It Keeps Expanding
Four new tents popped up near the skate bowl over the weekend at Hubbard Homestead Park (@SeattleParks, @SeattleShines) bringing the grand total to 19. This homeless encampment is on the city’s radar, but there is no timeline yet on when it will be removed. Neighbors and local biz owners say it’s become a blight on the Northgate community. Along with the overwhelming use of fentanyl, some of the campers are also being blamed for thefts in the area. Someone went on the Nextdoor app and claimed a tent was being used to run a meth lab.
Of course I had to check it out. Otherwise, everyone living here was super accommodating and wanted me to tell their stories. Once again, there is no one size fits all to this crisis. But in most cases, root causes remains drug addiction, mental illness, and broken relationships. Housing is part of the solution, but giving away free apartments and studios will not solve this. You can’t build your way out of this problem. Stop warehousing people so they’re out of sight and out of mind. Everyone here is begging for a community, someone to walk with them across the finish line. Where’s Marc Dones and the King County Regional Homelessness Authority?