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Late yesterday the Washington State Department of Transportation became aware of a new lawsuit filed by the City of Spokane to close Camp Hope, which was disappointingly filed without prior notice to WSDOT. While WSDOT alone is named in the lawsuit, the Washington State Departments of Transportation, Commerce and Washington State Patrol and local service providers have worked tirelessly for months to reduce and ultimately close Camp Hope, while providing those currently living at the site with safe, secure housing, legal and healthcare services, job training, and other services according to the Right of Way Safety Initiative passed by the Legislature in 2022. To remove the last remaining occupants from the site without completing this work would interrupt the state’s substantial progress and result in dispersing those with the greatest needs and challenges around the city. Such drastic action would not actually solve or reduce the homelessness crisis facing the City of Spokane; but simply continue the cycle of shuffling homeless individuals from one location to the next without actually addressing its root causes. Since October 2022, Camp Hope has dramatically shrunk by 86%—from 467 people to just 65 people as of last week. Service providers onsite continue to do the hard and necessary work with individuals to match them with the housing options and services they need. WSDOT and our partners intend to continue to work with state agencies, local entities and outreach groups to successfully resolve Camp Hope. Throughout Camp Hope’s existence, WSDOT has taken extensive measures to improve conditions and safety at the site including the hiring of 24/7 security, installation of fencing around the site, contracted with a private company to remove and reduce debris and had those who are receiving services and living at the site sign a good neighbor agreement. Regular communication about the productive, proactive progress happening to resolve Camp Hope are available by signing for our email listserv: https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/WADOT/subscriber/new?topic_id=WADOT_706 All previous weekly updates regarding Camp Hope can also be found on our website: https://wsdot.wa.gov/about/accountability/camp-hope-news-update
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