After 10 months of operations at a cost of more than $350,000 to the city, Aberdeen will close its tent camp for the homeless, located behind City Hall, on May 15.
The effect of the closure will be to allow camping on the sidewalk in much of the downtown core. That was prohibited while the city offered the camp as an alternative to the sidewalk. The people in the camp had to agree to certain rules. Those who didn’t had to leave, but they still couldn’t sleep on the sidewalks because the camp alternative was available to them.
Now, not only will the people living in the camp be able to sleep on sidewalks, but anyone else, as well.
According to a notice provided by Aberdeen Community Development Director Lisa Scott, the camp, “provided secure overnight shelter and stability to over 125 individuals including through adverse weather and initial phases of the international pandemic.”
The closure is not COVID-19 related, but rather due to a lack of funding from sources outside the city, according to the notice.
“The (camp) was wholly funded by the City of Aberdeen,” read the notice. “From the time it was established, the city had expected there would be some financial relief from county, state, federal, faith-based organizations, or other private organizations. Other than occasional visits or meal drop-offs, no other entity provided substantive resources …. The city simply cannot continue to support the (camp) alone.”
Current residents of the camp have been instructed to remove all personal items from the camp and leave by noon May 15.
Later that day, crews will remove the potable water source, hand-washing station, toilets, trash containers and the security shack from the lot. The perimeter fencing and security screen will be removed and all tent shelters will be removed and the platforms they sat on dismantled and removed. The property will return to its permitted use, a parking lot for City Hall employees.
Last August, the city purchased 150 WeatherHyde shelters — tents that could stand up to winter weather — for use at the camp and eventually for a larger homeless site at 421 S. Michigan St. According to the city, the tents currently being used by residents of the camp will be returned to the city, along with city-issued sleeping bags.
Anyone refusing to leave the camp could face civil enforcement under the public camping ordinance or other laws, according to the notice.
There are limited alternatives for the homeless to find shelter, including those currently in the camp. Grays Harbor Public Health and Social Services and the Coastal Community Action Program are the agencies on the front lines of finding alternative shelter sites.
“If there is not available overnight shelter, the city will not enforce camping restrictions along certain sidewalk areas so long as you leave a 4-foot-wide walkway for pedestrian use,” read the notice. “Some of this area is limited to only between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.” The city has provided a map showing those locations, which are scattered throughout the downtown core along Heron, Broadway, Wishkah, First, Market and adjoining streets.
The notice addresses the potential need for some to have a place to quarantine or isolate after the camp closure.
“The Grays Harbor County Public Health and Social Services Department has received nearly $390,000 from the Washington Department of Commerce in grant funds specifically aimed at addressing the COVID-19 outbreak-related public health needs of people experiencing homelessness or otherwise in need of quarantine or isolation,” read the notice. The number for more information is 360-964-1850.
