10/7/2022
####################################################
RangeMedia
The Spokesman-Review
CAMP HOPE TIGHTENS SECURITY, BUT STAFF SAY THEY NEED HELP
Sheriff candidates talk Camp Hope, advocate for new jail
KHQ
Homeless man cleans up Spokane streets to honor mother's memory
KREM
Spokane community members gather at I-90 homeless encampment to see improvements
KXLY
WSDOT adds rules, restrictions to Camp Hope despite threat of lawsuit
####################################################
RangeMedia
Carl Segerstrom
The county’s resolution to sue the state is the latest in a long-line of decisions that spurned public engagement.
Over the last month, RANGE Media developed a Civics newsletter to keep the community up-to-date on public meetings and political happenings. Each week we spend hours combing through public documents in an effort to distill and highlight important public events, forums and meetings. The goal: to raise awareness about how people in power make decisions and empower the community to make their voice heard.
So, it came as a surprise to us when the county announced a resolution authorizing the county prosecutor to sue the state in order to build the legal case for the county to sweep Camp Hope.
Nothing on the meeting agenda this Tuesday indicated the county would be discussing the encampment. The only faint public notice was the agenda for Monday’s strategy session, which includes a standing “Enforcement Action or Pending/Potential Litigation” agenda item and made no mention of the encampment. No one hoping to advocate for a different outcome, or provide public support for the county’s action, could’ve known the county was considering a resolution to sweep the camp. So, no one showed up.
On Tuesday, after 17 minutes in executive session, Commissioner Josh Kerns moved to approve the resolution — marking the first time the county’s resolution was spoken of in a public forum.
After Kerns made his motion and Commissioner Mary Kuney seconded, Commissioner Al French asked if there’s any discussion. The commissioners didn’t have anything to say in the public meeting about their decision to back Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich’s plan to sweep Camp Hope before passing the resolution.
After no public debate or discussion among the board, French made a call for public comment on the resolution. “Is there anybody online?” he asks the staff. French made a second and third call for public comment — again to an almost empty room with no one from the public online. “Seeing nobody come to the microphone, I’m going to close public testimony.” The opening for public testimony lasted about 13 seconds.
The result: once the prosecutor’s office files the paperwork, Spokane County taxpayers will be paying to sue our state.
If the county prevails, local resources from the Sheriff’s Department will be used to disband the camp just two days after the general election — so long as Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich’s November 10 timeline doesn’t change. The sheriff has made overtures that he’d bill the state for any costs the county incurs. So far, the state has brushed off similar reimbursement requests from the city of Spokane, making that outcome far from a done deal. The state has allocated more than $20 million of the more than $24 million in funding it originally committed to rehousing the people at Camp Hope, and is now projecting that it will spend more than $25 million total.
Following months of brinkmanship between the state and Mayor Nadine Woodward’s administration, the county's decision to follow Knezovich’s lead and enter the Camp Hope fray further complicates any hopes of an orderly disbandment of the encampment.
Simply put, the people living at the encampment have become pawns in a political chess game. To make matters worse, at no point have any of the political leaders shown the initiative to involve the general public in the process of removing Camp Hope and providing a path to housing for the people living there.
Instead, the public has only been able to access information on this issue through local media. While we all endeavor to keep the public informed, we don’t have all the answers, we have deadlines and, at the end of the day, it’s not the media who have the authority to make these decisions, it’s not the media who have a legal responsibility to inform and allow discussion of those decisions, and it is certainly not the media who must answer for them.
That’s why it’s so disheartening to see the way decisions around Camp Hope have been made. The closed door meetings, press releases and press conferences are a poor substitute for authentic public engagement. Throughout this process, the public has deserved a better public forum that allows people to get information from official sources and empowers them to raise concerns and propose solutions.
The only place this regularly happens is monthly Spokane Homeless Coalition meetings, like the one held just today. In general, those meetings are geared toward members of the service provider community who are working on solutions for the unhoused community day in, day out.
