information from District 1 City Counciilmember Lisa Herbold
When constituents write to me with concerns about neighbors living unsheltered in tents or RVs, my office provides comprehensive information about how the City responds to such encampments, and how to make reports. I wrote about that process at length in a recent blog post; you can find it here.
My staff also have developed relationships with the outreach workers, employed by REACH, who serve West Seattle and South Park. They regularly share information back and forth about the locations that constituents report. When a large number of you write about the same location, we can even request an update on their progress, and then provide that on-the-ground report back to you.
Myers Way: For instance, I’ve heard from many of you concerned about the large encampment on Myers Way near Arrowhead Gardens; and about the troubling discovery of a recent homicide there. My staff discussed this location in a video meeting with the team of outreach workers and their supervisors, and shared introductions to local business improvement areas and community networks. We learned that outreach workers have been visiting encampment residents at Myers Way 3 – 4 times a week. Their outreach includes addressing potential fire hazards, getting trash pick-up and sanitation, and needs assessment of residents as well to assist in facilitating appropriate service referrals. King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA), which is a separate organization from the City, is funded by State government to help people at encampments located on WDOT owned right of way encampment locations to move out of homeless and into safe lodging, I asked KCRHA to consider using those resources at this location.
Additional Outreach: 3 homeless outreach workers focus on West Seattle, Delridge, South Park, and Rainier Valley, because of legislation I sponsored in 2021. The King County Regional Homelessness Authority, which took over responsibility for most homelessness investments in 2022, is poised to announce the recipients of $3.9 million for geographic-based outreach servicesin the next several weeks.
The City financially supports approximately 3,000 beds in temporary shelters, all of which operate at or near capacity, with very few spaces open on any given day. In the long term, outreach workers work on building relationships with people living unsheltered, in the hopes that referrals to help them stay safe and healthy may become available and be accepted in the future. Outreach workers will attempt to visit multiple times, offering support that will start the process.
