SEATTLE — In the ongoing effort to address homelessness in Seattle, different approaches to clear encampments are yielding different results.
Nesbit Avenue Encampment
On Nesbit Avenue North and North 90th Street, the city posted a 48-hour notice to vacate on Aug. 16. Shelter was offered to all the people living at the Nesbit encampment before the city cleared it.
Eleven days later, people are back and another 48-hour notice to vacate has been posted. Imari Stone, who used to be homeless, says he saw the clean-up process earlier this month and knew it wouldn't last.
"I seen them come through and they evict everybody," Stone said. "They come and take what little they do have and don't offer them nothing. It's just ridiculous how they treat people. All they do is shuffle people from place to another."
The Office of Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell provided a statement about the Nesbit encampment, noting the outreach efforts made after posting the notices.
"The unauthorized encampment at Nesbit Ave N and N 90th St is a repopulation of a site that was resolved on August 18, following a 48-hour notice to vacate and offers of shelter for all individuals living onsite. This week, the site was reposted due to repopulation, with another 48-hour notice to vacate. Our standard policy is for resolutions to be posted with 48-72 hours’ notice," according to the statement.
Outreach members engaged with three individuals at the site earlier on Tuesday, according to the mayor's office, and made three offers of shelter.
The mayor's office stated that no referrals have yet been accepted and that outreach will be onsite again Wednesday to help connect the individuals to shelter and services.
Myers Way Encampment
In contrast to the Nesbit encampment, the Myers Way encampment in south Seattle is being targeted by outreach workers in a slow, methodical way.
Nichole Alexander with Purpose. Dignity. Action. (PDA) is leading the efforts. She's PDA's director of Special Initiatives and Outreach. PDA is a community partner with WSDOT, which maintains the property where the encampment is located.
"We're healing with people to really understand them," Alexander said.
For months, Alexander and other outreach workers have been making daily trips to the encampment. So far, 30 people have been placed in housing. Alexander says once they're in housing, the support doesn't stop.
"When folks come inside, we start to work on stabilization. A lot of that is around mental, physical health, and legal," Alexander said.
While the long-drawn out approach may not appease some people, Alexander says it's the key to long-term success and keeping people out of encampments.
"When we're bringing folks in, if you have the appropriate resources for someone to be able to grow in their journey, most of the time it works," Alexander said.