Olympia clears camp under Fourth Avenue bridge

Just one person’s belongings remained early Monday afternoon at the site of what was the most visible homeless encampment in Olympia, under the Fourth Avenue bridge.

The city had planned to clear the camp in September, but postponed the move after First Christian Church in Olympia offered to partner with campers to establish rules, hold weekly meetings and facilitate other churches’ and nonprofits’ work at the camp, according to The Olympian’s previous reporting.

In the end, many of the camp’s residents ended up moving to First Christian.

Tye Gundel of the advocacy group Just Housing said the group had been working with camp residents to find alternative places to live since it found out in late December about the renewed plan to clear the camp.

Colin DeForrest, Homeless Response Coordinator for the City of Olympia, said the city posted notices on Jan. 21 that the camp would be cleared Monday. City staff and advocates then reached out to individuals living in the camp, presenting options for alternative sites, including the city-run mitigation site.

Fifteen people remained at the camp as of Sunday, Gundel said, the majority of whom had lived at the city-run mitigation site in the past and refused to go back because of “bad experiences” they’ve had there.

Sunday night, First Christian Church took in 11 of the 15 people who remained at the camp. They’ll live in the church’s lower parking lot, Gundel said. DeForrest said the city will partner with the church in the effort, helping provide necessities.

Two other people moved to the city’s mitigation site, and Just Housing was still working with two residents Monday to find a place for them to move.

The last remaining resident Monday afternoon was a man who had lived under the bridge off-and-on for eight years, Gundel said. Advocates were helping determine what of the man’s belongings to save, according to DeForrest.

On Monday, several city departments, a company that cleans up homeless encampments and contracts with the city, and police were present at the site, DeForrest said. He said there were no arrests or altercations.

“These are never exciting, never fun,” said DeForrest. “The ultimate goal is people aren’t arrested and get moved on to safer locations that are managed. All of that happened today, so we’re happy with that.”

Going forward, DeForrest said the city will put up fencing and work on cleaning up the site, while the city’s Rapid Response Team will monitor the area.

This story was originally published January 27, 2020 at 2:28 PM.