Our View: Strictly enforced rules critical to homeless camps

The Spokane City Council voted Monday to allow temporary homeless camps within city limits. The action will become a civic experiment for dealing with urban homelessness. Did the council make the right decision? The answer will be revealed as the camps become part of the community’s response to homelessness. Here are some points to ponder as the experiment moves forward into action.

•It can’t be amateur hour.

The city has set up stringent guidelines for the camps, including the requirement that they be sponsored by a group with a business license. Established shelters in Spokane, such as Union Gospel Mission and House of Charity, have decades of history here. The longtime staffers in those shelters say it takes years to understand homelessness. And some confide how they often feel like running away from the stress of shelter work.

The homeless who live outside often do so because shelter rules are too strict. It’s easier to drink or do drugs in the privacy of a tent, for instance, than try to get away with it in a shelter.

Good-hearted folks are often prime movers behind programs for the homeless, but it’s not work for amateurs. Successful homeless programs are run by people with good hearts and tough minds. They can enforce rules, recognize manipulation, and set both limits and expectations for those seeking shelter.

•It can’t be a repeat of the past.

A tent city set up on private property a year ago enraged nearby residents, especially parents of students at Stevens Elementary School a block away. The police department was inundated with nuisance calls. The chaos of the camp turned off a lot of people, including many who feel sympathy for the homeless.

Phil Altmeyer, executive director of Union Gospel, says, “People in our community care for the homeless. But what does this kind of project do? It backfires. It hurts the homeless who want to do something with their lives.”

Seattle has allowed homeless camps for several years. The experience has been mixed. In neighborhoods where residents volunteer with the sponsoring agencies, middle-class folks have learned a lot about homelessness. In other neighborhoods, outraged residents have filed lawsuits to get rid of the camps.

As winter approaches, and the economy worsens, Spokane’s experiment begins.