Are things getting better???

The past few years have been tumultuous for Seattle's homeless community. First, there were the homeless encampment sweeps; the formation of Nickelsville, which was chased around the city, a scenario that would be funny if it wasn't disgusting; and some Nickelsville supporters were even arrested and headed for trial before City Attorney Tom Carr wisely aborted the case. It's no wonder homeless advocates let out a sigh of relief the day Mayor Greg Nickels left office.
But are things really any better? The Parks and Recreation Department has come up with a code of conduct that could be approved next month. The new code could give city employers the right to scoop backpacks or other personal items left unattended. Plus, there are provisions against blocking entrances and walkways that could be widely interpreted to make parks less welcoming to the homeless.
Then there was the recent one-night count of the homeless. A total of 2,759 homeless were counted on the streets by volunteers from 2 to 6 AM on Jan. 29.
The Seattle Times trumpeted that homelessness is down five percent. But who really knows? Apparently, sweeps did take place just before the one-night stand. More shelters have opened and people might have been a little better hiding out this year.
Have we reached a point where a certain amount of homelessness is accepted. Next we'll be hearing that it's good news that the homeless rate only went up five percent this year instead of ten.
No, a change of Mayors isn't going to solve all of our problems.

New sheriff in town

New City Attorney Peter Holmes has received some attention recently for his statements about not prosecuting marijuana users. But on Thursday night we got the opportunity to ask (one of) Seattle's newest public officials about his views on Nickelsville, Tent Cities, sweeps of homeless ecampments and the city's take on homeless issues.
``I believe Nickelsville - if it's still called that- should have a permanent home. Homelessness is a problem that's not going away.'' Holmes was speaking at Night Cap, a new feature sponsored by Town Hall. Josh Feit and Erica C. Barnett from Publicola took the stage with Holmes, who's been in office all of two weeks.
On the surface it appears that Holmes and Mayor Mike McGinn are taking a more laissez-faire approach to things than their predecessors- former Mayor Greg Nickels and City Attorney Tom Carr. But while Holmes and McGinn haven't declared war on the homeless it sounds like the city will take action if neighbors complain about a homeless site.
``The mayor's office has a system if neighbors complain,'' Holmes explained. ``People will get a warning and no property will be destroyed. There's a handbook that the city uses that was put together with the help of the ACLU and homeless organizations. There are safeguards to protect belongings from being destroyed.'' Holmes added that no one has complained to his office about homeless camps in the two weeks he's been in office.
Of course, it will be the Mayor who'll set the agenda for how the city of Seattle deals with the homeless. However, Holmes said that he's looking forward to the city renewing its' agreement with Tent City 3 and said that he will take part in the one-night homeless count that takes place at the end of January.

Rally for Basic Health

While Governor Christine Gregoire will be giving her ``State of the State'' message next Tuesday (Jan 12) in Olympia a group called Sisters Organize for Survival will hold a State of Emergency Rally for Basic Health. As part of a campaign to defend the state Basic Health Plan, S.O.S will rally on the capitol steps while Gregoire addresses the legislature. S.O.S is calling for the reversal of cuts to Basic Health and other life-and-death services by instituting a tax on the wealthy and cooperate profits. The group also has over 3,000 signatures supporting Basic Health to be hand-delivered to elected officials that day.
Washington state has the most regressive taxes in the country. With a state sales tax system, the poorest pay 17 percent of their income in taxes and the rich only three percent. When a person earns their second million dollars it's untaxed; financial consultants are untaxed. S.O.S supports a progressive income tax. ``Basic Health along with other social services and public education could be funded by taxing the profits of the largest corporations and the incomes of the state's wealthiest -including the tens of thousnads of millionaires who reside here,'' says Gina Petry, S.O.S. coordinator.
For anyone wishing to travel to Olympia next Tuesday, carpools will leave from New Freeway Hall, 5018 Rainier Ave. S. at 9:00am. For more information call (206) 722-6057, http://www.savebasichealth.org/. Donations welcome.