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Homeless encampment near Interstate 90 in east Spokane will stay put for now

Campers who had set up tents at Spokane City Hall set up their tents again in an empty lot in east Spokane last month after they were warned to leave city hall. The camp had been at Spokane City Hall where participants were protesting the city’s homeless response. (Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review)
By Adam Shanks adams@spokesman.com(509) 459-5136

The Washington Department of Transportation won’t immediately clear a homeless encampment from land near Interstate 90, but does plan to eventually disband it.

Despite posting a 72-hour notice for people to move along that expired on Monday, the department said its first priority is to ensure the camp near Second Avenue and Freya Street does not grow.

“It’s our desire and goal, related to homeless camps, to have them removed in a timely and humane way from WSDOT right of way. We are not an organization that deals with social services, nor do we have law enforcement resources,” Ryan Overton, a WSDOT spokesman, said in a statement.

The encampment sprang up last week after the city threatened to clear the property of those who erected tents outside City Hall in protest of the city’s homeless response. Dubbed “Camp Hope 2.0,” the encampment mirrored a similar protest that occurred in 2018.

Jewels Helping Hands, a homeless service provider, has maintained a presence at both the City Hall and I-90 encampments. There were 82 people at the encampment Wednesday morning, according to the organization.

Its founder, Julie Garcia, fears the bitter cold forecast for the Spokane area next week and its potential impact on people experiencing homelessness.

She said her organization is searching for a building in which to operate a shelter or a plot of land for a tent.

Garcia encouraged the city to expand shelter options.

“We’ll help them; if they open up a place, we’ll fill it up for them,” Garcia said.

The city broke up the encampment outside City Hall because it alleged tents were blocking access to City Hall and the site had become a health hazard.

The Department of Transportation hopes to walk the fine line between appeasing the encampment’s neighbors and treating its tenants with dignity. The department will take action if the camp becomes a safety issue, Overton said.

“We are sensitive to both the neighbors and those in the camp and hope that through our collaboration with all parties, that there can be a positive and timely outcome for all,” Overton wrote.

The current forecast for Spokane calls for low temperatures to drop into the single digits overnight on Monday, according to the National Weather Service.

“Next week is very scary,” Garcia said.