HomeMy WebLinkAbout092725 email - Re_ DSHS Homeless Camp~ALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
I should have mentioned that I own property on fredericks and am seeing ever increasing foot traffic in my area.. something of great concern since that property is used for the storage
of my equipment.
I wish there was a one size fits all solution . I have already spent many sleepless hours pondering this and it simply sucks from every direction that i look at it.
I think that the ones who disperse deeper into the woods onto private are going to do so no matter what. I think part of the solution is a similar encampment but in a better location
with some oversight. Part of the problem is that even some oversight is going to be a deal breaker for at least some if not many.. and those are the ones that we will find ever deeper
in the countryside. At this point I simply don’t even see a solution for those. I do think that with partners and financial help we can help provide direction to many of them.. giving
them perhaps one step up from where they are now. And certainly, some should be able to find another steak up from that.
It’s ugly. It’s challenging. Every single aspect of this challenge is uncomfortable for every person involved. It just is. I think acceptance of that is the first step.. there are
no easy, one size solutions. 2nd is the understanding that this problem belongs to all of us. None of us gets to the lay the blame at any other single component. The folks that
are suffering in that encampment are some of us… they have value and deserve love and compassion as much as anyone. However, we all suffer to some degree the longer we allow this to
continue. It will openly get worse for everyone if we don’t step up. It’s not in our back yard.. it's at our front door.
3rd. The problem has been created from many many things, economy, nutrition, health care, nimby ism, substance abuse and god knows what else. The solution can only be comprehensive.
It is not a throw money at it or cover it up kind of thing. Ultimately the harsh reality is that it is big… and i fear we could be on the precipice of a much much larger problem.
On the bright side… we are an amazing community. I’m confident I am beginning to see a path developing and I have faith in this community. I have said it since joining council, we have
an amazing group of people here. By joining hands with the county and private partners we will all solve this. Dealing with even 50 people that need our help really isn’t that big
of a stretch for us.
Neil
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________________________________
From: Joni Blanchard <jonijobone@hotmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, September 27, 2025 2:10:49 PM
To: Neil Nelson <nnelson@cityofpt.us>; John Mauro <JMauro@cityofpt.us>; Steve King <sking@cityofpt.us>; David Faber <DFaber@cityofpt.us>; CityCouncil <citycouncil@cityofpt.us>; HDudley-Nollette@co.je
fferson.wa.us <hdudley-nollette@co.jefferson.wa.us>; heisenhower@co.jefferson.wa.us <heisenhower@co.jefferson.wa.us>; gbrotherton@co.jefferson.wa.us <gbrotherton@co.jefferson.wa.us>;
Carolyn Gallaway <carolyn@co.jefferson.wa.us>
Subject: Re: DSHS Homeless Camp~
CAUTION: External Email
Thank you for responding, Neil!
That could be a working strategy - waiting until freezing temps to tell them to find a new home. Maybe it WILL help those who have been searching for solutions to help these people
for the past two years to quickly find a solution in a month. I honestly hope it works, but most likely these folks will just scatter into the County in smaller groups/as individuals
and freeze for the winter. This tough love approach could kill these compromised folks, but it may remove the City's liability that it's knowingly took risk for the past two years.
I understand the liability aspect. The City has had this liability for many years with its homeless population in their parks and woods. The County has also and will face the City's
legal liability problem head on even moreso as these 29 people move over the County line and onto properties close by - creating rat infested garbage heaps, toxic burning fires, lining
our county roads with poop, toilet paper and needles. County residents will be facing more of this also as many of them move onto vacant lots near them. Many of us are already facing
seriously unsafe risks such as I mentioned from the homeless folks in our neighborhoods already.
I guess I'll revise my request to give this 'gun to the head' strategy a chance to work by November 3rd to be - IF those trying to help these people find a nesting location for the winter
fails, could the City please wait until spring - March - to definitively enforce their eviction. 'The Community' is much safer - along with the encampment occupants - by keeping them
together at this location (or an alternative one, if found) for the winter. Dispersing 29 desperate people into our community before winter isn't a safe move for anyone.
