tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post7963283107932016567..comments2024-03-27T20:01:11.889-07:00Comments on Seattle Schools Community Forum: Homeless Camp Update Melissa Westbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-65782298831405812632021-06-10T08:36:43.372-07:002021-06-10T08:36:43.372-07:00There have been 2 deaths and one near-death at the...There have been 2 deaths and one near-death at the encampment in Bitterlake this year due to overdoses. It's shameful for the district to pretend drugs are not a problem. The last one happened a few days ago. He was the person who was interviewed on Komo news about a month ago who didn't agree with what the city was doing by allowing campers on school grounds.<br /><br />ShamefulAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-25412795212194628082021-06-09T00:16:29.379-07:002021-06-09T00:16:29.379-07:00We must start by admitting that for many of the pl...We must start by admitting that for many of the players this is a game. What is unfortunate is that Directors Hampson and DeWolf and others at SPS are now using students as pawns.<br /><br />We have a subset of homeless advocates that want to make the problem as painful as possible for the public so that the public gives up and provides additional funds.<br /><br />We have a subset of homeless people that will pick up and move to whatever city provides the best set of free services.<br /><br />We have a subset of the homeless that are from the area that have real problems and that are totally deserving of our empathy and help.<br /><br />We have a subset of neighborhoods and schools that will rarely if ever see any homeless because they are occupied by the connected, educated, elected, and well-off.<br /><br />We have a subset of government employees and officials that realize that if the city provides rent-free downtown apartments to anyone putting up a tent on the sidewalk, in a public park, or on school grounds, that the number of “homeless” people in Seattle will never end and they won’t be able to pay for their other priorities.<br /><br />We have the public cheering on all sides.<br /><br />Yes, we need to be compassionate, but we also must realize that there will always be a balancing act and there will always be tension as this game plays out over many years. What Directors Hampson and DeWolf have done is to change the rules by adding students and schools as new players. I believe that regardless of what side you support, what Hampson and DeWolf have done is wrong.<br /><br />But on second thought, I live in a neighborhood with a public park that hasn't had any homeless tents. And my kid's public school is not Tier 1 and has not had any homeless tents. So go Team Hampson and Dewolf!<br />NE Parentnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-26767110391726486822021-06-08T08:54:11.455-07:002021-06-08T08:54:11.455-07:00Actual Solutions
You dismiss the real impacts of ...Actual Solutions<br /><br />You dismiss the real impacts of the encampment on this Title 1 school community. Private schools would not stand for this. We cannot fix poverty or capitalism, but we can create a safer school environment for these students and families by moving the encampment elsewhere to get this thing sorted through. <br /><br />Balancing TestAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-5633658195128356432021-06-07T20:00:04.817-07:002021-06-07T20:00:04.817-07:00The problem is that the city sweeps without giving...The problem is that the city sweeps without giving people a place to go. This is *the* core problem with how homelessness is managed in Seattle. None of us want to see tents. I don't want to see tents. But until the city steps up and provides a place for people to go who are currently in tents...you'll see people in tents somewhere.<br /><br />Most of the people at Bitter Lake wound up there after a sweep somewhere else.<br /><br />I think Hampson/DeWolf are not being very helpful here and don't appear to be seeking solutions. But neither is Durkan. The city has the money to provide a place for people living at Bitter Lake to go. But they won't spend that money. Until they do, then the problem doesn't go away. They can sweep Bitter Lake and then the tents will show up near some other school, as they have for the last 5 years. At some point we all have to accept the fact that the only answer is to provide a roof and a room.<br /><br />Actual SolutionsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-54604265896530950952021-06-07T14:24:14.528-07:002021-06-07T14:24:14.528-07:00Balancing Test, well, an employee HAS gotten invol...Balancing Test, well, an employee HAS gotten involved with that L&I complaint. I’m a bit surprised at the quiet from the SEA. <br /><br />What I think might help is parents/neighbors asking a court for emergency help in forcing someone in leadership to actually do something.Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-804542148756221092021-06-07T11:28:07.354-07:002021-06-07T11:28:07.354-07:00The Olga Park clean up was ultimately a “sweep,” w...The Olga Park clean up was ultimately a “sweep,” which SPS hasn’t given permission to do. The obvious solution is to sweep the the camp from SPS and let the City provide services elsewhere. Thousands of homeless in this city with very limited housing to offer. Olga was swept because the City decided that 70 calls in 6 months and a murder in the neighborhood met the threshold of overly burdensome on the surrounding community.<br /><br />Maybe if SEA/employees get involved something will actually get done?<br /><br />Balancing TestAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com