Submitted by KM Hills.
The response time, from Tacoma Fire Dept. (TFD), was quite fast on Thursday, February 16 as they responded to a fire at a Metro Park in downtown Tacoma, across from the Courthouse. Within minutes there were 4 engines and 5 aid vehicles on scene. As quick as they arrived, they extinguished a fire, which scorched the side of the Pierce County Court Resource Center.
The Resource Center is home to many programs designed to help individuals navigating the legal system. There is a clothing and food bank, there are several treatment providers and it even hosts employment fairs.
Several times, over the last few months, staff from the Resource Source Center, have contacted officials, about a housing encampment that moved into a garden area just above McCormick Park, as you climb the stairs to Tacoma Ave., right in front of the County City Building. There has even been the concerning smell of smoke, a few weeks ago, as the campers used a fire to stay warm.
Even with the reported concerns the campers were allowed to remain and more items were brought to the camp, much of which was considered unsightly garbage by those who walked by and ended being fuel for a fire. Some of the items, like propane tanks, only added to the risk of the feared outcome.
Staff at the Resource Center had to evacuate the building about 10:15 AM as a result of a fire. The flames were 20 plus feet tall and reached the roofline of the building. There were three explosions from the mentioned propane tanks. The Resource Center had to remain closed the rest of the day.
Luckily, there is no noted significant damage to the building and all parties are safe. However, one has to wonder what was the cost of the response by TFD was when Metro Parks could have trespassed the campers a few months ago and prevented the entire situation.
Agreed! However, it should be noted that the property is actually owned by the City of Tacoma and not Metro Parks.
Thanks for the correction. I thought Tacoma Park and Metro Parks Tacoma were one in the same.
I think we need to do more to house the homeless. I’ve never met a person who said they’d rather sleep outside than have an apartment or tiny house!
Homeless folks come in all ages, colors and family groups. Not everyone who’s homeless is a drug addiction or alcoholic.
I believe that an individual approach to each homeless person or family should be taken. There’s all kinds of empty buildings in Tacoma. Let’s use them, shall we?
I totally agree. Tomorrow morning the police and cleaning crew are going to the homeless camp in back of the Vibe Apartments and they and they were told that they better be gone by early morning because if anyone was still there they were going to be arrested 🥺 this breaks my heart where else are they going to go, there are 3 generations living there Native Americans, Caucasians, Latinos , Samoans, Fiji, 1 actual melanated person and a 3 couples with their 4 legged kids. They are already on the street , they are getting put out of the only place they have called home for the past year/years and some Karen Folks think it’s ok to treat them like they are the scum of the earth. If I were a billionaire I would build them a huge hotel building home. But I guess we can only wish🙌🙌🙏🙏🙏😭😭😭May the Lord and The Divine Universe guide them, protect them and watch over all of them I pray wherever they go they are safe 🙏
72% of the homeless respond when resources are offered including house, say no. Think about it.
I like the proposed Bill in Olympia that gives a homeless person 3 Strikes. If you refuse to move or won’t accept resources, then you go to jail. It’s that simple. I’m compassionate, yet done with this idea of indefinite “look the other way” approach as they continue to destroy our City.
I have been working with the homeless going on 5 years and many do not want help with housing because of rules. Yet many do want help but lack of resources.
Not all of the homeless persons want to live in an apartment. There are many mentally disturbed people out there who don’t meld well with societal norms. Among other behavior, many of those persons are responsible for many of the unprovoked violent attacks on total strangers, and drug addicts tend to steal to support their habit.
I think it is misleading to think that the homeless problem can be solved by more habitable places for them. Affordable transitional and permanent abodes would most likely take most of the mentally healthy people off the street, but the mentally disabled need another answer. And that answer does not currently exist here. Any ideas?
Have you expressed your concerns to your State legislators? I have, but none of them have replied to me. We need to put more pressure on them to do something other than cheap, symbolic “expressions of concern.”
The homeless crisis and all of the mayhem and destruction that comes with it will NEVER be resolved until these people get mental health treatment WHETHER THEY WANT IT OR NOT! You cannot reason with a person who is mentally unstable, drug addicted or alcohol addicted. The legislature must do whatever is necessary to allow involuntary commitment. The monetary losses from the damage and destruction these people have caused is outrageous. Businesses destroyed, people injured and killed, and how much money have we spent cleaning up these encampments only to have them move elsewhere and start the circus all over again. It’s money down the drain. We need to put this money toward getting these people mentally and physically healthy. Then perhaps they might be willing to take advantage of the many resources available to help them become active members of society.
The more money that is put toward mental health issues, the crazier it gets around here. That is the trend.
I’ve met the folks in charge of these programs – not impressed.
We’ve all seen the erosion of our individual rights and quality of life, to accommodate the mentally-ill.
We’ve become victims of politicians who “never let a crisis go to waste” as they bury us deeper in policy and taxes.
We’ve even been accused by these gaslighters, of being the problem by simply exercising our right to self defense and other Constitutional guarantees.
As we slip further into decline, it’s high time to question the motives of those who got us here.
The “progressive” agenda is a self-serving farce.
Even the name is an example of gaslighting.
You gotta starve a tumor to get rid of it.
Shut off the money and stop feeding it your votes.
Think of it as grounding your petulant child.
Maybe it should be legal for the police to move homeless campers from public property to the nearest church that has spare space on their lawn. Let the churches earn their tax-exempt status.
Good article in the LA Times, “What’s the matter with Portland?”
Worth the read.
An earlier commenter said it best: “The homeless crisis and all of the mayhem and destruction that comes with it will NEVER be resolved until these people get mental health treatment WHETHER THEY WANT IT OR NOT! You cannot reason with a person who is mentally unstable, drug addicted or alcohol addicted.” Having had prolonged experience with both severely mentally ill (paranoid-schizophrenic) and drug addicted people, I can verify that statement. Unfortunately, our State legislatures rarely address these underlying causes and, when they do, do so only superficially. I’ve written to my representatives about my experiences and conclusions, but haven’t had responses from any of them. I urge more of you to write to your State senator and representatives and put them on notice that you aren’t going to settle for anymore half-measures or symbolic gestures. Washington State needs to make a serious commitment of both facilities and personnel to addressing the mental health crisis and the drug addiction crisis.
Let. It. Burn.