(April photo of encampment, taken by an Arrowhead Gardens resident)
The encampment on the east side of the north end of Myers Way hasn’t been cleared yet – in fact, WSDOT acknowledges, it continues to grow – but the state says a “site resolution plan” is still in the works. An update circulated today to area residents including the senior-living complex across the street, Arrowhead Gardens, also says they are considering “potentially placing [a] barrier to prevent more RVs and vehicles moving onsite” and taking steps to “identify and tag … abandoned tents and vehicles.” From the update sent by WSDOT assistant regional maintenance/operations manager Morgan Balogh:
… This encampment remains our top multijurisdictional priority site to address and the Washington State Department of Transportation, the Washington State Patrol, the state Department of Commerce, King County Regional Homeless Authority, and the City of Seattle are working together to finalize a site resolution plan. Actions currently underway include:
Site stabilization
Vegetation clearing and removal, improve access control – WSDOT, in coordination with partners, will do additional assessment of the location this week to finalize a plan to remove vegetation as this helps improve sightlines to allow for better visibility. This assessment will also look at potentially placing barrier to prevent more RVs and vehicles moving onsite, to better manage ingress and egress to the site and to ultimately restrict growth.
Site clean-up and planning for reduction in footprint – There are a number of abandoned tents and vehicles on site, so we will start work to identify and tag those items for removal. Outreach providers are also working with those living onsite to do a major trash/debris pick-up.
Trash pick-up – The City of Seattle is onsite providing litter pick-ups and trash mitigation several times a week.
Outreach, Housing, and Shelter
We are aware of the fact that the site has experienced recent growth in terms of number of people and vehicles. We estimate the current number of people between 40-45 and are working with outreach providers to make sure we have an accurate number.
Expanded outreach – Outreach staff have increased their presence and are onsite daily to assist in making connections, learning about needs and sharing resources with those living onsite while work also continues to identify available shelter/housing options. This intensive outreach work takes time, but it has been shown to be the best way to achieve meaningful, long-term improvement rather than displacing people living homeless to another nearby location. The goal of this work is to put people on the road to safe, stable shelter/housing so they will no longer be living outside and have a chance to rebuild their lives.
Personal hygiene – This week’s assessment will help determine if temporary placement of portable toilets and hygiene stations to mitigate public health concerns and improve site cleanliness is possible while we work toward resolving the site.
Assistance to remove housing barriers – Outreach staff continue to provide assistance to ensure that any barriers to housing, such as obtaining identification documents, are addressed ahead of time so that people may move into housing immediately when resources become available.
As Brian shared in his previous message, housing and shelter outreach at this site are in alignment with state legislature requirements that WSDOT, and its partners in the Right of Way Safety Initiative, work to “transition persons residing on state-owned rights-of-way to safer housing opportunities, with an emphasis on permanent housing solutions,” and that the housing offered is a “meaningful improvement over the individual’s current living situation” and “well-matched to an individual’s assessed needs.”
On behalf of WSDOT and our partner agencies — the Washington State Patrol, the state Department of Commerce, King County Regional Homeless Authority, and the City of Seattle — we are committed to sharing the parameters in which we operate transparently and to share updates on activities happening at the site to ultimately resolve the encampment. Site resolution is very much a shared goal for all of us to include those of you living in proximity to the encampment.
The WSDOT message says they’re also working to meet the request for another community meeting soon; it’s been two months since the last one at Arrowhead Gardens with a group of city officials (WSB coverage here). What some thought was the start of “resolution” in mid-June was not.
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