Seattle Struggles To Act On Proposal To Halt Encampment Sweeps
SEATTLE, WA — Seattle's leaders are struggling to reach a consensus on how to best treat the homelessness crisis amid the coronavirus pandemic. After a five-and-a-half hour meeting Wednesday on Council Bill 119796, split city leaders failed to reach a consensus, and instead elected to pick the issue up again at a later committee meeting. The bill, proposed by council member Tammy Morales and sponsored by Teresa Mosqueda and Kshama Sawant, aims to limit the city's ongoing homeless encampment sweeps for the remainder of the pandemic, and like many issues pertaining to Seattle's handling of the homelessness crisis, the bill's reception has been sharply divided.
Advocates for the bill argue that it's in keeping with Centers for Disease Control guidelines that advice against moving encampments during the pandemic, unless encampment members can be safely moved into individual housing. Many health care providers agree. In an open letter first reported by Erica C. Barnett with thecisforcrank.com, dozens of local health care professionals urged city leaders to pass Morales' legislation, arguing that homeless residents are already disproportionately being hurt by the pandemic, and that removing their tents has only made the situation worse and more difficult.
On the other side of the issue: Mayor Jenny Durkan's Office and Seattle police. As The Seattle Times reports, Durkan's office has issued a statement opposing the legislation, saying it would “eliminate the city’s ability to fundamentally protect residents and businesses from not only COVID-19 but other public health and safety concerns." Police Chief Carmen Best also argued against the bill, saying officers need to be able to remove encampments to protect public safety.
Despite the multi-hour meeting discussing the bill, its future remains unclear, leading to some frustration. Over twitter council member Sawant expressed frustration that council failed to hear from homeless residents directly impacted by the sweeps.
Yesterday, the political establishment had a 5.5-hour committee on a modest legislation (I'm a cosponsor) to restrict homeless sweeps during pandemic.A 5.5-hour meeting on homeless sweeps & not a single invited panelist was an actual homeless person who had experienced sweeps.
— Kshama Sawant (@cmkshama) May 28, 2020
The council will return to debate the bill anew at a committee meeting on June 10.
This article originally appeared on the Seattle Patch
