Nearly 200 refugees relocated from Kent encampment to temporary housing

Nearly 200 refugees living in a homeless encampment in Kent were given a choice, according to a spokesperson with King County Executive Dow Constantine’s Office — board the bus and go to temporary housing or pack up and leave because the camp would be closed by the end of the day.

Police, translators and outreach workers arrived at the camp at approximately 7 a.m. Tuesday on Central Ave., where hundreds of refugees from Africa and South America have lived for months, awaiting housing and immigration officials to grant them asylum. According to the Office of King County Executive, those staying at the camp were told a community meeting would be held between 7:30 a.m. and 8 a.m. that morning to discuss future housing options.

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“At the community meeting, asylum seekers were told that they were being transitioned to housing or temporary shelter if they chose to take it, but if not, the encampment was going to be closed later that day, and everyone would need to leave,” Amy Enbysk, press secretary for the Office of King County Executive Dow Constantine, told MyNorthwest.

Thirty-one pregnant women and families went to a Thrive Center facility in Tacoma, operated by Thrive International. Outreach workers with Thrive International were also at the encampment helping move the refugees.

A spokesperson with the executive’s office said their stay is funded through at least June 30, but that Thrive will be working to secure government funding for a longer period of time.

“By then, the state will be further established in distributing and supporting programs funded by the $25 million allocation they approved earlier this year,” the spokesperson said in an email. “This extended timeline offer stability for those navigating the process of getting settled here in Washington.”

The rest of the 192 refugees — single men and women — were sent to a hotel. The county hasn’t stated specifically where, as of this reporting, but the funding for their hotel will only last for five days. The county told KIRO Newsradio it’s trying to find longer-term housing in the meantime.

Individuals from other locations arrived at the encampment after the intake process had begun. Reasons remain unclear, but King County officials believe it’s because they hoped to be connected to housing or resources.

“Unfortunately, we only had enough resources to provide housing or temporary shelter to people who were residing at the Kent encampment and who had been identified and added to the intake process list, so no one who was left behind was residing at the Kent encampment,” Enbysk said.

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A refugee and advocate outside the camp told KIRO Newsradio on Tuesday there were people who lived there and had been away while the meeting happened, only to miss out on the housing offer.

Enbysk said workers with Thrive collected contact information for everyone who arrived afterward “to help refer them to the anticipated state program that will be up and running this fall.” The program — a described “hub and spoke model” with the Washington State Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance to connect immigrants to services — is still in the process of being set up and is expected to be launched sometime in October, an official with the Washington Department of Social and Health Services told KIRO Newsradio.

KIRO Newsradio has reached out to KCRHA to inquire about availability.

Contributing: Sam Campbell and Luke Duecy, KIRO Newsradio; Frank Sumrall, MyNorthwest

James Lynch is a reporter at KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of James’ stories here. Follow James on X, or email him here.

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