Once the Grants Pass, Oregon decision came down from the U.S. Supreme Court, it gave cities the power to enforce laws on where the unhoused could reside.
So, after a 30-day extension that the Aberdeen City Council voted for on July 3, the city and the many organizations involved picked a day in early August to clear out the homeless encampments on State and River streets.
The many people who were living at the camps were supposed to clear out, regardless if they had a place to go or not. They were given information on organizations around the city and county where they could turn for help. If they had somewhere to go they were offered rides, but they had to go.
A lot of the unhoused people throughout Aberdeen have appeared to leave town. Housed residents have questioned if the unhoused residents have actually left, or are just out of sight. They’re also wondering where the homeless people who are no longer in sight have gone.
Ruth Clemens, Aberdeen’s city administrator, has a few answers for the mass departure.
“During the camp removal in August, a large portion of the campers found rides out of town back to their city of origin,” Clemens said. “People returned to places like Puyallup, Tacoma and King County. Others went back to their families in nearby cities here in Grays Harbor.”
Another housed person in town guessed at least some people went to Olympia because there “are more services there.”
Talking to unhoused people
While there are fewer unhoused people who can be seen in Aberdeen, there are pockets where people have been seen in a grouping. One of those pockets, where at least 10 people were sitting was near the intersection of East 1st Street and North E Street. It didn’t look like they were doing anything bad. One person handed a sniffling person a tissue. People were quiet and approachable. And by the afternoon, they had left that spot.
E.L. Hurn, who is currently without a home, sat along the sidewalk on North E Street as he spoke about his situation.
“I’m not originally from here,” Hurn said. “I earned residency. I was here long enough to be called a Washingtonian. I was a resident out of state.”
It seems Aberdeen is a bit of a beacon for unhoused folks who stay short-term. Hurn is different.
“Some people might come through, start up stuff, then leave and never come back,” Hurn said. “I’m not one of those people.”
Hurn, who is waiting on housing assistance from Coastal Community Action Program to come through, said he’s used “whichever (resources) were available to me.”
“It just depends,” Hurn said. “I’m trying to do school and I have to stay stable. It’s kind of hard when you don’t know where the funding is coming from, but I’m just doing what I can.”
Hurn said he’s gone to “the usual” sources, such as Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, Coastal Community Action Program, Destination Hope and Recovery, and “a few other ones.”
“Some of them aren’t around here,” Hurn said.
Where have people gone since August’s clearing?
Not just a question for the housed residents, but it’s also a question for the unhoused.
“That’s what I was thinking,” Hurn said about where people have gone. “I know of a few who have actually gained housing and oriented into a situation they wanted to be in and kind of stick to their plan. And some people commute.”
And the rides at Grays Harbor Transit Authority are free.
Stopping widespread misconceptions
Mandy Nottingham, another unhoused resident, spoke about what led to her losing her home six years ago. It wasn’t drugs, or some other fallacy housed people bring up for why people are homeless.
“My family lived here all my life,” Nottingham said. “Sad to say they all passed away. They weren’t exactly rich. When they passed I became homeless. They’re who I lived with all my life, they’re my family. And I had a really abusive husband, so I moved in with my mom a couple months before she had passed away from cancer. My husband had beat me unconscious for three days. One of his friends came and moved me out before he got out of jail. And then my mom died two months later from lung and brain cancer and that’s how I became homeless.”
Nottingham sounded irritated about how people think “we’re out here because we want to be out here and we’re all drug addicts.”
“That’s not true,” Nottingham said about that misconception. “A lot of us, like me, just had hardships. A lot of us don’t have family or anywhere to go. They have a lot of trauma in their life. A lot of stuff has happened. We’re not just out here because we want to be out here.”
Nottingham said it’s harder to get resources than people think.
“They want you to jump through all these hoops, and you’re not a person, you’re a number,” Nottingham said. “You have to score so many points in order for them to even want to help you.”
A place to go
Clemens said there are fewer unhoused people in Aberdeen, and there are also vacant bed spaces at the Union Gospel Mission, the Friendship House and a young adult shelter.
Charley Capoeman, director of Union Gospel Mission, spoke about the issue as it pertains to Union Gospel Mission and The Friendship House.
“Since the closure of the homeless camp, the count for the meals came down after the closure for breakfast, lunch and dinner,” Capoeman said. “The count went down. I think they were kind of, of course they removed everybody from the camp. A lot of the people from the camp were coming here and eating. They got removed and I don’t know where they all went to, but it took them a while to figure things out and come back here and eat.”
But, since the initial reduction just after the encampments were closed, Capoeman said the numbers are back up to “regular numbers for breakfast, lunch and dinner.” Capoeman also spoke about the number of people who are staying there.
“The guests who are staying here, our numbers are up more than usual,” Capoeman said. “We’ve got quite a few people staying here, living here at the Union Gospel Mission and also at The Friendship House. We’ve got more ladies at The Friendship House and we have more men here. We’re seeing an (increase) in numbers for people staying here.”
It is getting closer to the usual start of the rainy season in Grays Harbor County, and for places like Union Gospel Mission and The Friendship House, Capoeman expects the numbers for eating and lodging to increase through the wintertime.
Capoeman said both missions are “doing what we can to help them.”
“I sit down with them and talk with the men,” Capoeman said. “They have Bible study. We’re doing what we’ve done, what the Union Gospel has done, helping them with the intake, case management. … The numbers came back up about two or three weeks ago and it’s kind of maintaining. So as long as you’re here, we’re gonna do what we can to help them.”
Capoeman said the people who stay with them get three meals per day; shirts, hats, coats, shoes and socks from the clothing bank, and they get their clothes “washed every day.”
But, Union Gospel Mission and The Friendship House have rules, such as they cannot bring drugs or alcohol inside. The people who stay there also have chores to do.
They can join through a one-year program. There’s also a one-year faith-based program that is voluntary.
For people who want to get clean, Capoeman said they give people “an opportunity” to go up to HarborCrest Behavioral Health, in Aberdeen.
“They can spend four, five, or seven days if they want to detox up there,” Capoeman said.
Capoeman also mentioned how they can go through intake with the Coastal Community Action Program and Destination Hope and Recovery to try to get housing. He said Union Gospel Mission helps people follow through with it.
“Help them manage their finances. If they have income, manage their finances so they’re not just staying here and going out and spending all their money,” Capoeman said. “(We) help them manage that and (we’re) giving them structure for their life.”
According to Capoeman, both missions have had success stories. Some of those stories are from their own staff members, who have been homeless themselves. Capoeman wants to be part of more people’s success stories. It’s why he got into his line of work. It was to help people.
Nottingham is hoping for a low-barrier shelter.
“You come every day, you come every night, and if there’s a bed open then you can have one. That’s what this place needs,” Nottingham said. “If we had that, none of us would be here.”
Within the city
Clemens sounded supportive of the work Aberdeen Police Department has done about the unhoused collectively moving elsewhere in the city.
“Police officers and code enforcement have been very vigilant checking for new camps throughout the city,” Clemens said.
Clemens also commended the city’s ordinances. Part of the ordinance is to inform people of what they’re allowed to do.
“I think the enforcement of both ordinances have been very effective as exemplified by the large, visible reduction of homelessness,” Clemens said about the sit-and-lie ordinances. “Aberdeen Police Department have done a great job consistently educating people and enforcing the law.”
Contact Reporter Matthew N. Wells at matthew.wells@thedailyworld.com.