Today, the homeless coalition brought out more than 150 people to Camp Hope. Panelists of camp residents, nonprofit leaders and peer navigators described the progress being made and the multitude of challenges people face moving out of homelessness. They also described progress being made to move people off the camp (Julie Garcia said more than 130 people have been moved into housing in recent weeks) and pleaded for time to let the people working with the Camp Hope move people through the challenging process of getting into housing and for some mental health and addiction treatment.
Several council members were in attendance. County electeds were not. Instead they were across town in another closed door meeting about this very issue. It’s hard to understand how they can continue their drive-by policy-making without taking the time to hear from this community and the people serving them.
Lacking real engagement, the vacuum of public outreach has been filled with anger, resentment, and at least one lawsuit. The closest thing to a public meeting about Camp Hope that we’ve seen was a tinder box of frustration and misinformation as riled up West Hills neighbors came to vent their frustrations about more transitional housing services being sited in their neighborhood. While people were misinformed about how the facility will be run (it’s not going to be a low-barrier shelter), they had every right to be frustrated with a process that didn’t include any community engagement until after plans — submitted by the city and accepted by the state — were well on their way to being finalized.
Here, state and local leaders must own their responsibility for not building public engagement into the right-of-way funding program. Granted, this was always something that needed to move faster than your average bureaucratic planning process. The Commerce Department gave local municipalities and the county a month to come up with proposals to rehome the people living in the encampment. Clearly, that timeline precludes a ton of outreach and consensus building.
Still, there was room to invite the public into the decision-making. There could have been city, county and state sponsored town halls and forums to build awareness around the challenges that both government entities and the people living at the encampment face in moving forward towards housing solutions. Instead, conversations were siloed and the public was left to consume the dribs and drabs that entered the public awareness through leaked documents, media reports and scattered public statements.
Now, with winter approaching and elections about a month away, the public at large is left with little to go on when it comes to the future of Camp Hope. Instead of seeing plans and timelines from the state about what the next steps will be and when we can expect them to happen, we’re quickly seeing the future of Camp Hope devolve into political posturing and threat making.
It’s a sad and unnecessary reality that we’ll continue trying to keep the public informed on. But, you shouldn’t have to hear it exclusively from us. Local and state leaders owe Spokane a public voice they haven’t afforded the community so far when it comes to Camp Hope.
####################################################
The Spokesman-Review
CAMP HOPE TIGHTENS SECURITY, BUT STAFF SAY THEY NEED HELP
By Quinn Welsch
THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW
After claims of rampant criminal activity and a recent driveby shooting, security personnel at the East Central homeless camp known as Camp Hope are trying to tighten safety measures and prevent public drug use.
Robert Moody, who is head of the camp’s informal security team and a former camp resident, said there are frequent fights, thefts and drug use in the camp, but that his team works diligently to prevent criminal activity.
“A lot of people call us ‘Camp Dope,’” Moody, 36, said on Thursday in front of a crowd of people at the Spokane Homeless Coalition’s October meeting at the encampment. “The funny thing is, I walk around on a daily basis and I probably snatch up 50-60 foils (used for smoking heroin) out of people’s hands because they’re outside doing it, and we don’t tolerate that.”
About 100 people, including public officials, concerned citizens, reporters and volunteers, listened to a panel of staff and service providers discuss the camp’s future on Thursday morning, a little more than 24 hours after a drive-by shooting took place.
“Everybody did exactly what they were supposed to do,” Moody said of the shooting. “I have 600 or so campers in here, my goal is to make sure every one of them is safe.”
No one was hurt in the 3a.m. Wednesday shooting, and Spokane police arrested James Rackliff, 24, about an hour later. Police said the man was looking for a woman he suspected of stealing from him.
