Homeless group considers camp in Puyallup

The Puyallup City Council will hold a public hearing on Oct. 20 to consider a proposed homeless camp in the community.

Homeless advocates say the city doesn't have enough temporary housing for everyone, despite help from churches.

The tent city proposal would put a cap of 40 residents and a time limit of 90 days within a one-year period. The city currently has a strictly enforced "no camping" policy.

"We had considerable numbers of homeless people who came to the City Council and spoke about the harsh reality of what they experience every day without any place to pitch a tent, without any place to park their car, without any shelter," said Ted Brackman, co-founder of the Puyallup Homeless Coalition.

Churches open their doors and welcome the homeless during the fall and winter when temperatures drop below 40 degrees, Brackman said. It's not enough, he and others believe.

"We have families with children that are hiding out at the Puyallup River and in the woods," he said. "That is inhumane and traumatizing, and it simply has to stop."

City officials studied the issue and drafted a proposed ordinance similar to one used in Olympia, home of Camp Quixote.

Tacoma has worked to keep people from living on hillsides, in gullies and under the freeway, and has a goal of providing housing and other help for all homeless people.

"If you shelter someone first and they become stabilized, then they have the ability to move up the ladder," said Diane Powers, coordinator of Tacoma's Housing First program.

Tent cities in King County and across the nation have generated worries from residents about the potential for crime and complaints about noise and other issues.

If Puyallup OKs an encampment, the rules would include background checks for sex offenders and people with outstanding warrants; a no-drugs, no-alcohol code of conduct; and requirements that nearby residents be informed and have an opportunity to comment, that the tent city be screened from adjacent properties and that sanitation rules are strictly followed.

Mayor Don Malloy wants to ensure a full public examination of the issue before any action is taken.

He noted that an encampment doesn't help solve a difficult societal problem, and no one, including the city, can address it without help.

"Homelessness and the needs of these people in totality are much bigger than this community can put its arms around," Malloy said.

Malloy and others seek a more permanent, cohesive, collaborative approach.

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Information from: The News Tribune, http://www.thenewstribune.com