Broadway Hill Park subsequent in ongoing Seattle homeless encampment sweeps — UPDATE

Broadway Hill Park is said to be the next public space on Capitol Hill to be cleared of homeless camps.

Proponents say the Federal and Republican park is one of the few places in Seattle that is ready to sweep this week amid townhouses, apartment buildings, and single-family homes.

A Seattle Parks Representative said more information would come, including information from the Human Services Department in relation to accommodation transfers.

UPDATE 5:08 p.m.: Seattle Parks says the sweep is needed because of concerns over the recent fires.

“After a series of fires in the park, the city asked to step up public relations in Broadway Hill Park this week to keep everyone on the scene safe and on their way to a permanent housing solution,” said the Parking department instruction reads.

In the past six months, the Seattle Fire Department responded to the Broadway Hill Park camp with 10 fires (tent fires, garbage fires, or other illegal burns). These fires damaged the park. After all tents and belongings are gone, Seattle Parks and Recreation staff will work to repair this damage.

CHS reported a fire in the park here in April. Other recent camp fires were reported in the St. Mark Green Belt in April and in Williams Place Park in March.

According to the park’s statement, city outreach providers have been asked to “step up their efforts for those who do not live in Broadway Hill Park,” beginning Monday May 3rd.

According to the statement, the shelter resources include “all-round services such as behavioral and mental health, case management and home navigation”.

The city announced on Monday morning the planned sweep on Wednesday.

UPDATE: The release is scheduled for Wednesday May 12th

The sweep in early May would follow the clearance of the camps on Miller-Spielfeld and Meany middle school Campus just before students returned to face-to-face lessons last month. Mayor Jenny Durkan Office said the city HOPE team (Homelessness Outreach and Provider Ecosystem) According to the public relations work, 30 people were transferred to an animal shelter before the work to evacuate and clean the camp. Seattle’s ongoing “Shelter Surge” includes renting rooms in two downtown hotels.

In addition to removing any leftover tents and trash, boulders have been placed in landscaped areas near Meany Junior High to prevent campers from returning to some areas of campus.

Broadway Hill is the neighborhood’s newest park, which opened in 2016. Campers have settled there over the years, and the small 12,000-square-foot public space has become a new place to turn to after being searched and cleared in January Cal Anderson. Camps have also increased in the green belts in the neighborhood, such as in the wooded area below St. Mark’s.

Seattle officials said they would operate under federal CDC guidelines to allow the camps to form during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recently, notices have been issued to alert campers and outreach teams have been sent to the areas to provide information and referrals to emergency shelters. The city has also typically provided data and reports on public safety and crime issues related to the camps. Seattle Police were on hand for the Miller sweep but were not directly involved in clearing it.

We will update as we learn more about Broadway Hill’s clearance and contact efforts from Seattle Parks and Human Resources.

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