I appreciate your response, Neil~
Joni
________________________________
From: Neil Nelson <nnelson@cityofpt.us>
Sent: Saturday, September 27, 2025 8:00 PM
To: Joni Blanchard <jonijobone@hotmail.com>; John Mauro <JMauro@cityofpt.us>; Steve King <sking@cityofpt.us>; David Faber <DFaber@cityofpt.us>; CityCouncil <citycouncil@cityofpt.us>;
HDudley-Nollette@co.jefferson.wa.us <hdudley-nollette@co.jefferson.wa.us>; heisenhower@co.jefferson.wa.us <heisenhower@co.jefferson.wa.us>; gbrotherton@co.jefferson.wa.us <gbrotherton@co.jefferson.w
a.us>; Carolyn Gallaway <carolyn@co.jefferson.wa.us>
Subject: Re: DSHS Homeless Camp~
Hi Joni,
I am going to respond to this because it is quickly becoming a priority for me both personally and as a council member. I am not speaking on behalf of my fellow council member but I
in the interest of full transparency am copying everyone that your email was sent too. Much , if not everything I am about to say is a very personal opinion.
As a community we are willing to be of service and provide help to these individuals. I personally am more than willing to vote to allocate funds toward this problem. However, as a
community we face what appears to me to be an ever-increasing risk. The reaction from Goodman made me realize that the potential liability the city could face from not resolving unsafe
conditions is serious. When I couple this information with the knowledge that there have been a couple unreported fires... underneath the power lines, I began to understand the urgency
to solve this. Every single day this continues is another day that we , as a community, face a very real possibility of a serious event that could bring much legal exposure.. at great
legal expense. We as a city are obligated to minimize this. We simply are not doing our job if we allow this to continue.
The solutions are not simple. I am keenly aware of what you are asking. And why. There are some uncomfortable truths we face here. Many of the people at that encampment do not want
to change... at all. I think it is a reasonable argument that perhaps going into winter is the best time to be more aggressive in resolving this. It could very well help prompt our
fellow community members that are resistant to this change to let us help provide them with more appropriate winter ready accommodations. Perhaps they would be more likely to take
shelter availability at this time of year than they will be if we wait till spring.
Waiting till spring is also just kicking the can down the road. And increasing our exposure as a community by the day. It may feel more comfortable in the moment, but it is not a solution.
I support Mauro and city staff with the idea of reaching out to every provider and partner that might help. I see available funding we can tap into. I think we can solve this with
creative partnerships and thinking. As a business owner I am very fond of facing problems immediately. They never get better. They never solve themselves. This one will be no exceptions.
We should have been dealing with this at the beginning of 2025. We have been kicking the can down the road far too long. Most solutions don't happen until we are forced to find them.
Goodman is part of our wake-up call. It's time.
Please feel free to reach out to me directly at any time. I am actively looking for discussion and ideas related to this subject. I have much faith we can find an agreeable path forward
that deals with all our concerns.
Neil Nelson
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________________________________
From: Joni Blanchard <jonijobone@hotmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, September 27, 2025 11:21:09 AM
To: John Mauro <JMauro@cityofpt.us>; Steve King <sking@cityofpt.us>; David Faber <DFaber@cityofpt.us>; CityCouncil <citycouncil@cityofpt.us>; HDudley-Nollette@co.jefferson.wa.us <hdudley-nollette@co.
jefferson.wa.us>; heisenhower@co.jefferson.wa.us <heisenhower@co.jefferson.wa.us>; gbrotherton@co.jefferson.wa.us <gbrotherton@co.jefferson.wa.us>; Carolyn Gallaway <carolyn@co.jefferson.wa.us>
Subject: DSHS Homeless Camp~
CAUTION: External Email
Hi Everyone,
After the City allowing the homeless encampment next to DSHS for two years, I have to say it's a very cruel and rude move on your part to make them move along just before winter.
I understand the code violations and the utterly disgusting mess this encampment creates, but that is how it has been for two years now. This seems like a knee-jerk reaction to Goodman
Sanitation's awful experience trying to keep porta potties there. It sounds like that problem is being mitigated and I'm asking you to postpone this impending November deadline.
Removing them from that site will just disperse those 29 or so folks into the wooded areas just a bit down the road onto County properties into neighborhoods where their survival will
be further tested along with many of the property owners in the area. They have nowhere else to go except off that property to other close by properties. I agree that for the winter,
it'll be safer for them and County property owners if they stay congregated where they're at - close to the DSHS services and warmth rather than straying off independently into the
woods making fires for survival.
Please, I'm asking that you just hold off until spring - March - to have them move along. It's a mercy plea for their sake (and as a property owner close by whose neighborhood is susceptible
to invasion by 'compromised individuals'). You can wait. You've been tolerant for 2 years now - another 4 months will make a huge difference in their lives but hardly make any difference
at all in the City's agenda.
Thank you for reconsidering.
Joni Blanchard