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Spokane's Sheriff Knezovich Could Be a Problem Solver or a Bully - But Not Both [1]
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Date: 2022-09-25
I simply don’t know where to start. How about with the name? Camp Hope – officials have ridiculed the name of Spokane’s largest, and presently, most controversial homeless encampment. Ridiculing the name of a squalid, overcrowded, dehumanizing camp because it’s named Camp Hope proves how little those “officials” actually know about the problem.
Let’s work backward – and define hope.
If you were a billionaire, you might hope to eliminate your tax bill.
If you were a millionaire (especially right now) you might hope for the stock market to rebound.
If you were a middleclass family looking for a house in – let’s say – Spokane, Washington, you might hope for the median price of a home to drop from a record-breaking $400,000. You know, so you could afford to buy a place.
Bear with me, I’m almost done.
If you were a low-income individual living alone, (in Spokane that’s someone making $17.69 an hour or less) you might hope to get off the low income housing waiting list in less than 28 months.
No doubt Spokane County Sheriff Knezovich can imagine those types of hope. If I’m wrong and he can’t visualize middle and upper class hopes, he can leave a remark in the comments section, and I’ll be happy to hear what kind of hope he does understand.
In the meanwhile, I would challenge the Sheriff and other authorities to imagine what a person’s life must be like – the horror that is their everyday existence – to think Camp Hope is appropriately named.
Seriously, rather than ridicule the name, detractors should spend a night sleeping in the camp. Critics can see how awful it is to be that desperate and learn – honestly – that it’s better than the alternative. Once Knezovich, who as recently as Friday’s press conference renewed his promise to remove the tents, spends a night in the camp – perhaps he’ll try imagining a reality that’s worse.
What’s worse than an overcrowded overheated tent (soon to be cold) a mile or more from where a person works? What’s worse than leaving your belongings behind – in an unsupervised location – while you go to work or school or to look for help? What’s worse than being called a criminal when you are far more likely to be the victim of a crime than the perpetrator?
I’m a homeless advocate. I travel the nation learning about the problem as it effects different areas. I’m a former shelter director and a journalist. I write books about homelessness. My colleague, filmmaker, homeless advocate, Diane Nilan and I were in Spokane to lead discussions about homelessness. We have books individuals can read to learn about the effects of unavailable, insecure and unaffordable housing – including the camps.
One of our library talks was the same time as the Sheriff’s press conference. ‘Tis a pity – he really would have learned a lot if he’d attended our event. We knew the press was at his conference so we dropped by the Spokane newspaper, and left copies of my award winning Still Left Out in America… for free! Hoping that someone – in the media or government – would learn a little more about homelessness and make more informed decisions about how to aid folks whose only hope is a tent in a public parking lot with 599 strangers.
My offer stands to send the Sheriff my book – arguably one of the definitive books on homelessness… not because I’m all that, but because it tells the truth.
Sheriff Knezovich is at the crossroads of his career. He’s about to step down as sheriff. I recommend he look at the legacy he’ll leave behind. He can cruelly and uncaringly disperse desperate people – toss their homes, destroy their things – including books, family pictures, identification, food, and prescription medication. Or he can be LITERALLY the first leader in America to work caringly with the people and resolve the encampment without causing further harm. People with zero options need a leader, not a bully. A public advocate and man of the people would work to find a solution to his citizen’s desperation not a way to make it worse.
Meanwhile, I’m going to reach out the aid organizations who are courageously struggling to help the residents of Camp Hope. I have an idea. I’m going to encourage them to start registering those residents to vote.
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[1] Url:
https://dailykos.com/stories/2022/9/25/2125273/-Spokane-County-s-Knezovich-Could-Be-a-Problem-Solver-or-a-Bully-But-Not-Both
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