An alternative homeless solution

Does it really make sense for Olympia to allow/create more downtown homeless concentration camps in the near term or is the truly humanitarian solution something different?

I’d propose that each homeless sympathetic person residing within the walking proximity of the core area offer their back yard, side yard, parking space or garage to one of the homeless.

That sympathetic property owner could easily provide or obtain a city sponsored tent, water hose, garbage can and “sharps” container for a more sanitary camping spot.

Once a week or so, a city-sponsored “ice cream vendor”-style van could circulate around the neighborhoods to deliver the free clothing, free food, “drug/alcohol rehab” and mental health literature. The jingle music blaring to announce the vans presence notifying the camping tenants that services were being delivered to the neighborhood.

No need to pack the poor homeless into blocks of 10X10 asphalt sites where the waste piles up and fights are started occasionally when boxes of free clothing are dropped off or a drug deal goes bad. By the way, why is there a fence around this site? So people can’t get in or can’t get out?

I believe that downtown business owners would embrace and maybe even donate to this concept and homeless sympathetics could have a real reason to feel good about a public service they could easily provide.