ACLU: ‘Compassion Seattle’ homelessness proposal ‘is neither compassionate nor efficient’

A homeless camp in Seattle. (KIRO 7)

A newly proposed amendment to the Seattle Charter could have far-reaching implications for the city’s efforts to combat homelessness if it comes to a vote in November and is approved by voters. But while their supporters have poured money and resources into their potential passage, the opposition has formed.

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That opposition includes the ACLU Washington, which released a publication on Tuesday claiming that the charter amendment would “record Seattle’s current ineffective and harmful practices of sweeping uninhabited residents and their homes from public places while doing nothing.” to combat homelessness in a meaningful way ”.

The initiative is being driven by a group called Compassion Seattle, staffed by SoDo Business Improvement Area Executive Director Erin Goodman, former City Council President Tim Burgess, and former King County Executive Ron Sims, among others.

The group’s proposed amendment to the city charter would require an additional 2,000 emergency shelters or permanent housing units within a year by waiving building permit fees, treating applications for residential permits as first-in-line for expedited treatment, and addressing them. the payee will be reimbursed for the VAT portion paid by the city for these facilities.

In addition, the city is urged to “ensure that parks, playgrounds, sports fields, public spaces, as well as sidewalks and streets, remain open and free of storage”.

However, once they began raising funds and collecting signatures, the group encountered early controversy.

According to a report by Publicola’s Erica Barnett, Compassion Seattle falsely claimed that homeless organizations such as the United Way of King County, Plymouth Housing, the Downtown Emergency Service Center, Farestart, and Evergreen Treatment Services, among others, supported the amendment to the statutes. It later emerged that a large majority of the groups listed on the now defunct Compassion Seattle approval page had not officially supported the measure. As part of this reveal, the page was pulled down and has yet to be restarted.

For the ACLU, the problem is rooted in the fact that the Charter amendment does not include requirements specifically mandating permanent housing and that it “criminalizes poverty” while focusing primarily on “destroying the homes of uninhabited people and to mix them all over Seattle ”.

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“Government destruction of homes and properties when they have nowhere else to go is neither compassionate nor effective,” the ACLU notes.

Meanwhile, a separate group called “House our Neighbors” has emerged as more formal direct opposition to Compassion Seattle’s proposal, arguing that the change does not allow enough time or funds to build the appropriate volume of housing that is required to people from camps in protective beds. “

“The Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Seattle Association have adopted incorrect, compassionate language to sell the same failed repeated evictions approach that has been practiced in our city for years while denying the need for new resources to address the homelessness crisis cope, “House our neighbors says on its website. “Their ‘solutions’ are not based on research or reality, and the proposed Charter amendment would codify current failed practices that have exacerbated the crisis in our region.”

As of June 6, the group has raised just over $ 1,100 in exchange for the move, while Compassion Seattle has raised over $ 734,000. Prominent supporters of the change include several local real estate and investment groups, many of which have donated between $ 20,000 and $ 50,000 each.