Bellingham mayor vows to clear homeless encampment from neighborhood park
Bellingham officials doubled down on their stance that homeless encampments will not be allowed in city parks, and a City Council member disclosed that her husband was among people who were assaulted in a recent demonstration at Mayor Seth Fleetwood’s house.
In a meeting of the council’s Committee of the Whole on Monday, March 22, Fleetwood and other city officials described their efforts to persuade campers to leave Laurel Park, and provide services and shelter to those who want it.
“We remain actively committed to ending the encampment at Laurel Park,” Fleetwood told the council during the online committee meeting.
About 25 campers were told to move from Laurel Park on Friday morning, March 19, and campers tried without success to establish at least two other encampments.
Many of them returned to Laurel Park that evening, however, and the camp remained there Monday.
Early Tuesday morning, March 23, about 20 tents ringed the park perimeter, and about five people congregated near a central table and awning.
“We won’t go into detail about particular aspects of an operation, but (the encampment) will be coming to an end,” Fleetwood said.
Fleetwood’s comments came after a presentation about the city’s work with the Opportunity Council, the Bellingham & Whatcom County Housing Authorities, and Lydia Place to provide permanent housing for homeless families with children.
“This community cares deeply about the issues of homelessness,” Fleetwood said.
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Serving chronically homeless
But homeless advocate Markis Stidham told The Bellingham Herald in an interview that the city isn’t doing enough to help its most vulnerable residents — the chronically homeless.
“It was hard to stomach. I really feel like government is giving up on an entire segment of the population,” said Stidham, who is on the board of Serenity Outreach Services, a nonprofit group that is helping those without housing.
Later Monday, Stidham spoke during a meeting of the full council and asked Fleetwood to open a dialogue.
“What we are seeing in the streets is against all policy that the city has adopted,” Stidham told the council.
Stidham, who is also an appointed member of the Whatcom County Homeless Strategies Workgroup, isn’t part of the Bellingham Occupied Protest that is resisting the city’s efforts to stop homeless encampments in public parks.
Those protesters, who dress in black and hide their faces, angrily confronted police and city officials Jan. 28 as campers were ousted from a tent village at City Hall and the Bellingham Public Library.
Bellingham Occupied Protest has accused The Herald of failing to present their side of the issue, but at the same time they refuse to talk with reporters.
Further, protesters have used tarps and black sheets on several occasions to prevent Herald staff from taking photos and video — even as the protesters live-streamed events to their own social media.
Assault at earlier demonstration
Meanwhile, Councilwoman Lisa Anderson said during Monday’s committee meeting that her husband was among people that Bellingham Occupied Protest protesters assaulted in a March 14 demonstration at Mayor Seth Fleetwood’s house in South Hill.
Her husband filed a police report last week, she said.
A Herald reporter also was punched during that protest, and a police report was filed.
“Someone took a pole and smacked (my husband) up the center of the head while he was standing there,” Anderson said at the meeting.
“He didn’t want to report it because his wife is a council member and he was afraid it would put a target on our house and put a target on me,” she said. “We support your right to protest, but not to target our mayor’s house and vandalize. This has to end.”
Anderson said many people in the community have told her they oppose the continued occupation of public places.
“I have heard from a lot of residents around Laurel Park, and they’re terrified.,” Anderson told the council. “Even though they have expressed a lot of compassion and past support, and current support, towards homeless services — this is basically a hostile takeover of the park by protesters and the (Bellingham Occupied Protest) collective.”
She said neighbors complained of noise and harassment and said that campers were trespassing in their yards.
“This is not in an isolated area, this is not a protest downtown. This is in a residential neighborhood,” Anderson said.
“This is not tenable. Yes, we cannot provide shelter to everyone’s preference, but there are available beds. This is not helping the people who are unsheltered at that park,” she said.
This story was originally published March 23, 2021 at 8:53 AM.
