7/8/2022
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The Spokesman-Review
Another lousy, doomed idea to deal with homelessness, as crisis worsens
KREM
KHQ
The Center Square
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The Spokesman-Review
Another lousy, doomed idea to deal with homelessness, as crisis worsens
So: Criminalizing homelessness is all there is, then.
Following 2½ years of ineptness and inaction on homelessness, Mayor Nadine Woodward has returned to her campaign roots and proposed an incoherent, mean-spirited, politically doomed plan to deploy police to sweep homeless people out of downtown without providing anywhere for them to go – apart from the neighborhoods, that is.
Once this is done – or so the mayor and the downtown wishful-thinking brigade imagine – homelessness will vanish without the need for any more beds.
“We make it easy to be homeless,” Woodward said at a news conference Wednesday, returning to the ignorant, simplistic refrain that has framed her entire approach to the problem.
She aims to make it harder. Her proposal would prohibit camping, or sitting or lying in parks, under viaducts, and anywhere in the downtown business district, among other places. It would remove exemptions, intended to meet the prevailing legal standard established in Martin v. Boise, for homeless people when there is not available shelter – which is every single day and night in Spokane.
Meanwhile, she proposes no sufficient solutions for shelter. In fact, she made it clear that she has given up on the idea of housing solutions at the dog-andpony show announcing her awful proposal. “You will never have enough beds for every person who is homeless,” she said. Why try? Sounds like a re-election motto.
Re-election is relevant here, because this proposal has more to do with trying to score political points than finding serious solutions. The only possibly good news coming out of it is how politically dead it is. Woodward, in keeping with her general leadership style, hasn’t even pretended to try and build support for it among the City Council, which seems certain to reject this bad idea.
Either she doesn’t understand how to get anything accomplished or isn’t truly trying to accomplish anything, and it’s all a cheap political gimmick aimed to heap criticism onto the City Council when they eventually reject her plan.
In Woodworld, after all, they’re to blame for what’s happening.
Which is absurd. There are around 800 unsheltered homeless people in Spokane, according to the most recent point-intime figures. That’s probably an undercount. We have all watched this disaster grow while Woodward has stubbornly kept the Titanic sailing straight at the iceberg – refusing to attempt serious solutions, failing to build coalitions, catering to special interests in secret, and clinging to uninformed and ineffective notions about deploying cruelty to drive the problem away.
We are far too deep into this problem for such a lousy proposal. Many serious ideas have arisen from the community, and the city has tens of millions in resources as its disposal. Instead, we get a plan to use cops to drive homeless people out of downtown – and away from the well-heeled supporters of the mayor who see themselves as the true victims of this crisis – and into neighborhoods. Her plan emerged from efforts to revise the city’s camping and sit-lie ordinances among City Council members. Council President Breean Beggs and Councilmember Lori Kinnear proposed updates that included defining some limited areas, such as under the viaducts, where camping would be prohibited for safety reasons.
Woodward glommed onto an alternative from Councilmembers Michael Cathcart and Jonathan Bingle, and expanded the exclusionary zone to essentially all of downtown, among other spots. Crucially, it removes the exemptions for times when there is insufficient shelter – which, again, is all the time – or for homeless people.
This would seem to directly contradict the controlling legal ruling of Martin v. Boise, which held that cities cannot prohibit camping on city property if they don’t offer sufficient shelter.
Woodward claims to be following Martin v. Boise by proposing to do what it prohibits – banning camping when there isn’t shelter. She and her supporters insist it would be legal, and the loophole they have in mind seems to be that so long as there is camping available somewhere in town – i.e., in your neighborhood – then banning it in huge swaths of town wouldn’t violate Martin.
The very best you could say about that is it’s arguable. It might win in court, but plenty of folks with a solid understanding of Martin doubt it.
At the end of the day, the mayor proposes nothing but moving people from here to there. Her plan is so blatantly insincere that, in attempting to explain it Wednesday, she seemed unaware that she was contradicting herself at every turn.
She said she wants to “push people into assistance.”
Then she immediately acknowledged there aren’t enough services for mental health or addiction, and she surely didn’t propose adding any.
She said she wants to push people into shelters and out of homelessness.
Then she immediately acknowledged there aren’t enough shelter beds to push people into and said we don’t need more.
