Please Write to Board and City Council on Homeless Encampments at Schools
Update: here is a letter that Superintendent Nyland sent the City Council on this topic.
Also CM Lisa Herbold got right back to me and she says:
PLEASE write to the Board, asking them for a resolution to be passed (spsdirectors@seattleschools.org) AND the City Council urging them to make sure that school properties are not in this bill. (There is a proposed amendment to take schools out but until that happens, this bill should be DOA.)
The bill is (Council Bill 118794).
Mayor Edward Murray ed.murray@seattle.gov
Councilmember Sally Bagshaw sally.bagshaw@seattle.gov
Councilmember Tim Burgess tim.burgess@seattle.gov
Councilmember M. Lorena Gonzalez lorena.gonzalez@seattle.gov
Councilmember Bruce Harrell bruce.harrell@seattle.gov
Councilmember Lisa Herbold lisa.herbold@seattle.gov
Councilmember Rob Johnson rob.johnson@seattle.gov
Councilmember Debora Juarez debora.juarez@seattle.gov
Councilmember Mike O’Brien mike.obrien@seattle.gov
Councilmember Kshama Sawant kshama.sawant@seattle.gov
Councilman Tim Burgess' latest thoughts on this legislation.
Here's my letter today to the Board, urging them to Intro/Action a resolution on this issue for the next Board meeting on Oct. 12th.
Also CM Lisa Herbold got right back to me and she says:
Here is the pertinent language in the most recent draft that resulted from the discussion about the Central Staff memo options that you identify here. I believe the next draft will be available online soon. The ordinance addresses how the City manages public space as defined here:End of update
“Public space” means any area within the City limits which is owned, leased, maintained, controlled, or managed by the City, and does not include Public Development Authorities, privately owned land, public schools and colleges, the University of Washington, or the Port of Seattle.
Thank you for staying engaged. We still have much work to do on this bill.
PLEASE write to the Board, asking them for a resolution to be passed (spsdirectors@seattleschools.org) AND the City Council urging them to make sure that school properties are not in this bill. (There is a proposed amendment to take schools out but until that happens, this bill should be DOA.)
The bill is (Council Bill 118794).
Mayor Edward Murray ed.murray@seattle.gov
Councilmember Sally Bagshaw sally.bagshaw@seattle.gov
Councilmember Tim Burgess tim.burgess@seattle.gov
Councilmember M. Lorena Gonzalez lorena.gonzalez@seattle.gov
Councilmember Bruce Harrell bruce.harrell@seattle.gov
Councilmember Lisa Herbold lisa.herbold@seattle.gov
Councilmember Rob Johnson rob.johnson@seattle.gov
Councilmember Debora Juarez debora.juarez@seattle.gov
Councilmember Mike O’Brien mike.obrien@seattle.gov
Councilmember Kshama Sawant kshama.sawant@seattle.gov
Councilman Tim Burgess' latest thoughts on this legislation.
As introduced on September 6, the proposed law establishes a new right to camp on public property across Seattle, including in our parks and greenbelts, and on sidewalks and planting strips. The law mandates that city government make public spaces available for camping in tents or vehicles. It creates complicated rules and processes that must be followed before anyone can be removed from a camping site. If anyone is removed, the city government must provide “adequate and accessible” long-term housing. Finally, if any of this process is violated, the proposed law establishes a $250 penalty per violation to be paid to the individual camper by city taxpayers.He includes video from KIRO tv about homeless people sleeping in the end zone at the Interbay Athletic field. The police will not come and eject them and even told one parent to just play around them.
Needless to say, this new law is not the balanced approach we all deserve, an approach that weighs and balances compassion with our public health and safety obligations. This proposed law is not balanced and will do absolutely nothing to move people from homelessness to safe and appropriate housing. Nothing.
Here's my letter today to the Board, urging them to Intro/Action a resolution on this issue for the next Board meeting on Oct. 12th.
Dear Directors,
I am writing to urge you to please have an Intro/Action item for next week's Board meeting about the bill in the City Council that would allow homeless people to camp just about anywhere including school property. Here is a link to the bill.
