A little over a month ago, I watched city workers clean out a homeless encampment under Boren Avenue above I-5. Everything went into the back of a waste management truck: cardboard, trash, tents, sleeping bags, backpacks…the workers did not discriminate. I thought of the people who relied on those sleeping bags for warmth and wondered why the city didn’t allow the homeless notice to clear out their belongings. It seemed cruel that the ones with the least would have what little they owned taken away while they were out trying to find food (or beer, drugs, cigarettes, or what have you). Apparently I was not alone in this thought.

Mayor Nickels signed an executive order this giving easing some of the rules regarding cleaning out homeless encampments. They include:

• The city will give 72 hours’ notice to people camping on public property before their tents and other belongings are removed.
• During that period, the city will dispatch outreach workers to connect homeless campers with services.
• The city will store people’s belongings for 60 days instead of immediately throwing them away. Homeless people complained they had lost their tents, personal identification, prescriptions and photos.
• The city will add 20 shelter beds, which will be available Monday.

Working with the homeless instead of working to remove all trace of homelessness (and pretending it doesn’t exist) is a step in the right direction (IMHO). 20 shelter beds is not enough, I recognize more than 20 homeless people on Capitol Hill and Downtown by site (if not by name) on an almost daily basis, but any bit could help. (Source)