She said she wants to push people out of homelessness and into a better life – but proposes no mechanism for achieving this beyond a cop and a citation.
She wants to simply push the problem away. There’s no reason on earth to think it will work.
We have a serious problem, and we need serious solutions. Those solutions have to address the camping problem from a foundation of housing.
Instead, we get Spokane’s Nero, fiddling furiously in the firelight. Shawn Vestal can be reached at (509) 459-5431 or at shawnv@ spokesman. com.
SHAWN VESTAL
SPOKESMAN COLUMNIST
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KREM
Multiple organizations were present at the encampment, distributing food and water, giving haircuts and giving people a chance to shower.
SPOKANE, Wash. — The non-profit group Jewels Helping Hands brought different groups together to help the people currently living at the homeless encampment near Freya Street and I-90.
Multiple organizations were present at the encampment, distributing food and water, giving haircuts and giving people a chance to shower.
Volunteers said they have received a positive response from the people who currently live there. Some of the groups present included Union Gospel Mission and Revive Counseling Spokane.
“There’s a lot of preconceived notions out there that the homeless are addicts and are dirty, stink,y that kind of thing," said Scott McCall, a volunteer for Union Gospel Mission. "But really they’re just people. They’re no different than I am.”
The two groups offered services from mental health care to addiction treatment. The groups said they wanted to send a message to the people currently living in the camp that they are not alone.
“Sometimes people have a negative connotation towards people who are homeless and it’s not so great every day, but these people make it like it’s family,” said Rachel Bennett, who currently lives at the camp.
For one volunteer, today's service is not the first time they've offered to give a helping hand.
“I come down, I would say a couple of times a month," said Daniel Marte, a volunteer for Revive Counseling Spokane. "Walk through see if anybody wants services, see if there’s anybody we’ve previously hooked up with once to reengage with services. So we just really want to let people know that there’s someone here that cares.”
The event was not only to give people the support they need but to help those experiencing homelessness understand that community members want to help.
“I hope that the community and the service providers see that there is a need and the need is not the narrative that we hear, that they don’t want help, they truly want help,” said Julie Garcia, the executive director of Jewels Helping Hands. "People just don’t know where to get that help.”
The people currently living at the camp were grateful for the support they received.
“I got a lot more support than I thought I did before," said Emerald Rykowski, who currently lives at the encampment. "I’m actually looking forward to going and participating in a lot of these groups.”
According to Garcia, there are 600 people currently living at the homeless encampment near I-90. If Spokane receives funding to help clear out the encampment, Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward said it could happen as soon as August.
Jewels Helping Hands will stay at the encampment through Thursday and Friday. Garcia said their main goal is to help people get out of the cycle of homelessness.
Mayor Nadine Woodward says the city needs to do more to prevent people from camping on sidewalks, under bridges, and in city parks.
SPOKANE, Wash. — A Spokane criminal defense attorney fears the City of Spokane could end up in a tangled mess of court cases if an ordinance prohibiting camping on most sidewalks in downtown Spokane is approved by the city council.
In 2018, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals determined it was unconstitutional for cities to arrest or cite people for sitting, lying, or camping in public areas when municipalities don't have enough shelter beds available.
The ruling stemmed from the 2009 case of Martin v. Boise. Six homeless people sued the city of Boise after they were cited, and, some of them jailed, for sleeping on public property when they had nowhere else to go.
The ruling set a precedent for nine western states, including Washington.
"It greatly limited the ability of police to arrest somebody for sit/lie on the street violations, camping on the street violations, it really tied their hands to clearing the streets, as they would view it," said attorney Steve Graham.
He watched Mayor Woodward's press conference where she laid out a proposed ordinance that would prohibit camping at all times:
In and within 100 feet of downtown railroad viaducts
In all City parks and on City-owned park property
Within 35 feet of the Spokane River and Latah Creek
Within the downtown police precinct and Business Improvement District boundaries
Within a half-mile of City-supported congregate shelter
The ordinance would continue the sitting and lying prohibition in defined spaces between 6 am and midnight.
"We know from feedback that people are nearly unanimous in their desire for something to be done about public camping," Woodward said.
Graham thinks the ordinance is problematic.
