Seattle’s messes: Is lack of ownership the problem?
A group of downtown residents recently asked mayoral candidate Bruce Harrell why he thought he could solve Seattle’s homelessness crisis when others have failed. His response: “I’ll own the problem.”
It might be a novel approach. Consider the response received by a downtown business owner struggling with an increase of trash, needles and petty crimes from a growing line of tents on his street. A volley of letters to city leaders produced two replies with the same form letter:
The Customer Service Bureau received your report of unauthorized camping. Your report will be routed to the appropriate department for their attention and may result in a site assessment to determine the most appropriate outreach and trash mitigation response.
In alignment with CDC public health guidelines to reduce the spread of COVID-19, starting in March 2020, the City suspended the removals of encampments except for extreme circumstances that pose significant risks to the public. To support the City and County's COVID-19 efforts, the Human Services Department, in partnership with Seattle Parks and Recreation and Seattle Public Utilities, changed operations to focus primarily on outreach, distribution of hygiene kits and information, and litter and debris mitigation. As more housing and shelter spaces become available in 2021, we anticipate being able to move more people indoors, and to do so in a way that does not further the spread of COVID-19.
As part of the recently approved 2021 budget, the City is updating its encampment outreach response from the Navigation Team to the Homelessness Outreach and Provider Ecosystem (HOPE) Team. This new HSD-led Team is now coordinating with the City's contracted outreach teams and City departments to engage with people experiencing homelessness and connect them with services, including shelter as available, and mitigate the impacts from encampments.
Additionally, City Departments are working together to enhance trash and litter removal across the City, including encampments, through its new Clean Cities Initiative.
For more information on the City's efforts to expand shelter, hygiene, and outreach to individuals experiencing homelessness, please visit the Homelessness Response Blog.
If you need further assistance in this matter, please contact the City's Homelessness Response Team at homelessness@seattle.gov.
We appreciate your support during this time of community need.
Sincerely,
City of Seattle
Customer Service Bureau
206-684-CITY (2489)
It’s good to know Customer Service is on the job. According to an update this week, the Clean Cities Initiative has collected 1.7 million pounds of trash and 59,000 needles across the City this year. Teams clean at 25 to over 30 encampments each week.
It’s a daunting, ongoing task and civil servants are in high maintenance mode trying to keep up. However, nothing in that form letter identifies an action plan with numbers, deadlines and accountability.
In another era, “owning the problem” was called “the buck stops here.” As election season approaches, the question for all candidates and current office holders is, “What issues will you be responsible for?”
