The houseless voice: Parks close, unhoused neighbors scatter

V10i1 JAN Houseless voice

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^{Narrated by Jason Dempsey}

The closure of parks and bathrooms along Columbia Park Trail, sit-and-lie ordinances, and increased citations and arrests all point toward a disturbing trend: The harassment and criminalization of people who don’t have shelter.

Camo Dave has been providing aid to unsheltered people since his own experience of being priced out of his apartment and moving into his van. He operates a nonprofit that, until the recent park closures, was delivering hot meals, health and housing resources, and a community gathering space at Wye Park.

Camo Dave says the park closures have been “devastating for the community”:

When they came in and shut the parks down, they didn’t give them time to pull their stuff out…. One guy lost his car and his dog.

One thing the city of Richland is not doing right is this: They’re giving a lot of 72 hour notices, but they’re coming in right afterwards and they’ll give them a no trespass or a camp [citation]....

Number two: By law, they’re supposed to furnish a facility to store their stuff for 30 days, and they’re not doing it. They have no facility set up here.

There’s a due process set up for removing homeless people. And now they’re not doing it…. If they suspect that you’re homeless, they’re going to come up and threaten you and tell you, “If you’re going to hang out here, if you’re caught camping, we’re going to arrest you on sight.”

It’s very intimidating. And it has pushed a lot of the homeless people outward, away from the resources. They were getting fed every day, twice a day.

On his Facebook page, Camo Dave says he wants to help everyone, and that many houseless people are “seniors and veterans living outside with little to nothing.”

After the park closures, a number of people spoke to the Richland City Council at their November 19 meeting. Faith Gambetty, a retired hairdresser, spoke about the people she and her family serve:

I've always had a spot in my heart for people who are homeless, people living without houses. And what happened recently? There's just no [ ] words for it. It just really stunned me, because for the last year, my family has been feeding the homeless … the last Sunday of every month. I go down to the park and I cut their hair, and what I’ve learned from them is just really unbelievable. Here's what I found out about them: They're just like me. You know? They're good people in a bad situation. … We give them hope … and treat them like the human beings that they are. But to just run them off, confiscate the tents that we provided for them — it’s just unconscionable.

Ginger Wireman, a community climate and housing activist, also made public comment at the city council meeting:

I'm angry that the city cleared the park right as it's getting cold. You had all summer to do that. I'm angry that my taxes were spent to kick those who are already down…. Our way of dealing with the unhoused is cruel and ill-informed…. I'd like our city to partner with our neighboring communities and nonprofit organizations to put that money into helping human beings instead of treating them like garbage…. Communitysolutions.org has excellent info on compassionate methods for addressing the problem. They suggest starting with veterans, who are 13% of our unhoused population.

More community members followed, all asking that the unhoused be treated with dignity and respect, and asking the council (and the public) to focus on meeting their needs.

“This all happened within one week,” said Camo Dave. “Everything. There was a massive police force presence, [in] kind of a militant-type fashion.”

Camo Dave feels the damage to the parks alleged by city officials was overblown. “The day after the parks closed, I went down there and took pictures,” he said. “There’s no damage anywhere.” The Tri-City Herald reported that other volunteers who have been helping the unsheltered community also disputed the city’s account of extensive damage.

Camo Dave has also noticed a sharp increase in citations since the park closures:

I know a couple that have been arrested already because they had already got one trespass, just walking down the road.… They’re setting a pretty aggressive stance. It’s really just horrible, from a human standpoint, to think that we’re living in a society where we’re chasing people down like dogs.…

You’re judging people by social status, them being homeless.

You wouldn’t go do that to a person that had a job and owned a house. You wouldn’t approach them with that behavior. It’s horrible.

Tri-Rivers Aid Collective (TRAC), another grassroots organization that helps unhoused people in the Tri-Cities, does most of their distribution work in Pasco. A spokesperson for TRAC said that unhoused people have suffered harassment in Pasco parks, too:

When we talk to people, to the unhoused folks in the community, they tell us about how the police come and push them out of the parks in Pasco. We've heard reports that they're not allowed to carry more than two bags with them when they leave the area. We've heard reports of them getting harassed, having their goods thrown away in front of them. Some people have told us about how there's a morning and a night crew that come to sweep.

This July, Pasco implemented a new sit-and-lie ordinance. The Pasco ordinance appears nearly identical to one in Spokane, which is currently facing a challenge suit in the Spokane Superior Court.

Julie Garcia, the founder of Jewels Helping Hands in Spokane, told Tumbleweird, “We've seen a giant increase in law-enforcement in our area as well … with the Supreme Court ruling that took away some of the protections for people experiencing homelessness.”

Garcia said that there are many factors contributing to the rise of people experiencing housing insecurity in our state, including a fentanyl epidemic, an increase in rents, and a general lack of affordable housing. But, Garcia said, simply arresting people for being unhoused isn’t a solution. “We are literally watching the human rights of an entire population of people be taken away, just simply because they're in poverty and cannot afford a home.”

The Richland and Kennewick police departments did not respond when Tumbleweird contacted them for comment, although Richland Parks Director Chris Waite presented information about the closures at a city council meeting (https://richlandwa.new.swagit.com/videos/319363?ts=3141) on November 5.

Mutual aid and harm reduction

Many unsheltered people report that they are facing injustice from officials here in the Tri-Cities. Community support matters more than ever, and there are new and well-established grassroots organizations ready to take a stand for the houseless community. Tri-Cities-Distribution (TCD), a houseless aid organization that formed after the election, is one of them.

On December 8 and 15, they delivered shelf-stable food and drinks, hygiene essentials, backpacks, and winter clothing to people at Columbia Point Marina Park and Richland Community Center. TCD said in a statement:

We plan to expand our offerings throughout 2025. By providing regular aid, we aim to earn trust from humans who are used to being let down, and hope that we'll see increasing attendance, and more feedback on what resources the vulnerable people in our community need. We believe that everyone deserves to have their basic needs met.

TCD is putting the call out for people who want to help:

We are actively seeking partnership with local businesses and nonprofits. Some of the resources we've obtained have been shared with Tri-Rivers Aid Collective (Instagram: @tririversaidcollective), who regularly distributes in Pasco. Tri-Cities Food Co-op (https://tcfcoop.org)is providing fresh fruit and other readily usable produce to our community through TCD. We are also on the path to securing grants from other local organizations dedicated to improving lives in our community.

Whether you are an individual looking to join in, are a person in need who wants to know where we're at, or are with groups looking to coordinate together, we look forward to talking with you. Connect with us at our socials (Instagram: @tricitiesdistribution), or email us at tricitiesdistribution@proton.me

After the second distribution, they posted a thank you to everyone who joined in the effort:

It was a hard week for our unhoused community with all the rain and the police sweep and arrests continuing.

We are so grateful and blessed by this community's ability to help people and show up. Today one of the community members we served showed up and asked for help with their bike, as their previous bike and goods had been stolen. @rebornbikeshop showed up and showed out. They helped to make the bike safe and replaced the tires on short notice.

There is clearly a growing need for these services and supplies for the unsheltered in Washington State and in the Tri-Cities. We interviewed Magpie, a member and organizer for TCD, who said that TCD recognizes gaps in available aid in the Tri-Cities, and that their goal is to fill those gaps:

There’s a certain maintenance needed in terms of non-perishable food, clothing, and hygiene essentials. We see ourselves most centered around the essential philosophy that when those basic needs are met, the other things — in terms of improving the situation for people who are unsheltered [and] underserved — they’re more empowered and more able to reach other things that they ultimately need.

Although TCD is small (they had about 8–12 members at the time of this interview), they are organizing effectively. Magpie told us that TCD has two other planned distributions later in the month.

Tri-Rivers Aid Collective (TRAC) has also been making changes to their distributions in order to gear up for the cold winter months. They also said they are focusing on medical needs:

We started out in the early days just doing water and masks, especially during the time with the wildfires over this past summer, when it was really bad. And as it started to get a bit colder, we started getting socks. And now, we’ve expanded into having first aid supplies, as well. We are putting together first aid kits for the folks….

The TRAC spokesperson told us that they have been able to stock Narcan — a medication for reversing opioid overdose — for distribution. (See page XX.) Narcan was requested by the people they serve, and TRAC is thrilled that they are able to offer it now. He also said that food hasn’t been TRAC’s main focus, so far, since they know other groups are largely covering that. “We've definitely been more focused on things like water, first aid supplies, obviously the Narcan, some very basic clothing items like socks, PPE, stuff for personal hygiene like toothbrushes, toothpaste.”

The main message the TRAC spokesperson wanted to get across is that everyone is worthy of getting their needs met, and that the systems we have in place are leaving gaps, falling short of meeting those needs:

When we talk about mutual aid, we're really just talking about us helping each other as a way to fill those gaps. And that can look like a lot of different things. We talk about harm reduction — which I would define as, basically, meeting people where they are at, not judging people….

We're not saying “You're worthy of help and you're not.” We're meeting people where they're at, and we're just trying to make sure that they don't become a victim of violence, whether that comes from overdosing, whether that comes from exposure, whether that comes from lack of nutrition, lack of access to water….

We basically want to just alleviate suffering in the community. We don't think that anyone deserves to suffer or die.

Right now, TRAC is seeking out more items like thermal blankets, tarps, and other cold-weather gear for people sleeping outdoors.

Perspective on justice

The text inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty, a symbol of the United States’ core values, mentions the houseless directly:

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

How can we, as Americans, toss aside those who are commemorated at the foot of Lady Liberty? The Tri-Cities are falling behind in solutions that recognize the houseless as our neighbors. Our city council members have an opportunity to see the inhumane outcomes of sit-and-lie ordinances, and choose a path forward that lifts up the vulnerable in our community, instead. Right now, witnesses report an increase of citations and raids. Where they once had centralized access to food, public restrooms, and resources, now they are being scattered into increasing obscurity and isolation, which sets them up for criminalization and neglect. And that danger is only increasing as the temperature plummets.

Winter is here. You can help.

In addition to efforts towards providing supplies for those in need, warming centers and shelters are especially needed during the winter season, as hypothermia and other temperature-related health difficulties become the focus. Below, there is an infographic by Benton-Franklin Health District (BFHD) that outlines available warming centers in the Tri-Cities and surrounding areas during the season.

In terms of overnight warming shelters, there has not yet been any information released; however, BFHD gave us some assurances:

Overnight shelters are expected to be available this year, but they are still in the process of being established. The City of Kennewick, along with neighboring cities, has implemented a new process to ensure these shelters meet state and local fire and safety codes.

If you are a business interested in establishing a warming center/shelter, please visit https://go2kennewick.com/CivicAlerts.aspx for more information, or contact the Building Departments and Fire Departments in your area:

Ethan Bishop, Deputy Fire Marshal
ethan.bishop@ci.kennewick.wa.us
Phone: (509) 585-4426

Troy Hendren, Building Office/Fire Marshal
hendrenT@pasco-wa.gov
Phone:(509) 528-4142

If you are currently facing housing insecurity and need to get connected with other available community resources, visit https://wa211.org or call 211 to get help.

Keep an eye on https://www.bfhd.wa.gov/programs_services/emergency_preparedness for updates to available warming centers.

For those seeking to supply aid to those in need and get connected to community aid efforts in our area, reach out to the groups mentioned in this article, and look at the list of Volunteer Opportunities kindly put together by Jim McIntyre: https://tri-citiesguide.org/volunteer-opportunities.htm

For those that don’t have time to spare, you can also donate to TCD through Cashapp: $Tricitiesdistro

(Please specify any donations as ‘Gifts’ in the app so that the organization is not taxed inappropriately.)

Everyone deserves to have their individual voices heard. If you have a story to share, please get in contact with us through email at liam@tumbleweird.org.

And remember, you are never alone. There are people in our community who want to help you no matter what you are dealing with. There are people who want to fight for you and fight with you to end injustice in our community. We have to work together to create real solutions.

Photos from Tri-Cities Distribution on Instagram

References:

Mutual aid and harm reduction

Perspective on justice

Winter is here. You can help.

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