In the words of one of the people I have recently interviewed—I
have become interested in the “Kerfuffle” that surrounds the issue of
homelessness in Olympia. On March 12th
I was lucky to be dismissed from jury duty in time to attend a Thurston County Commissioners
meeting in the afternoon—and I stuck around downtown Olympia for the rest of
the day so I could attend a protest activity in front of the Olympia City Council
prior to attending a council meeting.
Homelessness was discussed at both meetings. City ordinances banning sitting/lying on any
part of Olympia sidewalks between 7 AM and midnight— and “camping” on any city
property were a large part of the conversation.
The anti sitting/lying ordinance used to apply only to parts
of Olympia Sidewalks that were within 6 feet of a business—and it used to
extend until 10 PM instead of midnight.
The changes took effect between January and February of this year.
I am currently working on digesting the information I received
from the county and city meetings—as well as what I have gotten from interviews
I have already had with community members who work with the homeless in Olympia.
I am in the process of planning more
adventures into the kerfuffle.
The following pictures show protestors gathered in front of
City Hall. Some images show a picnic
blanket spread with food brought by and for the protestors—some of which were
homeless. Gathering and eating food from
a blanket on city property constituted an act of protest because a ban on “camping
paraphernalia” including blankets accompanies the anti camping ordinance.
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