Homeless encampments at Carkeek Park
There is a big concern on the growing homeless encampments at Carkeek Park. Lots of our neighbors responded on Next-Door. I was moved by the willingness to go down there and clean up the trash but this is not a good idea for many reasons. Sadly, this is happening in many neighborhoods. The City is overwhelmed with hundreds of calls a month on this problem, so response time is slow. We are on their schedule.
A message from Colleen Hackett, Parks Crew Chief:
“The navigation team is scheduled to focus on Carkeek the week of April 24th.
As the Parks Crew Chief, I am requesting that you do not encourage neighbors or volunteers to go on their own to clean trash at these sites.
Here is a link to Navigation Team: http://homelessness.seattle.gov/meet-the-nav-team/
The field coordinators on the Navigation team are trained for this. “
Other resources:
| Emergencies / Illegal Activity | |
| 24-Hour Maintenance Request Line | |
| After Hours Service Line | |
| Report Illegal Camping | |
| Report Discarded Needles |
This camp seems to put, in addition to the homeless, two other groups at risk. It is located very near Viewlands Elementary School and a creek where salmon spawn. It is also right above the water treatment plant.
Are we going to check on the camp down by the train track? One of its campers was down on the railway tracks, half naked, gesticulating and screaming in early March.
As far as I am concerned, they have the park until they decide to move on, are moved on, or are offered other options. I won’t be going there with my kids.
You can visually remediate these sites, but petrochemicals and other chemicals shipped in are persistent. Melrose park is currently covered in white paint from three 5 gallon pails.
great job volunteers! Walked through the park yesterday, 4/25 and it looked so much nicer. We appreciate the hard work you’ve done.
I have lived my most of my life in the immediate vicinity of Carkeek Park, and until this last year i have always felt this to be a very safe place to raise a family. I live on Alderbrook Place NW, a little known one way loop off 8th nw jutting into the park and i can see the hokmeless encampment from my backyard. it is far larger than appears from the trail and is starting to look like a garbage dump right on top of Pipers Creek. Every morning i see glass from broken car windows all over the neighborhood. These are not homeless for any reason other than extreme drug use. the small road of 7th behind the QFC complex is also filling up with a tent city and there are needles everywhere. i personally have been attacked twice and have had my car broken into 3 times. my house has also been robbed as well as my neighbors house. I cant even go for walks with my kids in my own neighborhood. This all started when the D line bus ended its route behind QFC on 100th and would kick everybody out. the amount of people stranded out here, with the park across the street with little to no police monitoring, not to mention a community unused to crime proved to be too sweet of an apple not to pick, so to speak.
Last week the SPD did a sweep of the camp, and only succeeded in pushing them into the neighborhood. i witnessed the house for rent 2 doors down become a squat and the police have done nothing. there are broken glass meth pipes on the sidewalk and some of me neighbors are starting to talk vigilante justice.
These are meth and heroine users and the message the city is delivering seems to be, ignore them and they ignore you. but thats not at all what happens, ignore them, and they rob you, is more the truth. Ive had to purchase a gun to protect my family and that makes me fucking sick. Our home is in dire peril aand SOMETHING must be done.