"It depends on how it's enforced by the police on the street, but it's certainly going to raise a lot of questions and dump a lot of new cases in our municipal courts, that's for sure."
The Martin v. Boise decision left cities questioning whether they can legally prohibit camping in certain areas, as opposed to all public spaces. The Mayor's office is confident the proposed ordinance is within the boundaries of the 9th Circuit ruling.
Graham believes the proposed ordinance is too broad.
"It's a very muddied area of the law, it's going to be a mess for the courts to try and work on this, resolve it, I would just encourage the city to be cautious about this."
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KHQ
P/C: Spokesman Review
Multiple proposals aimed at bolstering housing and homeless services will be considered during Monday’s City Council meeting at 6 p.m.
A public hearing will be held on an interim zoning ordinance that allows shelters to be operated in heavy industrial areas citywide. The interim zoning ordinance would be in effect until Nov. 7, 2022, unless extended or canceled at a public hearing.
The City Council on June 27 approved a lease agreement for a homeless shelter at 4320 E. Trent Ave. in East Spokane. The facility is owned by Lawrence B. Stone Properties #4320, LLC, and is expected to be ready for occupancy around the beginning of August and will serve as a low-barrier shelter occupying 150-250 unhoused individuals.
Proposed contracts are being negotiated with The Guardians Foundation and Salvation Army for operating the shelter and providing wrap-around services respectively.
“All of the moving parts to opening the shelter as another safe temporary housing option for homeless individuals have taken a lot of collaboration with partners and the community and are coming together,” said Eric Finch, Neighborhoods, Housing and Human Services Interim Director.
The Council will also consider a resolution requiring all future City-funded homeless service provider contracts include a Good Neighbor Agreement. Good Neighbor Agreements are a strategy to address neighborhood concerns that arise when new resources to support those experiencing homelessness are developed or expanded within the community.
Shelter-related funding amendments are part of the Council’s Consent Agenda.
One proposal is to increase funding for Catholic Charities from the Emergency Solutions Grant provided by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) $79,710 for the Rapid Re-Housing for Families Program for a total contract amount of $232,428. The funds will be used for housing relocation and stabilization services and rent assistance.
The other funding request is a commitment amendment with Volunteers of America for an additional $750,000 from HUD’s Community Development Block Grant due to the elevated costs of reconstruction for the homeless youth and young adult shelter at 3104 E. Augusta Ave.
For more information on these and other Council agenda items, visit https://my.spokanecity.org/citycouncil/meetings/.
The Council meeting can be viewed at https://my.spokanecity.org/citycable5/live/ and https://www.facebook.com/spokanecitycouncil.
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KXLY
July 7, 2022 7:14 PM
SPOKANE, Wash. — With multiple ordinances to consider about homeless camps on the table, some are concerned too many restrictions will do more harm than good.
Mayor Nadine Woodward wants to see more restrictions to sit, lie and camping ordinances than some other Council Members. Woodward is supporting an ordinance alongside CM Cathcart and Bingle while Council President Beggs and CM Kinnear have a different vision.
Here’s where everyone’s ordinance is the same:
They would ban camping at all times and regardless of shelter space:
1. By railroad viaducts
2. In city parks
3. Near the Spokane River and Latah Creek
The Mayor’s backed proposal takes things further. Camping would also be banned at all times and regardless of shelter space:
1. In the downtown police precinct district
2. The business improvement districts
3. Within a half mile of any shelter
Beggs is worried too many restrictions could make the issue worse. He says he’s asking people what they would prefer when it comes to where people can camp.
“If people have to camp because we’re not choosing the beds, would you rather have them camp in the downtown or a large area — or do you want them camping in the neighborhoods?”
He doesn’t want to see people camping downtown either but believes restricting camping space to something so small will put more pressure on local neighborhoods. He also believes getting the Trent Shelter up and running will help decrease the camps.
Woodward says her more restrictive proposal will help the whole community and is legal.
“These practical updates meet the expectations established by the courts and are consistent with the vision we have for our community,” she said during a press conference on Wednesday.
Beggs isn’t convinced and worries pushing the ordinance too far could backfire.
“Now you look at the map, and there’s not a lot of places that you can camp, and suddenly the Court of Appeals in Boise is going to go — no that’s unconstitutional,” he said.
