SPOKANE, Wash. — Nearly 150 people living at the homeless encampment near I-90 and Freya Street have moved out and are no longer staying there.
The Spokane Homeless Coalition invited community members into the encampment on Thursday morning to see how the new fencing is making the camp safer. The coalition also wanted to to speak with community members about how much progress is being made to get people into better housing options.
The Spokane Homeless Coalition invited community members into the camp this morning, to see how the new fencing is making it safer, and also to hear how much progress is being made to get people into better housing options.
Local camp leaders are working with the Department of Licensing (DOL), Department of Revenue and Department of Health (DOH) to get everyone staying in the camp their own identification card, birth certificate and social security card.
Campers not having those critical documents is often one of the biggest barriers that prevents people from finding permanent housing, according to Julie Garcia, the executive director of Jewels Helping Hands.
"Most people think that we're telling people not to go to shelters," Garcia said. "We're driving people to shelters. We'll take people to any situation that makes it better for them."
The coalition also said it is aware of Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich's deadline to clear the camp. However, they said they plan to continue with their work as usual, trying to get people into better situations instead of forcing them from one spot to another.
"We have a coalition of 200 different organizations as well as 1,300 to 1,400 members," said Robert Lippman, a member of the Spokane Housing Coalition. "It's a pretty expanded community that is driven to provide support, but it just makes it so hard when everything is scattered and polarized. So we're definitely trying to help with diffusing that narrative."
The camp is now enforcing a nightly curfew, starting at 8 p.m. Starting the week of Oct. 10, everyone staying at the camp will be required to have a badge. or they will not be allowed through the gate.
DOWNLOAD THE KREM SMARTPHONE APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE KREM+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KREM in the Channel Store.
Fire TV: search for "KREM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email webspokane@krem.com.