July 2017 - Parks & Recreation - 20

Member to Member
A Coordinated Approach to
Handling Homeless Encampments
How the City of Everett Parks and Recreation is addressing this issue in its parks
By David Green and John Peterson

t 10 a.m. on St. Patrick's Day 2017, 11 City of Everett [Washington] Parks
and Community Services employees began cleaning a wooded area where,
just days before, 20 unsheltered individuals had been living. Although the
individuals had left, the evidence of their past habitation was still present.
Fire pits, toilet paper and other rubbish were left behind for the parks department to dispose of. Encampment cleanups like this have become commonplace for park employees.
The January 2017 Point-in-Time Count,
conducted by Snohomish County, estimated that 515 individuals were experiencing
chronic homelessness in and around Everett, which is located 30 miles north of Seattle. This number represented a 60 percent
increase in unsheltered individuals since
2015 - an influx that resulted in several of
the undeveloped and wooded areas under
the responsibility of the parks department
becoming attractive locations for many unsheltered individuals.
Coordinated Effort
In the past, departments within the city

acted individually and removed camps as
they saw fit. However, in 2014, as the epidemic of people without shelter continued
to grow, the need for departments to utilize
each other's expertise became apparent
and more interdepartmental cooperation
developed. All city departments that were
impacted by the unsheltered population
began to meet to address the complications
associated with encampments.
Although the Everett parks department had park rangers who were able
to perform enforcement, it lacked the
resources to address encampments and
the individuals who occupied them. It

was standard practice to post a sign in
an encampment stating that everything
on-site would be disposed of, and, after a
few days, if staff was available, which is
exactly what happened. At the staff 's discretion, items could be kept in a storage
area for up to 45 days before being donated to a local thrift store. This process
was inconsistent, time consuming, and,
often, unsheltered individuals didn't receive assistance or a path to get off the
street.
In the fall of 2015, the Everett Police Department developed the Community Outreach and Enforcement Team (COET).
Community members and city departments can contact COET if they are aware
of an unsheltered individual who may
want assistance. The COET employs two
embedded social workers who connect
with the unsheltered individuals and work
with them to find assistance and services.
The team can help these individuals to
enroll in food stamp programs, find housing and work, and, in some cases, attend
a rehab program. Park staff began to use
COET to help address the underlying personal issues of many of the unsheltered
individuals they encounter.
Legal Ramifications
On March 14, a park ranger, police officer and social worker entered the encampments to post a 72-hour notice of cleanup
and to offer assistance and services to any
individuals living on-site. They made contact with four unsheltered individuals that
day, and they each had their own story,

Parks & Recreation

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July 2017 - Parks & Recreation

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