Homeless advocates don’t think either version of the ordinance will do any good to help people move off the streets.
“It seems to be a reaction to wanting to solve a problem versus providing resources that will actually make a difference,” Lerria Schuh, the Executive director of the Smith-Barbieri Progressive Fund, said.
Schuh says criminalizing someone for sitting, lying or camping doesn’t get to the root of the issue.
“It’s not going to help. When you provide those restrictions, and you continue to push houseless people away from areas, it doesn’t give them the support that they need,” she said.
As the debate continues for how to find solutions to help people overcome homelessness, city leaders are encouraging people to reach out to their elected officials about what change they’d like to see to solve the growing issue.
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The Center Square
(The Center Square) — A standoff is brewing between Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward and City Council President Breean Beggs over rival proposals to regulate urban camping.
Woodward has strongly endorsed a proposal put forward by Councilors Jonathan Bingle and Michael Cathcart.
Their plan will be reviewed at 1:15 p.m. on July 11 by the Public Safety & Community Health Committee.
Also on the table is the draft camping ordinance recently brought forward by Beggs and Councilor Lori Kinnear.
Under Spokane’s current codes, camping is not allowed on public property and a person cannot sit or lie on the sidewalk between 6 a.m. and midnight.
Both proposals from councilors ban camping at all times within 100 feet of railroad viaducts, within 35 feet of the Spokane River and in city parks.
Cathcart and Bingle also want enforcement allowed in areas with heavy foot traffic, or those where fire or other safety hazards exist.
They seek to expand enforcement to within a half-mile of city-supported congregate shelters, as well as within the boundaries of the Business Improvement District and the downtown police precinct.
The downtown police precinct boundary, according to the legislation, extends from Spokane Falls Boulevard/Riverside Avenue and I-90 between North Division Street to Maple Street.
The downtown business improvement district includes much of that area. In addition, it extends north of Spokane Falls Boulevard and between Division and North Monroe streets.
As with the Beggs-Kinnear version, a camping ban on all other city-owned property would be enforced only if there is enough available shelter space.
Neither proposal would apply to people camping on private or state-owned land.
While Kinnear and Beggs’ only dealt with urban camping, Bingle and Cathcart want to amend the sit and lie ordinance to remove the exemption for homelessness during regulated hours.
Beggs told The Center Square in an email Thursday that the Bingle-Cathcart camping ordinance does not appear to be legal based on his 30 years of experience as an attorney practicing and teaching constitutional law.
He warned that, if approved, the regulations could put the city in “serious legal jeopardy.”
He said that city legal counsel was sought when he and Kinnear were crafting their ordinance, which he believes better meets the letter and intent of the law.
“I expect that the council will vote to enact it in the near future,” he said.
At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Woodward said the Bingle-Cathcart ordinance had been reworked with input from the city attorney, business leaders and community members.
She held the July 6 news conference just down the street from the Sprague Avenue-Division Street viaduct, where she recently ordered a fence built to keep the area clean and safe.
The mayor was flanked by Bingle and Cathcart, and each councilor was provided with an opportunity to address the crowd of about 60 people.
“No decision was easy,” said Bingle. “Every word of these ordinances was scrutinized to make sure it was both good and legal to be enforced here in Spokane. This was desperately needed by our city.”
Cathcart stated his belief that the proposals complied with the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in the Boise v. Martin case. Four years ago, the federal court found that prohibiting sleeping or camping on public property is unconstitutional when individuals do not have a meaningful alternative, such as shelter space or a legal place to camp.
In 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of the case, which let the Ninth Circuit ruling stand. The ruling has since been clarified to allow cities to set time and place restrictions on these activities if there is no ban on all public locations when shelter is unavailable.
Woodward said the Bingle-Cathcart version “strikes a balance between the other proposals, community expectations, and court requirements.”
“We make it easy to be homeless,” she said. “I know that’s not a popular thing for some people to hear, but these ordinances and their updates are not to push people around. It is to push them into assistance.”
Beggs said he wasn’t notified by the mayor about the press conference or invited to attend, so he had only media reports to consider.
“I understood that she said she feels like she is making it too easy for people to stay homeless and that she doesn’t know how to provide adequate shelter for all the people who are currently unsheltered, which is estimated by her office to be at 800,” he said.