The Smith Avenue homeless community has suddenly dispersed

EVERETT – The law has not yet come into effect, but its intent already seems to be having a dramatic impact.

Weeks after Everett City Council passed a controversial “no-sit, no-lie” ordinance to relieve a largely commercial and industrial part of downtown, the streets and sidewalks don’t look the same.

There is far less evidence of a homeless population who once made nomadic claims with shopping carts, tents and tarpaulins.

The ban is months away from enforcement, but the dispersion is evident to the casual observer and certainly to proponents whose job it is to help the people living on the streets.

Most of the dozen of people who made their homes under an I-5 flyover on Smith Avenue and the surrounding arteries have moved on.

Some of the street dwellers say Everett police told them to go out on the street. Not so, say higher officials within the police department and the town hall.

The police insist that their enforcement has not changed and that the mass exodus is just as surprising to them as it is to anyone else.

Everett’s new no-sit, no-lie regulation won’t go into effect for months, but most of the people who lived on the streets and sidewalks of Smith Avenue have moved on. Some lived under an I-5 flyover on Hewitt Avenue for a few weeks. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

What to do about the homeless in and around Smith Avenue became a focus of intense city council and community-wide debate in March.

Everett City Council combined a unique opportunity to house approximately 30 people in a “pallet village” – a collection of miniature apartments to temporarily house people seeking permanent shelter – with the passage of a law that would allow the homeless to sit or lie down the road forbids. Sidewalks and other public areas around the property.

The 10 block zone has long borne the brunt of the city’s homeless crisis. It includes Everett Station, the Everett Gospel Mission, and a variety of industrial companies. On March 17, the city council voted 5-1 to approve the ordinance, but delayed enforcement until alternative accommodation is available in the Palettendorf later this summer.

However, within a few weeks, many people left the Smith Avenue area without housing. As the community dispersed, people found new places to stay and sought refuge on Hewitt Avenue, along the Snohomish River at 41st Street, in an area near Marine View Drive, or in small groups on the streets.

Two weeks ago, Jessica Warrington was one of around 20 people living in tents under the I-5 flyover on Hewitt Avenue, one block outside of the upcoming no-sit, no-lie zone. She said police had told Smith Avenue residents that they would face fines or jail terms if they did not leave the neighborhood.

“If you’re a homeless person – if you don’t have a house or a car – Everett City looks at you like you’re illegal,” she said.

Everett Police Department captain David Fudge said the officers hadn’t changed their work on Smith Avenue.

Everett’s new no-sit, no-lie regulation won’t go into effect for months, but only a few of the dozen of people who lived on Smith Avenue are left. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

“The death of the no-sit, no-lie … on March 17th didn’t affect what we did or what we did down there,” said Fudge. “We continued to force obstruction of the sidewalk based on complaints and they simply broke the law by blocking the sidewalk down there.”

With the no-sit, no-lie gone, the people on Smith Avenue left by themselves, Fudge said.

Rumors returned to the department that officials were enforcing the ordinance, but Fudge said that was “absolutely not true”.

In his 34 years monitoring Everett, Fudge said he can’t remember the last time a person was arrested for blocking the sidewalk. Instead, the officials informed people affected by homelessness about the upcoming measures and their entry into force.

“It was as surprising to us as it was to everyone else because we haven’t changed anything,” said Fudge. “Whatever the reason, until now we have no idea why they completely cleared the area and moved out.”

Warrington, 42, said police were harassing the street community and making things worse.

“It is exhausting to be homeless,” said Warrington.

For a few weeks, about 20 people who once lived on the streets of Smith Avenue moved under an I-5 flyover on Hewitt Avenue. In the past few days these campers have left. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

She said she hadn’t eaten in more than 24 hours when Penelope Protheroe, president of the Angel Resource Connection, arrived with hot food, water, and other essentials. After the no-sit-no-lie regulation goes into effect, proponents like Protheroe will be banned from providing food, goods, supplies or services in the zone without the city’s approval.

Prior to the mass migration from Smith Avenue, Protheroe and other members of the nonprofit were able to set up a table in a central location in the corridor to distribute goods or provide other assistance, such as help with applying for pandemic stimulus checks.

Now, Protheroe said, she spends hours hopping around Everett in a white sprinter van and finding the people in dire need of a pick-me-up. Diffusion has tripled the time it takes Protheroe for them, creating barriers that make it even more difficult to provide consistent resources.

“At least Smith Avenue was kind of an address for them,” said Protheroe. “When they are scattered, you are helping with the necessities of survival.”

For a few weeks, those living under the I-5 Hewitt Avenue flyover thought they had found a new home. They said they were less harassed and only visited once or twice by the police.

“What we want is to go somewhere where no one will mess with us,” said T, a middle-aged man who lived on the street and was concerned about sharing his name for fear of harassment.

“Not all of us want to be out here,” said T. “I want to get hell off the streets.”

He’s hoping to get into the pallet house operated by the Everett Gospel Mission as soon as it becomes available, but wasn’t sure if there would be room or if he would be considered. Meanwhile, he thought Hewitt Avenue was a safe place to wait.

That port has since disappeared.

The sidewalks on Hewitt are also empty now. Freshly painted bike paths glitter on the sidewalk, where not so long ago tents, tarpaulins and sleeping bags stood.

Fudge said the department had launched exactly the same enforcement and reach it had elsewhere in town.

In a statement, Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin insisted that there had been no premature enforcement of no-sitting, no-lying, but just a continuation of ongoing efforts to connect people affected by homelessness to services and try to limit the crime.

“It is important to respond with compassion to the needs of our vulnerable people while protecting the residents and businesses affected by criminal activity in the area,” said the mayor.

Sylvia Anderson, CEO of the Everett Gospel Mission, said she was concerned that the city’s approach aroused suspicion. The daily meal service in the mission already feeds half as many people.

She said her team worked hard to make sure the populations who live on the streets of Smith Avenue are safe until the pallet shelters are opened.

“It feels like no matter what has been said, we’re pushing no-sit, no-lie. This is what it looks like, this is how it feels, ”she said.

City guides said the pallet case should be open by July. Permit requests were submitted to the planning department last week for review and public comment.

Ian Davis-Leonard: 425-339-3448; [email protected]; Twitter: @IanDavisLeonard.

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Everett’s new no-sit, no-lie regulation won’t go into effect for months, but only a few of the dozen of people who lived on Smith Avenue are left. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

For a few weeks, about 20 people who once lived on the streets of Smith Avenue moved under an I-5 flyover on Hewitt Avenue. In the past few days these campers have left. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)