5 days ago
Moses Lake homelessness debate continues
Jul. 17—MOSES LAKE — Alleviating homelessness and its impact on the community continues to be the subject of discussion in Moses Lake. An ordinance under consideration by Moses Lake City Council is the latest chapter in that discussion. Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce executive director Debbie Doran-Martinez said that, from her perspective, chamber members are looking for responses that improve the overall situation.
"We would just like to see something that would move the needle in the right direction," Doran-Martinez said.
The proposed ordinance would regulate the use of public sidewalks if approved by council members; they reviewed a first draft July 8 and are scheduled to vote on the measure July 22. The ordinance is among updated city regulations that Brittany Bouchouari, director of community for HopeSource of Moses Lake, said are having a negative effect on homeless residents. The new regulations follow the closure of the Open Doors Sleep Center on June 30.
"Since the sleep center closed and new ordinances took effect, we're hearing the same thing from people experiencing homelessness in Moses Lake — there's nowhere to go. It's not just about a place to sleep. It's about having anywhere to be without law enforcement intervention. We are seeing a gap for those who need a safe place to exist," Bouchouari wrote in an email to the Columbia Basin Herald.
Doran-Martinez said the sleep center, from the Chamber's perspective, didn't seem to be achieving the desired result.
"We feel (that with) the resources that were allocated to (the sleep center), we didn't see any results," she said.
Bouchouari said from her perspective, the sleep center was a valuable option. She cited data collected after its closure.
More than 1,200 unique individuals have been served since its opening in 2020, according to HopeSource data. Of those, more than 1,000 eventually stopped using the sleep center, with almost 70% of them making what she called a successful exit. That meant they found alternate housing, reconnected with family or friends, or found other programs to help them.
"Each of those exits reflects progress and the potential for lasting change," she said. "We are proud of what the sleep center accomplished. We're proud of our team, our partners and especially our guests, who showed up each day in pursuit of something better."
From her perspective, on balance, the sleep center provided something positive, Bouchouari said.
"The sleep center gave people a safe place to land where there was nowhere else to go. It wasn't without its challenges, but it met a real need and touched many lives," she said.
The revised ordinance on sitting or lying on public sidewalks, now being considered by the city, would establish a zone where those activities are prohibited between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. In the draft ordinance, the zone includes West Broadway Avenue from the intersection with West Third Avenue to State Route 17. It also takes in West Third Avenue from the West Broadway intersection to the intersection with East Broadway Avenue. A section of North Stratford Road to West Valley Road was included.
Regardless of the final parameters, sitting, lying and sleeping are allowed in public parks while the parks are open. Public parks in Moses Lake close at 10 p.m.
Doran-Martinez sent a survey to Chamber members, asking for their opinions on locations that should be included in the ordinance. Respondents were asked to rank areas around town in order of importance. Along with Third Avenue and a bigger area of Stratford Road, the options included Kittleson Road near the Interstate 90 and SR 17 intersection and West Broadway at the I-90 intersection on the other end of town.
The survey also included questions on interactions that business owners have with homeless people around their businesses. Doran-Martinez said she sent the survey to all 470 Chamber members, and 113 finished the survey.
Many respondents said they must clean up debris around their businesses regularly, including drug paraphernalia, she said. Many business owners also said they've called law enforcement to deal with homeless people.
"The vast majority of our businesses have to deal with this on a regular basis," Doran-Martinez said.
She cited the Chamber's experience at its previous location near the Moses Lake waterfront. A homeless person camped outside the Chamber office, breaking into the patio and later setting fire to a mattress outside the building. The string of incidents resulted in multiple calls to law enforcement, she said.
Chamber officials plan to survey business owners periodically over the next few months to determine how the sleep center closure has affected their businesses, she said. After about two weeks, there seem to be fewer people in the business district with wagons or shopping carts.
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