You will see on the "Central Staff Memo" page 5 of 7 that they are only considering an option that would "exclude property by specified public entities, such as Seattle School District, UW," etc. The legislation, as currently written, does NOT exclude school properties.
I mentioned this to Steve Nielsen at the last Executive Committee meeting and he said it was worrisome to the district. I said I would like to think a homeless person would realize how inappropriate it would be to camp at a school playground and I don't think any school would like this kind of situation. The district would not be able to easily get the person(s) to leave the property so that would be yet another issue.
Does the district really need one more issue to worry about? I think helping to support and educate homeless students is the district's job but not worrying about homeless camping sites at schools.
I urge you to draft a resolution for next Wednesday that supports what CM Burgess is saying. He is the lone CM who has said they are against this.
I believe the City Council and the Mayor need to hear from you.
Comments
Is this the best way to solve the problem? I don't think it is. I certainly do not think it is at all appropriate for children to encounter needles or human waste or drunk people at their local park or playground or school.
I can already hear the responses - that I'm being unfair or cruel or heartless or misrepresenting the homeless population. But here's the truth: there *are* some homeless people who will drop needles on a playground. There *are* some homeless people who will leave their biological waste in places where kids can get at it. And there *are* some homeless people who will sit there drunk or harass women and children.
I am sympathetic to that. There are reasons for it - drug addiction, lack of bathroom facilities, and so on. The question isn't whether we treat homeless people with care and support, we must. It's *where do they sleep at night*? Should they sleep in your local park or school playfield? Is that the best way to provide shelter to people as we head into a cold winter? Or is the answer to find a larger space somewhere, like a building at Magnuson or a big parking lot or the vacant lot across the street from City Hall, where folks can camp rather than be in our parks?
One final word: there are some homeless people who sleep outside because of personal preference, because they'd rather be there than deal with the rules of shelters or with roommates. I understand that. But we as a community should not be under any obligation to cater to people who simply prefer to sleep outside. We should not feel an obligation to open our parks and schools to those folks.
Delridge Dad
2boysclub
-Ballardite
Look around your neighborhood right now and see how many of these small encampments are popping up. If this legislation passes, you can expect them to remain.
Everyone should read the proposed legislation. Once an encampment of 5 or more people is established the city is required to provide services (trash disposal, portable toilets) and must pay $250 to each camper if they try to move them without meeting onerous requirements. It thereby creates a costly infrastructure to support encampments - funds that could be used to provide desperately needed mental health, addiction treatment and other services and housing.
And don't allow anyone to call you a NIMBY or some other name because you don't support having encampments in your neighborhood, or on your street, or in front of your house.
Write the Council today, and cc the Mayor!
Delridge Dad
I see this as a system that is set-up for abuse. I would rather public funding place homeless youth or homeless families in housing.
Clearly, there are serious health and safety issues with this proposal. The health and safety of Seattle's citizens must be considered, as well. I have to stand with Burgess.
Crazy Clowns
We need to find city or county land and say to the homeless, here is a safe, sanitary place to camp or sleep, that's it. Why do the made up rights of 2,700 homeless outweigh the rest of us.
Some homeless, of course, aren't drug addicts or people with mental health problems: they merely lost a job and had to go live in a car with their children.
But some are addicts. Some do have mental health issues.
I get what you're saying but it skates very close to "who cares about them?"
I'm curious: Can the homeless, including the mentally ill and drug addicts, live on the "safe, sanitary" city or county land you suggest in YOUR neighborhood?
Can't imagine how safe & sanitary it will become if the city allows camping there.
Since the parks budget no longer allows for staffed visitor centers, how will it allow for increased maintainance?
http://www.king5.com/mb/news/local/homeless/council-plan-would-allow-homeless-camps-on-thousands-of-acres/329728384
GHSmom
GHSmom
GHSmom
Let churches allow the homeless to set-up semi-permanent tents on the church property outside, for free (no state reimbursement of funds), like they are asking of our children's schoolyards. Let churches allow the homeless, and all their personal items, to leave their items in the church yard all day long, like they are asking our children's schools.
GHSmom
My son took a makeup test but today I received an email saying he had missed the makeup and had only one more opportunity to take the test. Has this mix up happened to anyone else? We received another family's test results last year so sadly not entirely surprised.
Thanks