important improvements and
elements of city’s protocols that require correction

Thanks to months of advocacy by the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness (SKCCH) and many other community partners, the city of Seattle’s newly released administrative rules and procedures regarding people who lack shelter outline a few positive changes for our community. Protections for personal property; commitment to funding for some additional shelter beds for outreach staff; and better notification procedures, all represent significant improvements over the city’s previous draft protocols and practices. At the same time, serious concerns remain around the broad circumstances under which it may hold itself exempt from these standards; the lack of oversight and accountability for the implementation of these new policies; and the processes governing people’s reclamation of their personal property.

The Coalition applauds the city of Seattle’s commitment to funding for the following:

• An additional 20 beds of stable emergency shelter with case management services. The January 2008 One Night Street Count documented an 18% increase in the number of people on the streets of Seattle (and a 15% increase county-wide). These results reveal the urgent need for additional shelter and housing resources.
• Dedicated outreach staff and increased notification to people if they are required to leave their chosen area of refuge
• Protection of personal property, including temporary storage

The Coalition specifically hopes to address several serious concerns with the recently released protocols:

• Suspension of protocols at sites where people repeatedly seek shelter. Finding a safe place to survive at night is a constant struggle for many who are homeless. A policy which suspends the protocols – and thus offers of safe shelter and outreach – specifically in areas where people frequently stay seems contrary to the goal of helping people off the streets.
• Limited application of the protocols to areas with three or more people. This policy unnecessarily limits the assistance provided to people trying to survive. SKCCH maintains that everyone has the right to a safe place to lay his or her head at night. The number of people sleeping under the same bridge should not dictate a person’s access to shelter and other life-saving services.
• Absence of appropriate oversight and accountability mechanisms around the implementation of these protocols. No provision is made whereby people outside of city departments are regularly consulted about or informed of the issues raised through implementation of these protocols, nor is there any process identified for ensuring that the city’s actions are in practice consistent with its desired outcomes.

Background
The Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness has expressed grave concerns about actions by both the city of Seattle and the Washington State Department of Transportation since last May, when when Mr. Isaac Palmer, a homeless man, was killed while sleeping under I-5. In August, city workers summarily destroyed the campsites and belongings of several people sleeping in a greenbelt along Aurora Ave., and SKCCH asked for direct input into changing city policies regarding people sleeping outside. In the months following these two incidents, SKCCH and other advocates have pursued multiple approaches to engaging city staff, city council members, and the public in responding to the reality that thousands of people are homeless and without shelter in King County.

Link to City of Seattle Protocols
Download the SKCCH letter to the City of Seattle
Download the SKCCH letter to the Washington State Department of Transportation
Download the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty letter on the legal aspects of this issue

Previous Action Alerts:
2008 Action Alerts

2007 Action Alerts

2006 Action Alerts

2005 Action Alerts

2004 Action Alerts