abandoned building on the property, and it turned out a human who was homeless was taking shelter on the stairs. My boss and I struck up a conversation with him. He quickly asked if there was any work he might do; he explained that he had been saving for a few years to get an apartment, and that he was very close. So we found projects he could help with. He did, and by the way, he kept the place very tidy, always cleaning up the garbage that the Bellevue mallbrats were throwing out of their cars or just walking and littering. He cleaned all that up every day. The then one day he came to us and said, I have what I need, thank you, and I’ll be on my way. Never saw him again. I hope he’s doing well. We could’ve assumed a great many things about him and all the garbage on the property. But as we found out after he left, the property absolutely continued to be covered in garbage, yes, some feces, needles, etc. from the great residents of central Bellevue. 

      ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!  Agreed, buddy! Glad that’s over! 

      • CatLady April 4, 2018 (3:37 pm)

        Thank you for this. I agree with you 100%. I moved to WS last year (after being priced out of a different part of Seattle), and the amount of animosity and hatred that certain people here have for homeless people is depressing AF. Empathy is severely lacking. 

      • cheeseWS777 April 4, 2018 (11:31 pm)

        #3 send the problem elsewhere so they can take care of it. Its not like these are human beings right. 

        And putting out garbage cans is not the way to go? Its only the one thing that would give them no excuse for throwing garbage everywhere…!

    • JoB April 5, 2018 (8:59 am)

      Mike.. there is not enough assisted living available now for those who need it.. waiting lists of several years for seniors.. where will those magical places to stay come from?

  • Also John April 4, 2018 (11:37 am)

     It would be interesting to know how many homeless would migrate to Seattle if and when we provide services?

    • KBear April 4, 2018 (12:08 pm)

      We can spend our tax money making sure people don’t fall into homelessness and helping them get out of it, or we can spend it constantly cleaning up the problems caused by homelessness. The first option would lead to far less suffering (except apparently for Rick, MJ, and Also John), and would probably cost less in the long run.

  • Jim P. April 4, 2018 (1:06 pm)

    Cleaning up without removing the messmakers?  Or even requiring them to do their own clean up?  Get photos two weeks later and I will wager you won’t be able to tell “before” and “after”.

    It would really be nice if there was a reliable way to sort out the genuinely needy from the permanent “homeless”, the ones who are never going to change because it is “good enough” for their needs with a minimum of personal responsibility and even less effort with people lining up to give them free stuff, clean up after them and in general, enable that particular lifestyle.

    Compare the homeless camps of the great depression (Google “Hoovervilles”) and compare how those people kept things compared to the modern version.

  • WSGuy411 April 4, 2018 (1:35 pm)

    I’d like to know who specifically (what persons/committees/departments) in the city/county is accountable for outcomes of homelessness services and who manages contracted providers of homeless services (what accountability measures are they held to and how are they enforced). Ditto for drug enforcement and code compliance.

    Local gov’t has too many departments/committees and general consensus-building efforts going on and not enough transparency, pragmatism, and accountability on addressing the many issues we face as a city/county. Thus the frustration of so many seeing an increase in property crime, trash, needles, etc…

  • cheeseWS777 April 4, 2018 (3:27 pm)

    All of these extremist yuppies who are trying to somehow”extinguish the homeless” are half the reason there are so many homeless that could care less about the problems tbey cause
    To find a middle ground u got to give a lil somewhere, both sides

    • idk April 4, 2018 (8:25 pm)

      Right… because that comment made tons of sense.

      • cheeseWS777 April 4, 2018 (11:18 pm)

        Makes sense to me, if all your goona do is hate the homeless, thats probly alot of the attitude ur goona get back. Watch, ill bet itl b a laugh when some of these people who wanted to get rid of these people become homeless themselves… Cus they are just that, people. And anybody can fall into the same curcumstances with bad luck n hard times

  • West Seattle Hipster April 4, 2018 (7:39 pm)

    We need a homeless shelter on Beach Drive or in North Admiral.

  • Canton April 4, 2018 (10:45 pm)

    Instead of the city labeling all unsheltered, as homeless, lets separate the needs of the many. Some are able- bodied people that prefer to live off the grid. Some are obvious drug addicts that only want a momentary escape from reality. Some are mentally disabled, unable to function in society. Some are people actually displaced to the rising costs of this city. There’s no one bandaid, to fix this dilemma. As far as the latter two groups, those are the folks, that people want to help. The city says it will take developers fees, and build affordable housing. How about basic housing. Think public park bathrooms. A 10×12 room with similar coated walls with drain in the middle. A push button lock from inside, for free. If you want to contribute and work for portion of rent, you get a key, to store your belongings. With that as the basic form, build SHA  apartments with basic enameled appliances for the next step. There has to be steps to transitional housing.

