TACOMA, Wash. — With recent violence, business owners are fed up with public safety issues along Tacoma's Hosmer Street.
At the beginning of the month, a 26-year-old man named Oliver Vaovasa was shot and killed after his family said he was going to buy something at a market on Hosmer Street. His family said he was quiet and enjoyed playing basketball with his friends.
The Hosmer Business Association said it is now taking matters into its own hands, because it doesn’t feel like the city is doing enough to help with the issues of homelessness, drug use, and crime in the neighborhood.
The Hosmer Business Association is paying the private security company Blue Falcon Tactical Services $17,000 to clear people off private properties on Thursday and to continue to patrol private properties along 12 blocks of Hosmer Street for the following 30 days.
"We're left here to fend for ourselves,” said Jeremiah Saucier, who is the president of the Hosmer Business Association and is also the owner of Crossroads Treatment.
Saucier used to battle addiction himself and works to help people facing addiction at Crossroads Treatment, which is an outpatient treatment center.
Saucier said when they moved their business to Hosmer three years ago, they were burglarized and were calling police up to eight times a day for different issues. He said once they got private security, that all changed, which is why he is hoping this public safety push can help other business owners on Hosmer be able to operate their businesses safely.
"There's some good people running these businesses that are getting hurt badly and I feel like they're being ignored,” said Saucier. “I'm not going to let my business die; I'm going to fight.”
Other Hosmer business owners, like Young Martindale, who runs Helen’s Barbershop said her business is being impacted because people don’t feel safe.
"My customers fear for their life, so they hesitate to come back,” said Martindale.
She said she has reached out to city leaders for help and says calling 911 doesn't always help.
“Around the corner of my business, left and right, they are shooting,” said Martindale. “I call police, and they say they will be here. Sometimes they come right away, sometimes they never show up.”
Martindale said she feels sorry for the people on the streets, and says if she is not able to pay rent for her business, she could end up in their situation too.
Blue Falcon Tactical Services, which was hired to get people off private property, is also located on Hosmer. The owner said this is not only about helping businesses, but also families who live in the area.
“That’s the main goal, allowing this place to thrive again, allowing kids to be able to get up and actually be able to go out and walk to the bus stop without having to walk through a cloud of fentanyl smoke or worry if they are going to be shot,” said Tema Woods, the owner of Blue Falcon Tactical Services.
The business association said they were connecting people with services and had been over the past few weeks. They said they met with several community organizations to get services lined up.
KING 5 talked to two unhoused people on Hosmer about the effort to move people. They said they don’t feel like the city offers the right kinds of services and said when they get pushed out of one area, it just forces them to have to find a different place.
The City of Tacoma sent the following statement:
“The City is aware of the encampment clean-up on private property initiated by the business association and understands the concerns that prompted this action. Homelessness is a complex issue, and the City remains committed to a "services first" approach. This approach is founded on compassion and prioritizes connecting individuals experiencing homelessness with the resources they need to find stable housing and support. Our HEAL team has been actively engaged with individuals who reside in encampments along this corridor, offering assistance with shelter options, essential services, and connections to relevant programs.”