I still don’t like litter, haven’t for a long time. I last littered while in high school. I learned that one didn’t litter, that’s very bad manners and not good for the environment.
But now we have a situation where strewing garbage is the norm, and that’s at the homeless camps around town. I’ve come to realize the thing that bothers most me about the camps is the sheer volume of garbage. I cringe when I drive by and see the condition of the camps. I feel so disrespected, see that our community that we cherish is discounted and damaged.
We’ve always had poverty and poor people in our country, more at some times than others. We’ve had bread lines, Hoovervilles, the depression, and ample poverty. The difference now is that what was once unacceptable behavior has become commonplace and “normalized”. Moreover, that line keeps moving, destroying respect for ourselves and others, damaging our shared sense of community and belonging.
I’m saddened to see so many hurting and needy people, recognize the huge economic and social forces at work that have created this condition. But sadly I have a hard time maintaining the level of compassion that I’d like to have, and I don’t want to be callous. We have shown time and time again that we are a caring and generous community as demonstrated by the sheer volume of services we provide. We’ve also accepted having these camps, at least it sure seems that way. We have some large ones and I’m not aware of any plans to move them.
If that is indeed the case, then something we can actually manage to do is clean up the camps. We’re not going to stop homelessness, we only have so many tools at our disposal, and our situation is only a small part of our national problem.
I confess I’m not knowledgeable about who is working on what with respect to the homeless, and find it difficult to learn. Occasionally there are articles in the Olympian, but often seem to be about some conflict such as moving a camp. Olympia and Thurston County’s websites have extensive plans about the homeless crisis and show that the county has spent $6.2M on homeless programs.
But a discussion about the trash and condition of the camps appears absent. I called the city and county, spoke to their staff people dedicated to homeless issues, and there actually is some cleanup being done. But their staff dedicated to homeless issues is tiny and stretched way too thin. Clearly the federal and state governments aren’t going to solve this problem for us anytime soon. So here we are at a local level struggling, reacting, confused and torn.
What I sincerely believe is that all of us could use some kind of positive motion, some hopeful demonstration if for no other reason than to make us feel better. And cleaning up these camps would do just that.
So here’s what I’m proposing, let’s all clean up the camps and have the occupants maintain them. That certainly would make us much more comfortable about having the camps around, and there would be a number of intangible benefits as well like better community relations and a shared responsibility. So that’s the deal, we provide land for the camps, some sanicans and dumpsters, and the residents maintain the camps.
Let's build on that, turn it into a joint effort between the camps and permanent residents, work together to provide some semblance of shared community and shared values. Seems reasonable to me. And doable.
~ Pat Cole, Olympia
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JasonS
I share many of your sentiments, but you haven't provided any reasons as to why your proposal might work. A dumpster was already provided to the "Capital Lake camp" and the inhabitants as a whole declined to use it, choosing instead to throw their trash and litter on the ground. Assuming that your plan of having the City clean up the camps were to be put into effect, why would the camp inhabitants want to maintain that level of cleanliness going forward considering that they've already demonstrated that they don't want to do that?
It seems to me that before all the time, money and effort goes into cleanup, we need to find a practical incentive to offer the inhabitants for keeping the camp clean (and/or an actionable penalty for failing to do so). Otherwise, it will be a wasted effort.
Friday, February 26, 2021 Report this
Olycoley
I believe we simply have to find a way, the current situation is unsustainable and horribly frustrating. There are a lot of different people in the camps including those who want to help. And there are numerous folks working on this but are stretched way to thin. So the how we get this done will take some doing, will take some different methods and participants. But as far as I’m concerned we simply have to find a way. And it will take both camp residents and local residents as well as our municipal governments to get it done. But succumbing to despair and saying “oh we can’t” is simply not an option. We can’t solve the national homeless issue from here, but cleaning up the camps is certainly within our power.
Friday, February 26, 2021 Report this
JasonS
It isn't a question of if the camps can be cleaned. With regard to the camp across from Capital Lake (on Deschutes Parkway), it has already been done at least once in the past few months, and many brand new tents were donated around the same time. Many of those tents have since disappeared, and the camp descended into disrepair in rather short order.
The main issue I see with your idea of working with camp residents is that it assumes that there is a responsible and stable population of specific individuals with whom the City can collaborate. I frequently walk the Capitol Lake loop, and none of the folks I have encountered meet this description.
That's one reason why a longer-term plan (such as relocating the camp to a safer and more appropriate location than the side of the road and perhaps hiring one or two responsible residents as safety officers) should be formulated before committing resources to cleaning it up yet again. If the City simply cleans the existing camp up, and then a few months later it is once again in a state of uncleanliness, then everyone will rightly wonder why more thought wasn't put into how to maintain a cleaner and safer environment. That is a recipe for growing resentment and negativity within the community at large, and it should be avoided. We need a good action plan first.
Monday, March 1, 2021 Report this
AJoytoknow
I also don't like litter. I do think that there is something going on that I don't see talked about, you said we are compassionate and giving, but people who are homeless don't necessarily feel the same way. There is a feeling of being left out. Left out of housing choices that are both affordable and without someone telling them constantly how they have to be in order to get shelter. Yes, some people do need what's being called wraparound services, but most people just can't afford rent and would like to be able to do the same things every housed person can do in their homes. This might include having a beer or glass of wine, or smoking pot. Totally legal and enjoyed by many every day. We even have a socially acceptable (happy)hour for drinking , but once you've become unlucky enough to become homeless, even if it's not because you smoke pot or have a few drinks, you become something else in certain people's eyes. Otherized in an instant. Then in order to stay at a place you are told you have to follow rules that don't apply to the rest of society. I see it as a big middle finger to all the a-holes who treat homeless people like trash. Like saying you wanna think I'm trash? I'll show you trash! I suggest instead of patting ourselves on the back for how "good" we are at "allowing" these people some basic needs we start thinking about how we need to treat people better on a personal level. I would not feel connected to or responsible for something that I was purposefully kept separate from. Start treating people who are homeless as a neighbor and potential friend with value and I am guessing you will see the respect returned. As is it's an us and them and people are sick of being treated as trash, a project, or a problem. Anything but treating them as equals. Your egos just won't let you. Give up your classist thinking. Still there will be some jerks who still litter, happens with yuppie hikers all the time. Those are just a-holes and should be dealt with through legal system.
Wednesday, May 12, 2021 Report this