Camping updates: Myers Way cleanup promised; Delridge hillside encampment

| Delridge | Myers Way | West Seattle news

Two camping-related updates:

MYERS WAY CLEANUP: As mentioned here in this report last Sunday, parking and dumping along Myers Way has been on the rise again. Last night, while at the Fauntleroy Community Association meeting to discuss other topics, Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Steve Strand said a big cleanup of the area is planned in the next few weeks, with “heavy equipment” already booked. We’re checking with the city’s homelessness-related-info point person to see if we can find out more.

DELRIDGE HILLSIDE ENCAMPMENT: A nearby resident e-mailed us about an encampment growing on a hillside off Croft Place, upslope from Louisa Boren STEM K-8. County records suggest the camping is on school property, which stretches upslope to the side of the road. We asked Seattle Public Schools about their policy regarding camping on school property and how to report it. Spokesperson Carri Campbell says, “Encampments are not allowed on our property … when the district becomes aware we follow our regular procedure; our safety and security office report it to SPD.” Here’s how to report camping on school grounds, Campbell says: “Please report directly to the district’s safety and security office, 206-252-0707 or securityoff@seattleschools.org.”

Cbj September 12, 2018 (3:47 pm)

Vicious circle, the garbage, filth all of which is a public health issue will just circle back. City has no real plan to deal with this issue, oh except to tax proptery owners, I’m tired of being taxed, no sustainable outcomes, overbudget for street cars, rapid transit, and now mayor wants us to pay for college for students when there are other options, city council is a laughable joke, just say no to any additional taxes till they get their act together or send them to the unemployment line

Jort September 12, 2018 (10:05 pm)

Cool. So what’s your plan to “deal with this issue.” Bonus points if your idea is actually constitutional.
- Canton September 13, 2018 (6:46 am)
  
  Cool, so what is your solution? Bonus points if have one that leaves cars out of it.
Blinkyjoe September 13, 2018 (7:55 am)

I’ve been suggesting to whomever is in power and will listen: We need to treat this like a natural catastrophe. FEMA tents, the big ones. Set them up on T-5. T-5 sits vacant, and has infrastructure (Power, plumbing…). (Yes, I can see its being used now for some Military thing). One for foodservice, one for showers/ablution, two or more for sleeping. Put the residents on a rotating work schedule for foodservice and cleaning. Then ZERO TOLERANCE for camping. Round them up and take them to the camp. The Idaho court ruling declared it unconstitutional to disperse public camping ‘if the person has nowhere else to go.’ Well, now they would have someplace to go. When I was with Halliburton, We did it in Bosnia in 1996 for thousands of refugees.
- CAM September 13, 2018 (8:26 am)
  
  I’m not commenting on your plan in it’s entirety but I got really uncomfortable reading “Round them up and take them to the camp.” Wouldn’t there have been a better way of communicating that idea?
  - Herewith September 13, 2018 (12:07 pm)
    
    @CAM- that’s all you got? Because it’s just static, really.
    - CAM September 13, 2018 (8:41 pm)
      
      Actually, when you are trying to sell an idea or concept tone and language matters a lot. If people can’t get past what the offensive and triggering way you present your ideas, they aren’t going to hear the whole thing. Calling people animals or other nonhuman terms makes me skip over the rest of the text most of the time. In this instance, I was reading this to see if it was a reasonable proposal and couldn’t get past what any educated person would immediately read as a harkening back to the idea of concentration camps. If you want to be heard and have your ideas taken seriously it matters a lot how you present them.
    - Herewith September 13, 2018 (10:06 pm)
      
      Blinkyjoe for mayor!round’em up, blinkyjoe! Yahoo!

coffeedude September 12, 2018 (4:28 pm)

I am also disgusted by the camping and lack of control over this. I know these are humans, but I have never seen anything like this, and it just keeps getting worse and worse. I have become noncaring to these people, and I regularly chase them away from my neighborhood. I have been to a few other countries and I see nothing like what we have here.

flimflam September 12, 2018 (5:45 pm)

i agree with the first two posters here – the manner in which these camps have been allowed to grow and to be honest, even exist in the first place is a city wide failure at this point. the enabling and coddling and hemming and hawing has done nothing but normalize and encourage this mess.anyone saying anything negative about this is called insensitive, mean, etc…but it is a public health problem not to mention for the campers. you would have to be, in my opinion, pretty nuts to want this next to you and your family – or in this case, on your kids’ school grounds.also, in my opinion, this has so very little to do with local rents and home prices. almost zero.

Mike September 12, 2018 (9:28 pm)

An illegal encampment on school property… shocker. This is a K-8 school. The City needs to clean this up immediately. I’m sick of this debate, we need real action and less hand-wringing.

