July 4th parade rerouted to avoid homeless camps

In the suburbs of Seattle, the public security crisis has reached a point thatthe route of the Independence Day Parade was altered to avoid having to march past a homeless encampment.

WORLD JULY 5. 2023 13:02

The city of Burien, Washington altered the parade route for its 100th Annual Independence Day Celebration to avoid a massive homeless encampment. The camp has grown in size recently and now it comprises around 20 tents, so the organisers believed that it would not be safe to march past it.

„It’s best just to err on caution. We’re going to take a left on 4th and just head into town square park,” said Debra George, one of the organisers of the march.

Families, children, and tourists usually line downtown streets to get a glimpse of the floats and marching bands, but George says they have no choice but to alter the route since the city is refusing to remove the encampment. Burien does not have an illegal camping ordinance.

“I don’t believe it should be in our downtown commercial area,” George said. A fire engulfed multiple tents over the past few weeks, and business owners said they are struggling with a spike in thefts related to the encampment. Burien still refuses to take action.

The situation is further exacerbated by the fact that people in the throes of mental illness roam the area freely, and open-air drug use is a common site.

Burien Mayor Sophia Aragon called the situation a „crisis moment,” adding that creating a new ordinance to address the situation will be up for discussion but there are no assurances it will pass because the council is very divided on the issue. The progressive members of the council believe they have to allow the situation to continue until the city can find housing for everyone or find a space for a sanctioned encampment.

However, Council Member Stephanie Mora said that the homeless need to be moved immediately because they have already rejected help, and others from outside the city are moving into the encampment. “They were all offered beds, they were all offered services,”Mora said.

During a special city council meeting earlier this month, Burien’s Planning Commissioner Charles Schaefer and City Councilmember Cydney Moore were brought up for a public “show cause” after they allegedly assisted campers relocate who were being cleared out from a camp outside city hall. The city also alleged that the planning commissioner violated Burien’s ordinance by “sending, directing, or encouraging the unhoused to camp on park property,” adding that “Council member Moore was specific that the location in front of the store and behind the dollar store on the grass was available to set up tents as it was city property and wide enough not to interfere with foot traffic on the sidewalk.”

But the city around Seattle is not the only one where the increasingly unmanageable crime, drugs and homelessness are pushing residents out of their communities. Citing a recent poll released by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, V4NA has highlighted earlier,

that eight out of ten residents believe that crime has gotten worse in recent years. The survey’s respondents were purposely selected based on gender, age, ethnicity, party preference and home ownership.

The poll found that 70 per cent of residents said that the quality of life in their city has been persistently deteriorating for the second year in a row, while 88 percent of respondents stated that the homeless situation has worsened the most in recent times. 80 per cent believe that tackling this problem should be a top priority.

Citing these reasons, a little over 40 per cent of local residents say that they plan to move out of the city.

This is because the city has begun providing money – within the context of various programs – to homeless people who have moved into the city. Also, the cost of living is high, as are the taxes, so fewer people want to live permanently in the city.

Car theft has also skyrocketed, with police reporting a 753-per-cent increase in car break-ins compared to the same period last year.

One local resident, Lindsey Stevens, recently said she would definitely move out of the city: „There’s nothing worse than seeing a beautiful place like this in disarray. That’s what I thought last Saturday when the movers loaded up the last of my bags. I was also very relieved. I honestly think that we have seen a significant drop in the quality of life over the last three years, and this has only increased due to the coronavirus pandemic. Perhaps the most serious problem is homelessness, as people do not feel safe walking their dogs. The number of burglaries is also quite worrying, and is rising steadily.”


In order to to tackle all these problems, San Francisco Mayor London Breed has pledged an additional $1 billion to support various schemes and programs designed to alleviate homelessness.

WORLD

Tags:

homeless, united states of america