Maurice Smith, a camp manager who documents the activity at the camp, said the fence the Washington Department of Transportation erected around the camp played a big role in protecting its residents. On Thursday morning, a screen had been placed over the chainlink fence to add some privacy.
Camp security also implemented a curfew as of this week, from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.
Starting as early as this weekend, the camp will begin to issue ID badges to help identify residents and tally the camp’s population, which has been estimated between about 150 and 600 residents.
The Department of Transportation also plans to hire a security company that will be on site by Oct. 15.
“Once we do that, nobody else comes in. We’re capping it,” Smith said.
The camp has faced increasing scrutiny from public officials in Spokane, including claims by Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich that the camp has been a hotbed for crime in the neighborhood. He intends to remove the camp by mid-November.
Knezovich has claimed there are rapes and brandings in the camp. Neither claim has been substantiated.
However, drug use is high within the camp and poses one of the biggest problems, Moody said.
“If you’re doing them, do them inside your tent,” he said. “We don’t want to know about it.”
Moody said his team wants to work with any of the community members or businesses who report stolen property by camp residents.
Fights are also a common occurrence.
“We get quite a few fights in the camp, but a lot of them are more yelling matches,” he said. “At that point, we become mediators.”
While Smith recognizes there is criminal activity in the camp, he also said the residents are frequently victims of criminal activity from outside of the camp. People have dumped garbage at the camp, and in at least one incident someone lit a dumpster on fire, he said.
Moody said his team would like to have more direct correspondence with law enforcement, but that the relationship between camp residents and police has not been good. The camp started as a protest last winter against the city of Spokane’s homelessness response.
Smith said Spokane police have been “reluctant to engage” with the camp.
“They don’t really like dealing with us,” Moody said. “They pretty much said that anything that goes on in there is not their problem.”
“They laugh at us,” said Heather Morse, another member of the security team who was a witness to the Wednesday drive-by shooting. “When I told them I’m supervisor for security here, they laughed at that. They think it’s funny.”
For the Spokane Police Department, the camp represents a security concern due to the hostility officers face when they enter, department spokesman Cpl. Nick Briggs said.
Incidents at Camp Hope can require as many as six officers to respond, which can take a while for the department to dispatch, Briggs said.
“There are certain sections of the camp people don’t want to go to because they don’t feel safe and I can’t really do anything about,” Moody said. “I wish the cops would be more apt to come out here and do something. Help us help you guys help the community by eliminating the people that need to be eliminated.”
Julie Garcia, a camp manager and director of Jewels Helping Hands, said she was grateful for the large gathering of people who came to Thursday’s coalition meeting.
When asked what’s needed at the camp, she said, “This is what’s needed in this community,” as she pointed to the crowd.
Many of the people living in the camp have “burned bridges” in the community and the large community response will help rebuild them, she said. Quinn Welsch can be reached at (509) 459-5469 or by email at quinnw@spokesman.com.
A crowd gathers for a panel discussion at the Spokane Homeless Coalition’s October meeting at Camp Hope on Thursday morning.
QUINN WELSCH/ SPOKESMAN-REVIEW
####################################################
KHQ
SPOKANE, Wash. - "I just wanted to turn my life around, because after my mom passed away, I felt like I wasn’t doing the most trying to make her proud."
27-year-old Zachary Hutsell has been homeless since he was 16. That's when his mother broke her leg, leading her to lose her job and their house.
Hutsell has been cleaning the streets of downtown Spokane since May, the same streets he used to live on, after his mother passed away from heart disease.
Before her passing, Hutsell says he "went down the wrong roads," but he always wanted to turn his life around.
He now lives in Camp Hope, but he still comes downtown every week as a way to honor his mother by cleaning up the streets of his community.
"The best part would be being a part of something that’s much bigger than I am," said Hutsell.
Jessica Kovac, Founder and Executive Director of Blessings Under the Bridge (BUTB), a local and faith-based nonprofit in Spokane speaks about the impact that Hutsell has had on her organization.
