Photo by Assunta Ng
The City of Seattle’s Navigation Team removed an unmanaged encampment in the area behind the Navigation Center on a public stairwell, in response to what it called “a situation that posed a significant public safety and health risk.”
Prior to the removal, announced in a news release on April 22, the Navigation Team said it and partner city agencies engaged the site multiple times a week. In addition to essential outreach services, the team provided Public Health – Seattle & King County COVID-19 and hepatitis A flyers, shelter referrals, and mitigation efforts that included trash bag distribution and collection, debris removal, and sharps collection.
The high density of tents and structures in the confined area had the potential for the spread of COVID-19 and hepatitis A. There were nine people on site before the removal started. System Navigators offered shelter to each individual on site, and preliminary numbers show three individuals accepted shelter.
I’m not sure where this encampment was, but there’s one at Bitter Lake by the edge of the lake, just outside the ball field, where EMTs have recently been in attendance, and that is not a good place for tents and people who are in need of EMT services. I was there and saw the EMTs tending to someone in a tent, and the person looked pretty ragged and drugged out. I’d like to see that encampment removed if it hasn’t been already, and people in the community have posted the same sentiment on NextDoor.