Seattle parents protested a homeless camp less than a block from their children's elementary school yesterday, reports Jeremy Harris for KOMO News. The Ship Canal Bridge camp near John Stanford International School has a history of violence, fires and drug use.
As parents held signs on the 45th street overpass, We Heart Seattle outreach volunteers were confronted by activists who oppose clearing the camp.
“We believe sweeping that camp would be a form of harm reduction for everyone, including the people living there," said Andrea Suarez of We Heart Seattle, which organizes trash cleanups. "There’s nothing humane about letting people live there and languish.”
Washington "Gov. Jay Inslee visited the site and met with parents at the school last week," saying the camp will be removed "as soon as humanly possible" once the residents have been offered housing, Harris reports.