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.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment