SPOKANE, Wash. — City and county leaders say rising crime and dropping temperatures have made clearing the I-90 homeless encampment an urgent priority. They believe it can be done by November 15 this year.
"We are going to solve this issue not in a year, not in eight months, but in a very short order, within 3 to 4 weeks," Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich said.
On Tuesday, Spokane County activated an emergency operations center to bring resources and agencies under one roof. The next step is turning the Trent Shelter into a navigation center where people will be connected to services and housing options.
"I'm a firm believer that people shouldn't be sleeping outside," Jewels Helping Hands Founder Julie Garcia said. "The sheriff is a firm believer that people shouldn't be sleeping outside, but how we get there is what matters."
Garcia says that outreach work is already being done at the camp, and so far, they've already moved 349 people off of the lot and into "humane solutions, not just a bus ticket to some city somewhere."
Garcia says it will take more than a few weeks to get the remaining 442 campers into shelters and housing.
"They want a timeline," Garcia said. "I think the first 200ish folks are going to be before the end of the year. I can't guarantee that but that is better than saying yeah by November 15th."
Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward says there will be enough space at shelters for everyone at the camp, but Garcia remains skeptical.
"Four weeks from now, that Trent shelter, no matter who runs it, is going to be full because we have hundreds of people downtown that we're forgetting about when we're talking about homeless services," Garcia said.
On Tuesday, Spokane County officially declared an emergency, not just for people living at the camp, but the surrounding neighbors and businesses. The Spokane Police Department (SPD) says violent crime is up 114% within a quarter mile radius of the camp. Property crime has shot up 80%.
Wednesday, the East Spokane Business Association is holding a press conference to discuss how families and businesses have suffered over the last 10 months living near the camp. They say the camp needs to be gone before Thanksgiving.
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