    • CAM April 5, 2018 (4:47 am)

      No Canton, people would like to help all the homeless. People’s need to categorize the homeless into different groups that are more or less deserving of assistance speaks very poorly of the moral and ethical foundations of our society and is just disturbing. And I don’t think the prison cell dynamic you are describing (although not even people temporarily residing in prison cells are forced to deal with the issue of having a smelly drain in the middle of the room) meets any standards for “housing”. Remember, despite your and others strong emotions, these are people who have been convicted of no crime and thus cannot be sentenced to those kinds of conditions. 

      • West Seattleite April 5, 2018 (2:26 pm)

        Cam, I replied to a previous comment
        of yours. It’s foolish not to categorize the homeless. It’s your lack of
        wisdom that is disturbing. Moral and financial triage is required. By the way,
        can you give me $50? I think I know how to spend it better than you do. My
        guess is you just categorized my request as no.  

      • Canton April 5, 2018 (9:15 pm)

        Have to disagree CAM, ever heard of the phrase, you don’t work, you don’t eat. I work everyday at a very labor intensive job, make less than median income, but enjoy giving my blood and sweat to provide. When I see the able bodied, lazy folks that technically want me to work, pay taxes, to support their freeloading lifestyle, it pisses me off. The basic concept I described above was for entry level addicts. If a heroin addict is having a difficult time finding a vien that works, bleeding everywhere, the drain is for washing room out(toilet separate). I would guess any roof is better than a nylon tent in a mud puddle.

  • Doesn't Matter April 5, 2018 (7:37 am)

    Catch the local news last night?  A homeless camp was recently constructed on the sidewalk within view of the Space Needle.  The homeless built it within one day.  It’ll take the City months before they can remove it, because there are approximately 400 reported camps in line before this one.  This new one is located on a tourist sidewalk.  Heck…the news even interviewed a family visiting from London that walked passed it.

    The City reached out to the people at this new homeless camp offering them a shelter.  They said “No”.  The City stated only 37% take their offer.  The rest want to remain on the streets…..FYI.

  • JoB April 5, 2018 (9:11 am)

    one step would be to rethink the way we provide shelters
    our current shelter system discourages work and facilitates the spread of disease
    shelters need to be 24 hour
    they need adequate shower facilities
    they need to have locking storage for personal belongings
    they need to have established mealtimes with meals
    they need to have counselors on hand to work with social services
    they need separate facilities for couples and families
    they need to accomodate pets .. because pets are often far more service animals than just pets

    think about what it takes for you to be able to hold down a job and think about how much time it would consume if you had to spend your time foraging for those basic needs.. and still be able to check in for a shelter bed at 7Pm and be booted on the street by 6AM

    we don’t just need compassion.. we need some common sense and effective spending

  • waikikigirl April 5, 2018 (2:15 pm)

    If you have a chance log onto Hawaii news now to see what they’re doing for some of the homeless people in Waikiki it’s pretty interesting and it seems to be working for the few people that have agreed for the help.

  • 1994 April 5, 2018 (8:49 pm)

    “In 2017, King County was home to 77 organizations that shelter or house homeless people. That’s 25 more than the city of San Francisco, and more than the entire state of Montana.” as reported today in The Seattle Times.  

  • Tom April 12, 2018 (7:16 pm)

    Does it really make sense to have Camp Second Chance right across the street from the Jungle 2.0? I mean, if any of the people in CSC have had substance abuse problems, why would anybody want them *literally* within a stone’s throw distance of likely any number of drug dealers? One thing we do for them at least is to give them a gated community.  I for one can’t even tell you how many times I’ve watched as I drive down Myers people coming out of the woods and crossing the street towards CSC – or coming the other way. What is being done to keep drugs away from CSC people? I also wonder if some of the money spent on cleanup could be spent on the rest of the nearby communities to provide us (who live nearby and actually pay taxes) with fences and gates.  What really gets me is that the facility right down the street is supposedly a joint police/fire training center. Any chance we could have them maybe consider doing some actual real law enforcement? I mean trespassing and litering is still against the law, right?

Sorry, comment time is over.