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14 Accept Housing and Shelter as Ship Canal Encampment is Finally Cleared

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Sweeps All Week

Day 1 in the books at the Ship Canal Bridge encampment on the Wallingford side, right across street from John Stanford Int. School. @WSDOT crews expect to be on this for a few more days. Then on Thursday, they move across I-5 to tackle the U District side. This type of undertaking in the same week is unprecedented for The Washington State Dept. of Transportation. But critics say Governor Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) should not be taking a victory lap since he allowed this all to flourish under his watch. If anything, he should be on an apology tour. Later this week, WSDOT is also moving in to clear two notorious homeless encampments in #Chinatown-ID.#Seattle @MayorofSeattle @kcexec @KC_RHA @seattlecouncil @KCCouncil @CMSaraNelson @D5Juarez @CMTMosqueda @WAStateCommerce

The Other Side

It’s so bad. This part of the Ship Canal Bridge encampment on the U. District side hasn’t been getting as much attention. But it’s a disaster. Look at the trash building up. WSDOT is sweeping on Thursday. I was there as crews put up the fliers this morning. Everyone’s been given notice.

Trash City

This is so crazy. For the first time, I saw this other side trail created by the homeless. It’s still on @WSDOT property. It’s just full of trash, needles, clothing, junk, etc. Look at all the neighbors on the U. District side who had to put up with this. This is #Seattle and #Washington state. What a drain on resources. What’s the plan to get in front of these situations before they spiral out of control?

Final Numbers

So where did everyone go? For sure some of the homeless refused shelter and services and moved on to another part of the city to set up a new camp. But at least according to The King County Regional Homelessness Authority (@kc_RHA), at least 14 people decided to go indoors. #Seattle

Jonathan Choe

Journalist and Senior Fellow, Center on Wealth and Poverty
Jonathan Choe is a journalist and Senior Fellow with Discovery Institute's Center on Wealth and Poverty, covering homelessness issues for its Fix Homelessness initiative. Prior to joining Discovery, Choe spent several years as one of the lead reporters at KOMO-TV, consistently the top rated television station in Seattle. His in depth stories on crime and deep dive investigations into the homeless crisis led to measurable results in the community, including changes in public policy. Choe has more than two decades of experience in television news behind the scenes and in front of the camera for ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, and Tribune. He has also been nominated and honored with multiple industry awards including an Emmy. Choe spent several years teaching classes on emerging media and entrepreneurship to under privileged youth in inner city Chicago. As an independent journalist, Choe also contributes regularly to the Mill Creek View and Lynnwood Times and has reported on exclusive stories in the past year for Daily Wire and The Postmillennial.