Olympia homeless protest panhandling ordinance
OLYMPIA - The city's homeless population is protesting the city's new panhandling ordinance by occupying a tent city they set up on a city lot.
The ordinance, which took effect on February 1st, aims to cut down panhandling by banning people from sitting and sleeping on the sidewalks during the day.
In response to the new law, the homeless came together on Thursday to create their own tent city right in the middle of Olympia. They're now living out of those tents as a show of solidarity.
"It's quite a camp ground. It's behind a building, so it doesn't quite cut into a view of anything," said Linda Tirrell, a nearby resident.
Tent city organizers say the city is turning a blind eye to the camp this weekend, choosing not to negotiate until all tents are cleared from the city lot.
"Not everybody agrees with us, but we feel that that's largely based on sort of a misconstruing of issues because we all agree that people shouldn't be on the streets," said Matt Kellegrew, a tent city resident.
"We all agree that downtown should look better and nicer, but we feel that the way to do that is to provide direct services to people, as opposed to passing laws and ordinances that make it harder for people to get by."
Rob Richards, another tent city resident, says more affordable housing is that shortcut solution.
"The way to fix the problem is to build more housing - low income housing, all sorts of housing," he said. "The more housing we have, the more people will be able to afford housing."
City officials may not be taking notice of the tent city, but some Olympia residents are already irritated.
"What they're trying to do is bring attention to a serious problem, but this is not the way to do it," said resident Kevin Hancock. "This brings attention, fine. Now it's time to move on."
But Linda Tirrell says both the city officials and the tent city residents are stuck between a rock and a hard place.
"I think there's way too many people panhandling, but then again the economics of the city- jobs are so hard to find, a lot of people are pushed into it, looking for any way they can to make a living," she said.
Residents of the tent city say they have no plans to leave their new campsite.
The new ordinance still allows sitting and sleeping on the streets between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. Violators could face a misdemeanor charge, along with a $1,000 fine or 90 days in jail.
The ordinance, which took effect on February 1st, aims to cut down panhandling by banning people from sitting and sleeping on the sidewalks during the day.
In response to the new law, the homeless came together on Thursday to create their own tent city right in the middle of Olympia. They're now living out of those tents as a show of solidarity.
"It's quite a camp ground. It's behind a building, so it doesn't quite cut into a view of anything," said Linda Tirrell, a nearby resident.
Tent city organizers say the city is turning a blind eye to the camp this weekend, choosing not to negotiate until all tents are cleared from the city lot.
"Not everybody agrees with us, but we feel that that's largely based on sort of a misconstruing of issues because we all agree that people shouldn't be on the streets," said Matt Kellegrew, a tent city resident.
"We all agree that downtown should look better and nicer, but we feel that the way to do that is to provide direct services to people, as opposed to passing laws and ordinances that make it harder for people to get by."
Rob Richards, another tent city resident, says more affordable housing is that shortcut solution.
"The way to fix the problem is to build more housing - low income housing, all sorts of housing," he said. "The more housing we have, the more people will be able to afford housing."
City officials may not be taking notice of the tent city, but some Olympia residents are already irritated.
"What they're trying to do is bring attention to a serious problem, but this is not the way to do it," said resident Kevin Hancock. "This brings attention, fine. Now it's time to move on."
But Linda Tirrell says both the city officials and the tent city residents are stuck between a rock and a hard place.
"I think there's way too many people panhandling, but then again the economics of the city- jobs are so hard to find, a lot of people are pushed into it, looking for any way they can to make a living," she said.
Residents of the tent city say they have no plans to leave their new campsite.
The new ordinance still allows sitting and sleeping on the streets between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. Violators could face a misdemeanor charge, along with a $1,000 fine or 90 days in jail.