SEATTLE — A homeless encampment at Green Lake will be removed starting Monday. Sunday night people living in the park scrambled to pack up their belongings before crews arrive.
"It seems like they're doing it on purpose to not just us but everybody. It's not like we have the best life already. I don't see why they want to make it worse, especially during the holiday season," Kat said, who did not provide her last name for privacy reasons. Kat lives in an RV in the encampment with her partner Jason. She said because of the pandemic she lost her full-time job and could no longer afford an apartment.
On Friday, city crews notified people living in RVs and tents around Green Lake of the clean-up. The city issued an order to remove all personal property.
For months, neighbors have voiced frustrations and concerns over trash and violence in the area. In October, the city said the encampment was a top priority.
Despite living at the camp, Jason and Kat agree things have gotten out of hand.
"It's not right that people can't walk through the park and they have to see stuff that's not pleasant," Jason said.
Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) said Monday that intensified outreach efforts were initiated three months ago, using the same methods recently implemented at other encampments to put those homeless residents in shelter and on a path to permanent housing.
In September, the city determined there were 31 individuals in the area of Green Lake Park and a small portion of Woodland Park designated for removal.
Since Oct. 12, SPR said that there have been at least 15 referrals to shelter, leveraging partnerships with the Human Services Department's HOPE team, Seattle Indian Center, Aurora Commons and others. The HOPE team said it made 18 referrals since Sept. 23 at the camp while 13 other campers relocated from the area.
Jason and Kat said they'll look for another place to park in Seattle until they can afford an apartment.
They said the process of leaving the park isn't easy. They said someone shattered the windows of their RV and slashed the tires of their Kia SUV parked behind it. Both cost money to replace and make it harder to save for an apartment.
"We're so stressed out already, and it adds to the stress and just makes it like a tornado," Kat said Sunday before the cleanup.
The Seattle Public Utilities' RV Remediation Program has moved into the area Monday to clean any trash, debris and spills. Any abandoned or derelict RVs that pose serious health or safety risks could be towed.
As of Monday morning, there were still four individuals camped on site. They all received offers to shelter, either to a tiny home village or 24/7 enhanced shelter, with two of them accepting referrals. The other two decided to relocate.
West Green Lake Way N is expected to be closed for parts of the day Monday as cleanup continues, with parking prohibited while crews are in the area. However, these parking restrictions will not be permanent.
Other portions of the park will be designated active work zones where crews will continue to assess damage, remediate environmental impacts and also work on any backlogged maintenance.
Any new tents set up at the park will be asked to leave. SPR said it has been successful in keeping parks encampment free due when intensive outreach is performed prior to any camp removals.
"As shelter resources allow, the City will continue to move more people indoors and address encampments in sidewalks and in parks citywide," SPR said in a statement Monday.
The city said it has opened 350 new non-congregate shelter spaces this fall with funding for over 2,8000 shelter spaces anticipated by the end of the year. This would be a 530-unit increase since the end of 2019.