UPDATED: Wed., Dec. 22, 2021
Campers who had set up tents at Spokane City Hall set up their tents again in an empty lot in east Spokane Thursday after they were warned to leave city hall. The camp had been at Spokane City Hall where participants were protesting the city’s homeless response. (Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review)
By Adam Shanks
The Washington Department of Transportation won’t immediately clear a homeless encampment from land near Interstate 90, but does plan to eventually disband it.
Despite posting a 72-hour notice for people to move along that expired on Monday, the department said its first priority is to ensure the camp near Second Avenue and Freya Street does not grow.
“It’s our desire and goal, related to homeless camps, to have them removed in a timely and humane way from WSDOT right of way. We are not an organization that deals with social services, nor do we have law enforcement resources,” Ryan Overton, a WSDOT spokesman, said in a statement.
The encampment sprang up last week after the city threatened to clear the property of those who erected tents outside City Hall in protest of the city’s homeless response. Dubbed “Camp Hope 2.0,” the encampment mirrored a similar protest that occurred in 2018.
Jewels Helping Hands, a homeless service provider, has maintained a presence at both the City Hall and I-90 encampments. There were 82 people at the encampment Wednesday morning, according to the organization.
Its founder, Julie Garcia, fears the bitter cold forecast for the Spokane area next week and its potential impact on people experiencing homelessness.
She said her organization is searching for a building in which to operate a shelter or a plot of land for a tent.
Garcia encouraged the city to expand shelter options.
“We’ll help them; if they open up a place, we’ll fill it up for them,” Garcia said.
The city broke up the encampment outside City Hall because it alleged tents were blocking access to City Hall and the site had become a health hazard.
The Department of Transportation hopes to walk the fine line between appeasing the encampment’s neighbors and treating its tenants with dignity. The department will take action if the camp becomes a safety issue, Overton said.
“We are sensitive to both the neighbors and those in the camp and hope that through our collaboration with all parties, that there can be a positive and timely outcome for all,” Overton wrote.
The current forecast for Spokane calls for low temperatures to drop into the single digits overnight on Monday, according to the National Weather Service.
“Next week is very scary,” Garcia said.
Campers in tents at Spokane City Hall given notice to leave by Thursday
The notice to remove property was issued due to growing safety and health concerns within the protest area, a spokesperson for the City of Spokane said.
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Author: Megan Carroll, Amanda Roley
Published: 3:19 PM PST December 14, 2021
Updated: 5:52 PM PST December 15, 2021
SPOKANE, Wash. — Campers in front of Spokane City Hall protesting what they say is a lack of adequate shelter space in the city have been given notice to leave.
After 48 hours, or by 9:54 a.m. on Thursday, the City of Spokane is asking campers to remove their belongings and informing them that any items left behind could be discarded. Brian Coddington, a spokesperson for the City of Spokane, explained the notice to remove property was issued due to growing safety and health concerns within the tent city protest.
Homeless residents and advocates have been camped out in front of city hall since Thursday in hopes of encouraging the city to take action in increasing new shelters for those enduring the cold winter months.
According to Coddington, the notice to vacate came amid health concerns.
"The communication that's been made with those who are out front is related to growing health and safety concerns, and considerations, both for sanitation and garbage issues, but also for the communicable diseases," Coddington said. "So COVID, but also other communicable diseases."
Code enforcement will throw out any garbage left behind, and anyone leaving personal belongings after the deadline can have code enforcement store their property. Coddington said those with property being held by code enforcement will be able to retrieve it for free.
Coddington said the city has added beds through additional shelter space as well as renting out hotel rooms, but those protesting contend its not enough.
According to Coddington, they can still protest outside City Hall after Thursday morning's deadline, but they won't be able to have their belongings such as tents on the property. They also will have to make plans for where they will be staying.
"I'm moving with Jewels [Helping Hands] to a new location right now and most of them, certain ones are staying behind to finish the protest here and some are going to move to a different location to do another one there," said Shannon Jones, who took part in the protest outside of City Hall.
This comes several years after a similar protest outside city hall in December 2018. Demonstrators set up about two dozen tents in front of city hall in late November before Spokane police and city crews cleared the encampment.
Late homeless activist Alfredo Llamedo was one of those who took part in the protest. He was arrested for obstructing a law enforcement officer during the clean-up process, along with a 20-year-old man.
Organizers have referred to both protests in front of city hall as "Camp Hope."
Coddington said on Monday that low-barrier shelter availability has ranged from 91 to 100 spaces over the past three nights. Low-barrier shelters are facilities that do not require people to be sober or attend chapel. At that time, Coddington said the city had not established a timeline for moving the tents.
According to Coddington, there were 104 total beds available Wednesday, with 92 of those being low-barrier beds and 36 being for young adults. Twenty were available for households or women with children. Thirty-nine were low-barrier beds for men, while there were no low-barrier beds for women without children.
Coddington also says there's more bed space in the works.
"Mayor Woodward proposed a new low-barrier shelter outside of the downtown core. In that budget was funding for that and the council did approve that as part of the budget on Monday. So, that is something that's coming to us in the next year," Coddington said.
However, on Tuesday, Hope House spokesperson Raelynn Barden said the shelter in downtown Spokane has 100 beds for women that have been at full capacity for the last week. On Monday night, staff turned two people away as the shelter was full.
Some homeless residents who are taking part in the protest say they have not sought shelter space, while others say they have been turned away due to barriers at shelters. At a meeting on Monday night, Spokane City Council adopted a resolution to offer 40 hotel rooms when the 24/7 Cannon Street shelter is full.
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