Spokane Citizen Input Needed: Should a homeless parking program be established?
POSTED 15 July 2023
To take our anonymous poll, click here. We will share citizen feedback in an update soon!
Washington State counties and cities are trying “Safe Parking” programs for homeless who live in their vehicles. Bellevue is struggling to launch their project. As reported on May 23, 2023 by KUOW,
“The City of Bellevue wants to open a parking lot for people experiencing homelessness who live in vehicles. The city has the land and the funding, but can’t find a service provider to run the site.”
Qualifications for program providers are key. The KUOW story continues,
“Nico Quijano, Bellevue’s Homelessness Program Outreach Manager, said the location is ideal. It already includes bathrooms with showers, it’s easy to find in a central area, and it's a known spot to people who may have visited the day center before.
What the city didn’t have was anyone to run the site. Quijano and the city needed an organization that could provide case managers that connect people with substance abuse treatment, job training, and other support services.”
Here is recent, June 13, 2023 reporting about safe parking programs in Denver, including,
Around 8:40 p.m. on June 7, Denver police responded to a call of criminal mischief on the 1300 block of Grant Street. On the other side of that call was Matt Lash — a man living in his car who had spotted a group of vandals messing with a nearby porta-potty.
"The cops are on their way," Lash told the hooligans, moments after exiting his rusty Chevy Suburban and being told to "get out of here" by the group.
"'For what?'" the vandals fired back. "You're trespassing on private property and you're damaging property," Lash replied.
EDITOR’S NOTE: It appears that there may be an upside to safe parking programs, however strict conditions are critical to the success – no criminal activity tolerated! What is encouraging about the story from Denver above is that a recipient/manager of the programming promptly called law enforcement.
We didn’t see that kind of partnership in Spokane at “Camp Hope.” What we saw at “Camp Hope” was a no-barrier, free-for-all with law enforcement handcuffed by the state and only approached by “providers” when it fit their needs and opaque narrative. Furthermore, any notion of safe parking lots programs in Spokane MUST go through a vigorous community conversation. I’d add more of my two-cents, but I’ll hold my tongue and open my ears … click below, we need YOUR INPUT.
To take our anonymous poll, click here. We will share citizen feedback in an update soon!