1994 September 12, 2018 (9:30 pm)

“Heavy equipment is already booked.” per above.The city, county, state spends 10’s or 100’s of thousand dollars on clean up from the homeless campers. If this outdoor camping were not allowed to begin with, there would not be this need to spend lots of money on clean ups.The homeless tent and RV campers under the 1st Ave S Bridge, north end, were cleared out a few weeks back but within the same week the tents starting popping up. Now there are several under the bridge again. I am sure another clean up will be needed down there again soon.

KOA September 12, 2018 (9:48 pm)

Those campers better have an updated discover permit! ⛺

anonyme September 13, 2018 (6:59 am)

1994 brings up a good point. I wonder how much of the millions spent on “homelessness” has gone to just cleaning up after them? Here in Arbor Heights, campers have begun setting up shop on the
planting strips outside homes. A Block Watch alert was sent out
instructing neighbors how to clean up needles and human feces. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the more money that is spent, the worse the problem gets. The city has repeatedly refused to provide accurate data on how our money is being spent; it’s time for some accountability.

WSB September 13, 2018 (7:44 am)

Do tell where there is someone camping on a planting strip outside a house. Last time I heard of something like that, it was a protest outside a city councilmember’s house about a decade ago. Meantime, if you’re truly interested in spending info, the council’s new committee meets today. Four department heads presenting. No docs attached to the agenda yet but we’re checking.
http://seattle.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&ID=638589&GUID=F348B0A9-3330-4D78-A4E8-435B91E6CD03

T Rex September 13, 2018 (7:56 am)

Some of these people have relocated across the street by the gas station on 1st Ave. South. There is nothing but garbage along side their cars and RV’s and just yesterday fellow co-workers witnessed a man pleasuring himself in broad daylight in front of God and everybody. He was there when I left work yesterday evening, passed out under the sign. I am so DONE with these people. They are drug addicts, they are filthy and they are dangerous to those of us who have to be around them. No sympathy from me.

rico September 13, 2018 (9:07 am)

Beyond ridiculous how city leaders implement policies that allow this to happen. I had out of state visitors last night and simply had to apologize on behalf of the city leaders for the condition of the city. It has been a while since I had out of town visitors, but last time I toured them around the city with great civic pride, no longer. And what kills me is that a whole bunch of people feel that these are good policies. Where did you people who agree with these results come from? Does this match how you have solved problems in your own life?

Mickymse September 13, 2018 (1:08 pm)

1) I don’t know where you have been then… because I have traveled around the country and around the world, and seen plenty of homeless people — even outside of big cities. Perhaps there is a different way the community responds in those places than here?2) In my own life, I have welcomed in the past friends who needed somewhere to sleep and eat for a few weeks or even months while they saved up money and got back on their feet. Or I have worked to encourage our electeds to support more funding for services and to think creatively about building more affordable housing in my neighborhood. What have YOU done?
- A September 13, 2018 (6:11 pm)
  
  In your own life you have let friends stay with you while they get back on their feet. That’s really nice of you and sounds like you are a good friend. I don’t understand however how you are using that in regards to this situation. You have not let a heroin junky that you do not know stay at your place. You won’t because as much as you are trying to sound like an advocate for these people, deep down you know what they are. You know that if you did that your place would be robbed while you were at work. The vast majority of these people are criminal drug addicts who have come to seattle for handouts and because we do not enforce laws
  - Question Mark September 14, 2018 (10:32 am)
    
    Re: “You have not let a heroin junky that you do not know stay at your place.”Honestly, that just about sums up why the problem of people camping out has become so prevalent, doesn’t it? Some people literally don’t have any other place to stay. And the most common response is akin to, “Why don’t ‘they’ just kick them out of here,” with little other thought to a solution. When the problem of homelessness becomes as large as it has now grown, there becomes really noplace “there” that isn’t someone else’s “here.”
  - Mickymse September 14, 2018 (11:08 am)
    
    I don’t need to know anything “deep down.” There are studies available publicly — which show that “the vast majority” of these people are NOT criminal drug addicts. In fact, many of them are parents or children. Many of them even have jobs but can’t afford the costs to get into a new apartment. Many of them are well-educated and had high-paying jobs before a sudden unaffordable health condition or struggle with mental illness eventually forced them onto the streets. One data point that DOES APPLY to “the vast majority” of people seeking services is that they are from around here. Stop by the All Home King County website for more information.

