John Curley Show sparks rapid community response to Lake City’s homeless problem

A Lake City business owner claimed on “The John Curley Show”  last week that the neighborhood had struggled since hosting a local homeless population, with the spillover in crime largely affecting the local businesses.

Business owner Linda Pruitt’s comments were heard loud and clear by We Heart Seattle. The local organization made a quick move toward helping Lake City with its dire need for change.

A call for help from Lake City

“Thursday was a great example of the impact of radio,” KIRO fill-in host Tim Gaydos said. “In Lake City, they’re seeing this kind of dystopian society where small business owners, and immigrant business owners are all moving out.”

Gaydos referred to the prolonged presence of Tent City 4 in the neighborhood, which has contributed to increased crime.

“Someone who was listening to ‘The John Curley Show,’ that had started an organization called We Heart Seattle, heard the Lake City business owner and called in to say they want to expand its program to Lake City,” Gaydos said.

We Heart Seattle is a local program dedicated to community outreach and has cleared more than 1.7 million pounds of trash from parks and shared spaces.

“Now those small business owners, along with We Heart Seattle, are working today on a new outreach program in Lake City,” Gaydos said. “How cool is that, within a few days, someone listening to the show is now helping out in Lake City, and the business owners are excited.”

KIRO hosts’ personal connections to Lake City

Spike recalled a personal connection he had with Lake City and the importance of safety in a thriving economy.

“I have a friend who owns a small business in Lake City. The problem is everywhere,” Spike said. “People need to feel welcome and safe to come in and shop; if you eliminate their ability to do business, it’s just a downward spiral.”

Gaydos shared his link to Lake City as well.

“I live in Lake City, and I’ve seen the downward shift over the last 10 years; it’s pretty ugly when you go up there and compare it to what it was 10 years ago,” Gaydos said.

Pruitt gave a detailed view of the impact Tent City 4 has had on the businesses in the neighborhood.

“Many owners, unfortunately, have left our district because they just couldn’t make it work anymore,” Pruitt said. “Too many issues of vandalism, break-ins, or declining business because people don’t feel safe, they don’t come here to shop any longer.”

State legislators’ handling of Lake City

Lake City business owners reached out via email to Washington State Representative Julia Reed, outlining their issues, and Gaydos narrated Reed’s response.

“Reed said, ‘My home parish was proud to host Tent City in an earlier year,’ kind of shaming and gaslighting the people of Lake City,” Gaydos read from Reed’s email. “I hope the folks who jumped in at the last minute to derail the carefully planned relocation will continue to share their thoughts with us.”

The Lake City community had previously stated that they feel like they’ve been good hosts for the Tent City residents, but they have overstayed their welcome.

“I’m all for local legislation getting things done for the community that they serve. That being said, Lake City is not getting any benefit from its local legislators,” Spike said.

Pruitt had also requested support from the city council, the mayor, and the police department to support its public safety needs.

“A lot of the issues that not only Lake City has seen, but can be seen across Seattle neighborhoods, are due to bad policy,” Gaydos said. “Then what our elected officials do is try to throw more money at the problem.”

A town hall was held at Nathan Hale High School, and state legislators confirmed that they secured funding in the state budget for Lake City.

“Money is often believed to be the solution to the problem, but throwing paper money on a fire never seemed to put out the fire before,” Spike said.

Listen to the full conversation below.

Listen to John Curley weekday afternoons from 3 – 7 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

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