Homeless camp residents, volunteers scramble to find new location

With the deadline to move to a new location quickly approaching, there is still no solid plan as to where residents of the current homeless encampment at Hoquiam’s First Presbyterian Church will go Tuesday.

Residents of the encampment on K Street have been there since the beginning of September after Amazing Grace Church in Aberdeen offered their parking lot to the homeless in June.

Revised Code of Washington allows for religious organizations to host homeless encampments on church property for a maximum of 90 days.

First Presbyterian Pastor Jeani Shofner said she knows of conversations that two or three local congregations are having on Sunday afternoon about possibly being the next host for the camp, but said there are no definite plans as to what will happen next.

“I’m very hopeful. We operate this under God’s command anyway and we just have to walk in faith,” she said. “We wonder a little bit why we’re being tested at the last minute, but we always wonder about that sometimes.”

Amazing Grace Pastor Val Metropoulos said there were rumors of another congregation that would take responsibility for the camp, but nothing was substantiated.

Metropoulos expressed frustration at Aberdeen’s and Hoquiam’s inaction on the issue, saying one of the cities needs to come forward to designate a plot of land so residents of the encampment don’t continue moving from one place to another.

“We are hoping in the long run that they (the cities) will start seeing this is everybody’s problem, not just the churches’,” she said. “It’s really hard to move every 90 days.”

For now, mayors of Aberdeen and Hoquiam have made it clear that it is an impossibility for either city to designate a place for the homeless due to a lack of land and budgetary restrictions.

“We don’t have any property that hasn’t been dedicated as a park or something like that,” said Aberdeen Mayor Bill Simpson. “Money-wise, it’s difficult. We keep cutting and cutting and cutting our expenses here in the city, so I don’t know.”

Simpson said he hopes another church steps up to house the residents.

“They are our brothers and sisters and we need to take care of them . Homelessness is a tough situation and I don’t know what the answer is; I just hope some of the churches will step up,” he said.

Hoquiam Mayor Jack Durney agreed with Simpson, saying that without the open land or the money, it would be a struggle for the town to take on the responsibility.

“We just aren’t in a position to expand parks programs or hire extra cops or firefighters or street department people or other basic services we normally provide,” said Durney. “If we’re not able to do all of those kind of things that one would expect a small town to do, it’s kind of hard to create a new effort unless there’s some kind of exterior funding.”

Around 10 people call the current encampment their home. Larry Osborn, who lived by the Chehalis River before being at the Amazing Grace and Hoquiam locations, is optimistic about residents finding a new place to call home.

Osborn is grateful for the work that both churches have done, talking fondly of Metropoulos and Shofner among others. If another spot doesn’t come up before Tuesday, Osborn will be back on the streets, without some of the amenities the current location has, including a shower, kitchen area and propane-fueled heaters.

Osborn, however, admits there have still been struggles at the location, including an incident in which a large rock was thrown over the camp’s fence and onto a tent. No one was injured, but Osborn said if the rock had broken through the tent it most likely would have killed the resident inside.

“That’s attempted murder. Fortunately, nobody got hurt,” he said. “For someone to throw that over and take off running and laughing about what they did, that person has a bad problem.”

Osborn stressed the importance of finding a permanent place for residents of the encampment, saying the focus shouldn’t just be on tomorrow or next week, but 10 or 15 years down the road, making sure there is a permanent place for the Harbor’s homeless.

Metropoulos said if another location was not found, living at the river would be a far more dangerous predicament, especially for women.

“They are at risk of assault and it’s very dangerous for them,” she said.

Canned food and a grill are inside a makeshift kitchen cordoned off by a gray tarp at the camp. Shofner said food and supplies have all been donated by volunteers, adding that she has been impressed with all those who have come forward looking to help.

“It’s been an amazing experience,” said Shofner of hosting the camp. “The things we’ve learned and the friendships we’ve made and the relationships we’ve established both with campers and the people in our community have just been awesome.”

On Friday, Osborn said he’s heard of a few churches that are looking into acting as the camp’s next host. He made jokes and talked of the donated Thanksgiving meals residents of the encampment ate on Thursday.

For Osborn, there is one big commonality between the volunteers, the homeless camp residents and even city residents who have expressed opposition to the camp.

“We’re all human,” he said.