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KREM

Camp Hope residents migrate to other areas

SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. - At last count in November, Camp Hope was home to fewer than 300 people, but now there are new concerns from new neighbors.

A big worry for neighbors nearby, the city and WSDOT is whether increased shelter space is an answer for all of the people living at Camp Hope or just other available lands?

Right off Ray and 3rd there are two RVs parked along WSDOT land. And on 5th and Carnahan, the same situation.

Neighbors say that presence only happened in November when threats to clear out Camp Hope were at their highest.

Looking at SCOUT, Spokane's land ownership map, there are a lot of parcels owned by WSDOT rather than the city or county. Parcels like the one Camp Hope currently resides on.

And as threats to clear out the camp rose in late 2022, a big worry for Ryan Overton with WSDOT was that those residing there will just choose another piece of state land to live on rather than go to a shelter.

This week, neighbors worried the same thing, reaching out to Nonstop Local.

So, we looked into it, driving around the county, and we saw multiple RVs on WSDOT land.

When asking Overton about the issue he said he is well aware.

"We were notified of this recently. I am not sure of the status of this but this was a concern we had when the sheriff was threatening a sweep is that people would just move to other areas around the county," Overton said in a statement.

Overton said he has a meeting Tuesday with regional leaders and plans to bring this up. But in the end of the day, it's a part of the commerce department's right-of-way initiative to remove them.

To view shelter space in the area, click here.