Mickymse September 13, 2018 (1:04 pm)

Let’s be really clear here… “City leaders” have not run around implementing policies allowing this to happen. WE ARE ALL COLLECTIVELY RESPONSIBLE for this. There are currently people just like you and I experiencing homelessness right now all around us. Some of them are children, some have college degrees, some used to own nice houses, and some even have jobs. While there are numerous reasons for why each one of thousands of individuals is experiencing homelessness, many factors are clear: reduced safety nets, low wages, lack of affordable health care, lack of mental health care, and especially the skyrocketing costs of housing in our region.Every time we say we don’t want to increase taxes to pay for police or social services, this is what happens. When we regularly oppose building new housing in our neighborhoods, or worry more about tree canopy than zoning, or rush to save The Showbox or another historic building, or any one of a number of small decisions that make sense in isolation we contribute to this problem.What would you like to do? Arrest people and put them in jail? That would certainly provide shelter and food for a few days, but doesn’t provide services to address an individual’s struggles and it costs even MORE than just providing help in the first place. And you can feel good about building all of the “tiny houses” you want or dropping food off at the food bank, but that doesn’t get agencies land or buildings to provide those houses or meals — and it certainly doesn’t provide the necessary housing for people to move on to thus freeing up the space in the homeless services system for the next person to move into. Providing trash pickup costs money. Providing places to shower or wash clothes costs money. It all costs money. And nothing is going to change until WE ALL decide we actually want it to change. And we demand that our electeds change their budget priorities. And we get together with out religious organizations and our neighborhood groups and our fraternal brother- and sisterhoods. And donate and offer assistance and give people a helping hand. As someone pointed out above, what would our response be to a natural disaster? It would certainly be better than this. And it certainly wouldn’t be spending billions on a waterfront tunnel, or giving a profitable sports team money to maintain the stadium it plays in, or conducting business as usual at our neighborhood schools, libraries, and community centers.

rico September 13, 2018 (2:54 pm)

That is funny to suggest that we are all responsible for the mess going on here with regard to trashing the city.

To answer your question about what I have done here you go. Avoided temptation while young and managed to not get in trouble, worked my ass off to get through college, got a good job, pay lots of money toward solving this problem, raise kids who will do the same.

That is not enough for you I know, but do not blame people for the mistake of others that is just pathetic.

What I have done is prevent at least five people from becoming the governments problem, and you?

T Rex September 13, 2018 (3:32 pm)

I suppose the man pleasuring himself in the parking lot of the gas station is just down in his luck, then right? TRUE STORY, just yesterday. Give me a break! Yes some people do lose their job and have a bad streak hit them, but you know what, those type of people have friends that will help them out either money wise or by allowing them to stay with them for awhile. They may lose a little pride but they work their butts off to pull themselves out of the gutter. The type of homeless people who now have in Seattle are scary. They are hard core addicts and at times mentally ill as well. They are filthy, they are thieves and they will do whatever the hell they need to do to get their fix. And they don’t care what or who they hurt to get it. Remember, they CHOOSE to stick a needle in their arm or pack that crack pipe, no one did it for them. They also refuse any help and will NOT follow the rules in order to get a place to live. All choices that they made. WE CANNOT HELP THEM UNTIL THEY HIT ROCK BOTTOM. And to some, living out on the streets is not rock bottom enough. I am tired of hearing that if we all work together, meet up and discuss that we can put an end to homelessness. Not going to happen people. I like the idea of Camp Second chance, it seems to be working for the people who behave themselves. Those stories make me happy, what disgust me is the pile of garbage, stripped cards, needles and human feces that I have to drive by every single day when I come to work and when I go home. My workplace is discussing keeping our doors locked during normal business hours as it is getting worse as the homelessness start wandering closer to our buildings. No sympathy from me, not any more. AND IT IS NOT OUR FAULT!

Heartless? September 13, 2018 (3:57 pm)

Big tents/homeless “center” (T-5 comes to mind) is a very good solution, see San Diego. No more coddling, we need some tough love.RICO +1

WSB September 13, 2018 (4:15 pm)

Actually – I just mentioned this on Twitter when it came up during the council discussion in its first meeting as the new committee on homelessness – San Diego’s tents haven’t turned out to be such a panacea after all.
https://www.voiceofsandiego.org/topics/government/why-the-homeless-tents-are-moving-far-fewer-people-into-housing-than-leaders-hoped/

Natalie September 13, 2018 (7:11 pm)

Everyday on my commute home on 509 I see nothing but accidents waiting to happen. It causes a huge distraction to driver’s, instant breaking and a lot of accidents. Within just the last 4 days I’ve seen 2 people walking in the center of the Southbound lanes right by the guardrail, multiple cars pulling off the freeway to deal drugs (with a line of people handing off whatever), unload items, running across lanes and riding bicycles back and forth! It’s a distraction to drivers, and God forbid one of us hit one of them. It’s not alright, it’s unsafe, and ridiculous that it’s been able to go on as long as it has. Who has the rights here? Us hard working, law abiding citizens or the one’s who refuse to listen to the law period?! It looks like a trash dump, wait until fall. To think that we work so hard, and our tax money keeps going to clean-up, after clean-up, after CLEAN-UP is getting quite old. Obviously, they do not care and will move right back. So, my question to you is CAN YOU STOP IT? Yes, a slap on the hand isn’t helping them. Time to be like a parent, and use tough love. Enabling them will just hurt all of them in the long run. I find it funny that we are best when we don’t enable our children, yet the state can enable them for you? Wrap your head around that. It’s a shame and sad. Time to step up and mean it!

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