Formerly homeless ‘first time fliers’ signal gradual removal of North Seattle encampment

The North Seattle homeless encampment at Bitter Lake, which intersects with Broadview Thomson K-8, will remain indefinitely. Rather than pursue a “sweep,” Seattle Public Schools look to community organizers to relocate the encampment piecemeal.

The district had originally set a Sept. 1 target date for its removal, which Seattle Public Schools Deputy Superintendent Rob Gannon said, in a Seattle Public Schools community meeting Aug. 26, the district no longer intends to reach.

“Scattering the residents is not a sustainable solution and would not solve the problem at the Bitter Lake encampment,” Gannon said during the meeting.

In August, Seattle Public Schools erected a steel barricade between the encampment and Broadview-Thomson K-8. They have also hired a security detail, WDC Safety Team, which is affiliated with the Public Defender Association’s case management program CoLEAD. According to WDC’s website, they provide de-escalation services that, presumably, avoid further taxing an SPD that experienced 186 staff separations in 2020.

“CoLEAD enables communities to redirect individuals engaged in law violations arising primarily from behavioral health conditions such as substance use or mental health issues to community-based services instead of using legal sanctions like arrest and jail,” reads the organization’s mission statement.

In a statement, Seattle Public Schools affirmed their commitment to removing the encampment. Its now pushed timeline is contingent upon the community organization and outreach necessary to relocate the members of the Bitter Lake homeless encampment.

“The camp is unauthorized and unsanctioned, and we are firm in our commitment to completely remove the encampment,” reads a statement on behalf of Seattle Public Schools. “But it is important to note that the pace of this removal operation is directly tied to the time it takes to fully providing service and support to those experiencing homelessness.”

In that statement clarifying the district’s attempts at moving the encampment, the single organization mentioned was Anything Helps. The nonprofit’s website invokes Homeless Outreach and Provider Ecosystem (HOPE) Team. HOPE, implemented by City of Seattle Human Services Department (HSD), “indirectly coordinate[s] the efforts of outreach providers, shelters, and the parks department during homeless sweeps,” as Anything Helps’ website reads.

According to Anything Helps Executive Director Mike Mathias, the nonprofit has been under contract by SPS for six weeks. The process of the encampment’s relocation is contingent upon application to state benefits, something that requires state identification.

“We have helped 57 people replace their lost or expired Washington State IDs, or obtain one for the first time,” Mathias told MyNorthwest. “In order to get folks into housing programs they need to have Washington State ID and must have at least applied for certain state benefits. All of those benefits have been applied for, including EBT/Food Stamps and ABD/Cash Benefits. Everyone has been enrolled in health insurance.”

The intention is to coordinate with HSD shelters to find housing for the homeless, but Anything Helps claims that “many aren’t provided an option at all; they are instead just placed on a waitlist after being swept with no place to go,” as its website reads.

Furthermore, they are tasked with coordinating relocation to hotel shelters. Those efforts have been encumbered by employment requirements for entry, something that’s at odds with the fact that homeless communities are high risk for COVID.

“A misalignment between entry criteria for hotel shelters (which admit people based on COVID-risk stratification) and currently funded long-term housing programs contracted with those hotel shelters (which often require employment, something especially difficult at present for those at high risk for contracting COVID-19) contradict one another. The outcome is very few people actually being transitioned from shelter to permanent housing,” reads Anything Helps’ website.

In an interview with KTTH’s Jason Rantz Show, Bitter Lake community member Bill Steele expressed his concern about the now pushed timeline for removing the encampment. He alleged criminal activity that he considers untenable for a location adjacent to a school.

“The truth is, is [SPS doesn’t] know what’s going on down there,” Steele said. “Those of us who live right near this encampment, who have a bird’s eye view of it, we see all the dangers going on down there every day. We have retained an attorney, and we are working to eventually file a lawsuit against the school district. I’d say there’s probably about 30 people involved.”

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals prohibits the criminalization of public camping without providing an alternative form of shelter.

Anything Helps is assisting the North Seattle encampment negotiate the encampment’s challenges, which preclude them from more stable living situations.

“Thirty nine people have left the camp voluntarily so far into better situations, including one we helped with bus fare to his mother’s place in Iowa, and another with a plane ride to her family in California. It was her first time flying,” Matthias wrote.

“We’ve provided rides to detox and inpatient treatment and secured jobs for people,” he added. “We’ve assisted with people’s unemployment checks and the retaining/restoring of their benefits owed to them, including obtaining their stimulus payments. We’ve repaired vehicles and renewed tabs so people can drive home or start working, and we’ve opened bank accounts so that people can begin to save for their futures. One person even used their stimulus payment to buy a vehicle and restore their license, then took her elderly father on a road trip to his hometown in Maryland, where they both now reside.”

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