Governance

Two weeks ago I wrote about English homeless policy during the century before the Pilgrims voyaged to America. Here’s a little more examination of what we can learn from that period, starting in 1531 with the way Sir Thomas Elyot, an English diplomat, peered at homeless people through a coach window. Elyot reacted like some of us respond to those holding at spotlights signs requesting cash: He called them “beasts brute and savage.” Pamphleteer Philip Stubbes countered with a compassionate approach: “God commandeth in his law that there be no miserable poor man, nor begger amongest us, but that everyone be provided for and maintained of that abundance which God hath blessed us withal.” Stubbes scoffed at the stingy: “We Read More ›

Exclusive Look at this inferno at homeless encampment Friday on Jackson Park Perimeter Trail. This is right next to Greentree Village Condos in #Seattle. Listen to neighbor’s frustration on 911 call. @SeattleFire once again saves day. On Going Problems Last summer, my series HIDDEN CRISIS IN THE WOODS showed numerous homeless encampments along Jackson Park Trail. But neighbors say city continues to ignore them.

It’s tee time at Jackson Park golf course, part of Seattle’s vast network of public spaces. But go beyond the greens and onto nearby trails leading into the deep woods. It looks far worse than any bad shot into the rough.  “I had a friend show me up here,” says Champ, who’s homeless.   Surrounded by the cover of lush trees and an abundance space, Champ says he’s lived alone in peace at this encampment for almost three years. However, he says that’s now changing.  “Usually when somebody gets kicked out they go somewhere else — where they’re going they’re going to raise hell in that area cause they’re pissed,” says Champ.  He believes the city and state’s recent crackdown on Read More ›