9/15/2022
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KREM
KXLY
(Ed. Note: I struggled over including this piece from KXLY because of its overly dramatic headline and almost breathless tone of violence. But in the interest of providing all the news on homelessness and housing in Spokane, I decided to put it in and let you, the readers, decide for yourselves)
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KREM
Jewels Helping Hands hiring people to move homeless out of encampment near I-90
As more housing opportunities open up for the homeless in Spokane, volunteers want to guide them into more permanent options.
SPOKANE, Wash. — As the City looks toward clearing out the homeless encampment near I-90 and Freya, non-profits are hiring staff to ease the transition.
With more housing opportunities opening up like the Trent Shelter and transitional housing potentially coming to the Quality Inn on Sunset Blvd., Jewels Helping Hands wants to guide people into more permanent options.
Jewels Helping Hands peer support and housing volunteers say their role is to make connections.
"We're helping people get ready to take next steps, and that'll include the housing, everything all inclusive," Volunteer Sharyl Brown said. "So, we'll be working with the other partners that are coming out here and pure supports."
"The connection is what is the key," Volunteer Ali Grounds said. "Because when they're ready to go do something, they're going to be talking to us."
Once they learn someone is ready to move out of the camp, they connect them with housing managers and case workers. After they've settled in, volunteers say they schedule follow-ups with ex-campers.
Brown and Grounds say the process of moving out can be difficult, but they simplify things.
"I've met so many people out here that tell me that they have housing, but they don't know who they're working with," Brown said. "And they don't know what steps to take. So like, our goal is to keep track of everybody and who they're working with and what they're working on. So that we can help connect all the dots and actually make something happen."
Volunteers say challenges in moving people out of the camp include people not wanting to leave the privacy of their tents for open-concept shelters like the one on Trent.
"There's some people that would like the little pallet houses, there's some people that would like transitional living," Grounds said. "There's some people that maybe are elderly, that need a little bit of help, maybe some assisted living, and so we're just looking at all the avenues."
Volunteers say in the last couple weeks, they've helped 17 people transition to shelters, living with family members and stable employment with housing included.
In addition, another challenge is that most people don't have identification cards. Volunteers say Jewels plans to use Washington Department of Commerce funds to cover identification fees and help bridge this gap. Furthermore, they say the next step is getting people set up with social security cards, a process expected to begin on Thursday.
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KXLY
September 14, 2022 6:34 PM
Updated: September 14, 2022 11:09 PM
SPOKANE, Wash. — An uptick in violence is sweeping across Camp Hope, leaving many living there fearful at night.
“It’s like Lord of the Flies on drugs,” said a woman who lives at the camp. “It’s a very dangerous place. Violent.”
The conditions of Camp Hope have gotten worse over time and a majority of the crimes happening there are going unreported, happening without consequence.
A young man getting branded, women being raped, and people being assaulted with hammers are just some of the many acts of violence taking place inside Washington’s largest homeless camp.
4 News Now has previously covered thefts and property crimes from people living at the camp, but few have spoken out about the increase in violence. One woman who lives at Camp Hope, who has asked to remain anonymous for her safety, described some of the horrifying acts taking place inside.
“Girls get raped. They scream for help but no one comes. Last time a girl got held down by three guys,” she said. “A kid was held all night in a tent against his will and branded with a piece of rebar.”
She says a man was branded over a dispute for $36. The woman has been at the camp since January and says she says she reports the crimes to Jewels Helping Hands, the non-profit organization that works with occupants daily, but nothing comes of it.
“Jewels doesn’t seem to care about much going on there,” she said. “I’ve sent her three emails, I’ve never gotten a reply.”
She says Jewels Helping Hands has instituted security within the camp, using people who live there to protect. But she says even the security members have violent tendencies.
“He hurts people with weapons. I’ve seen him beat people with chains. He went after someone with a hammer and now, they’re not the same,” she said.
Julia Garcia, founder of Jewels Helping Hands, says they have removed violent people before, but it’s not overly common.
“If they choose to stay, we can’t stop them from staying,” Garcia said.
JHH logs all violent activity that’s reported to them. They believe a fence with one entry point would assist in keeping violent members at bay, and to monitor who comes in and out.
“Nothing stops them from coming back, that’s the problem,” Garcia says. “Nothing stops them from walking right in and abusing people again.”
Police are present to monitor Camp Hope, but most leave at 7 p.m., and very few actually enter the camp.
“They know when the cops leave. It’s really a different story at night than during the day.”
The woman from Camp Hope says she doesn’t want want to go to a shelter because JHH told residents they will qualify for tiny homes in the near future. A group is working on the idea, but say residents have to stay at the camp to qualify for them. If they leave for a shelter, they lose that privilege.
Because of this, people at Camp Hope are choosing to endure more violence and crime in the hopes of getting a tiny home.