Re “Protesters attempt to block cleanup of homeless camp near U-Village”:
Missing from this article was the perspective of any of the nearby residents who have had to live by and tolerate this illegal encampment. The garbage, the rats, the used needles, the trespassing across property to access University Avenue, the intimidation of any who dare object. I didn’t see any mention of the perspective of the parks department personnel who have had to pick up behind what a camp resident called a “tribalistic village” where he lived to follow “a nomadic lifestyle” rejecting more appropriate shelter.
These dedicated maintenance workers have to watch the environment they are charged with maintaining be degraded almost beyond repair. On the slopes of Ravenna Woods, tent sites have been hacked into hillsides that are already unstable with oozing natural springs.
Homelessness is a major problem the city is trying to stay ahead of. Abdicating public parks and green spaces, dedicated to the entire population’s recreation, to small groups of people who prefer camping on public property with no rules to restrict or bind them only compounds one dilemma with another.
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Kent Ferris, Seattle