"One day I brought a bag and a broom, and this person just came up and grabbed the broom from me and grabbed the bag and started picking up the garbage," said Kovac.
"He’s just an incredible man," she said.
Inspired by his efforts, Kovac provided Hutsell with a job opportunity cleaning up the area BUTB is in charge of.
Hutsell said his earnings go towards a storage unit where he keeps his mom’s ashes and belongings.
"Without her I wouldn't be who I am today," said Hutsell.
Kovac hopes that soon, Hutsell will not only find a house but, "somewhere he can rest mentally, emotionally, spiritually and just make his mom proud."
####################################################
KREM
The Spokane Homeless Coalition invited community members into the encampment on Thursday morning to see how the new fencing is making the camp safer.
SPOKANE, Wash. — Nearly 150 people living at the homeless encampment near I-90 and Freya Street have moved out and are no longer staying there.
The Spokane Homeless Coalition invited community members into the encampment on Thursday morning to see how the new fencing is making the camp safer. The coalition also wanted to to speak with community members about how much progress is being made to get people into better housing options.
The Spokane Homeless Coalition invited community members into the camp this morning, to see how the new fencing is making it safer, and also to hear how much progress is being made to get people into better housing options.
Local camp leaders are working with the Department of Licensing (DOL), Department of Revenue and Department of Health (DOH) to get everyone staying in the camp their own identification card, birth certificate and social security card.
Campers not having those critical documents is often one of the biggest barriers that prevents people from finding permanent housing, according to Julie Garcia, the executive director of Jewels Helping Hands.
"Most people think that we're telling people not to go to shelters," Garcia said. "We're driving people to shelters. We'll take people to any situation that makes it better for them."
The coalition also said it is aware of Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich's deadline to clear the camp. However, they said they plan to continue with their work as usual, trying to get people into better situations instead of forcing them from one spot to another.
"We have a coalition of 200 different organizations as well as 1,300 to 1,400 members," said Robert Lippman, a member of the Spokane Housing Coalition. "It's a pretty expanded community that is driven to provide support, but it just makes it so hard when everything is scattered and polarized. So we're definitely trying to help with diffusing that narrative."
The camp is now enforcing a nightly curfew, starting at 8 p.m. Starting the week of Oct. 10, everyone staying at the camp will be required to have a badge. or they will not be allowed through the gate.
####################################################
KXLY
WSDOT adds rules, restrictions to Camp Hope despite threat of lawsuit
Posted: October 6, 2022 3:39 PM Updated: October 6, 2022 3:45 PM by Will Wixey
Copyright 4 News Now
SPOKANE, Wash. — The Washington State Department of Transportation says it is continuing to make progress towards stabilizing Camp Hope.
WSDOT’s end goal is to find housing for all people currently occupying the camp before it is cleared out and cleaned. The department is following the state’s Right of Way Safety Initiative, which works to find solutions for people living on state highways.
Last week, WSDOT put up fencing around the camp, which was damaged the following weekend. Camp leaders and WSDOT say those that continue to damage the fencing will face consequences, including being kicked out of the camp.
WSDOT is also working to get an identification badge system up and running. Once private security is on-site, service providers will start creating and distributing Camp Hope ID badges to get a better understanding of how many people are living at the camp.
WSDOT hopes to have its private security at Camp Hope by or before October 15.
A curfew also went into effect for people at Camp Hope, however it is now being called “Quiet Time Hours.” Quiet time hours are between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m., and people trying to leave and enter the camp between this time will be asked to verify that they live at the camp.
Camp Hope occupants will also not be allowed to bring in outside visitors. They will also have to follow the “Good Neighbor Agreement” to stay at the site, which requires them to respect neighbors both in and outside of the encampment.
WSDOT says it is working with the city and local partners to find viable housing solutions for people at the camp, however county commissioners recently greenlighted a lawsuit for prosecutors to file against WSDOT to clear the camp sooner.