homelessness

(The Center Square) – The One Seattle Homelessness Action Plan’s first count of 2023 reveals the verified homeless tent count is down 42% from the end of last year. The latest count conducted in March by the city found 414 tents within the city limits. That is down from 712 counted in December 2022. The SODO District had the most tents and RVs counted with 158 combined. The city attributes the drop in tent numbers to its recently-launched Unified Care Team, alongside its partnership with the King County Regional Homelessness Authority. According to the city, its Unified Care Team facilitated 1,831 referrals to shelters and tiny house villages last year, with the help of the authority and 30 outreach providers.  The city Read More ›

Downtown Madness Continues The warm weather is fueling a crush of illicit activity in the downtown #Seattle core this weekend. Dealers are out peddling fentanyl for as little as one dollar a pill. Once again there were multiple drug overdoses and the black market of stolen goods is flourishing. I was out late Saturday night into the early Sunday morning hours, focused primarily on 3rd Ave and #Chinatown-ID. The moment the sun sets, it gets absolutely wild. Even the classical music crowd exiting Benaroya Hall (@benaroyahall) got a taste of the “fetty” and meth fumes. Not enough police officers to keep up. There is no denying the severity of what’s happening to Coucilmember Andrew Lewis’ (@CMAndrewJLewis) district. Like I said, Read More ›

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 Read More ›

It Was Inevitable First tent just showed up to the Leary Triangle in Ballard. City removed the fencing and concrete blocks around this parcel last week, hoping to turn this into a dog park. Meanwhile, the tent encampments in the area continue to expand. The 72 hour parking rule is being enforced, but the RV’s keep coming back. Councilmember Dan Strauss (@CMDanStrauss) has his hands full. Marc Dones and the @KingCoRHA needs to do more outreach here. I counted at least 30 tents and RV’s in this area alone. No end in sight for this part of #Seattle. @GovInslee @kcexec @MayorofSeattle @seattlecouncil @KCCouncil @SeattleParks @seattledot Block Party’s Over…Sort of Earlier this month, SDOT removed the blocks around Leary Triangle. But Read More ›

Final Look I was there on Wednesday when King County crews started clearing out this SODO encampment, a shell of it’s former self. Hard to imagine at one point there were at least 40 people living here. This location has seen fires, fights, drug overdose deaths, and been a source of crime in the neighborhood. It was also going to be one of the parcel’s used for Dow Constantine’s (@kcexec) failed HOMELESS MEGAPLEX before #Chinatown-ID residents fought back. No sign of Councilmember Tammy Morales (@CMTammyMorales) as encampment sweeps continue in #Seattle. @MayorofSeattle @GovInslee @seattlecouncil @KCCouncil @CMSaraNelson @CMTMosqueda @D5Juarez @KC_RHA

Today is Good Friday, and some people ask what’s good about a bad news day that commemorates crucifixion. Sunday is Easter, a good news day that everyone could share, but let’s face it: Most humans around the world don’t, and the number of Americans who do is declining. That’s sad but not surprising, and to explain why I’ll introduce what may be for you a new word and some new thoughts concerning homelessness. The new word is pedologist, a scientist who studies the origins, composition and distribution of soils. The root of the word is the Greek pe´don, soil. If you are a seed sower, a pedologist might be able to tell you where your labors are likely to be Read More ›

Homeless Arson Suspect in Court Thursday morning Arthur Arakelov faced a judge for the first time. He’s accused of torching dozens of boats in Lake Union last month and causing millions of dollars in damage. He pleaded not guilty. Meanwhile, #Seattle‘s homeless community remains in shock over these allegations and supporters say this was likely an accident. He’s being held on $100K bail and is due in court again later this month. @mayorofseattle @D5Juarez @kcexec @seattlecouncil @KCCouncil @GovInslee @CMSaraNelson @CMTMosqueda @seattlePD @SeattleFire More from SPD Body Cam It appears Arakelov was cooperative and wanted to get out of the cold. He was treated on site and taken to the hospital. #Seattle Surveillance Video Look at the orange glow. Authorities say Read More ›