Homelessness, fentanyl crisis some of the biggest issues impacting western Washington | ARC Seattle

Seattle's homeless crisis 2023 could have been the breaking point that the city needed to try to turn things around Holly Menino sat down with Jeremy Harris to talk about what we experienced this last year. Here's part one of her interview We've got Jeremy Harris here. He is one of our reporters that covers our project Seattle initiative for come on news Jeremy's been with Como for what a year and a half now Yep, just a little over a year and a half. Okay, and Jeremy and I actually know each other from Salt Lake City We both worked at the same station there So it's been fun to be reunited back at Como now I was the morning reporter when you were the morning anchor. Mm-hmm And I think one time I held the reflector for you for a live shot Yeah, I think you did and before that you were even on the assignment desk. Yep. Yeah, okay Well, we're glad you're with Como got so glad that you're here And he has been covering The homeless crisis in Seattle for the last year and a half really once he got to Seattle Hit the ground running covering this really hot topic for us here at Como So tell me what is the last year and a half been like covering this crisis? well you know we've heard so many times from both governor the mayor and leadership in this area that homelessness really is the Defining issue of what we're going through right now as a state and as a region and so seeing the homeless crisis evolving in Seattle has really been a real interesting interesting look at how Seattle operates and kind of the direction that we're going a lot of what we've covered are these Encampments that have been set up in different areas around the city including along our freeways and they have a major impact on the communities Where they get set up and resolving them is a really sensitive issue because on the one hand you want to help people who are living There but you've also got to deal with issues like drug use crime As all other problems that are affecting the communities around the encampment So that's a lot of what our project Seattle initiative has been focusing on What are some of the most memorable stories when it comes to covering the homeless crisis? That you have covered in the last year and a half Well, we're just looking back at the year And I think the story that did the best for us on on the website was when I went down and interviewed a couple that Was actually building a house in the on-ramp at Mercer Street here in Seattle And they were building a house out of wood. They had a window they had doors they had a foundation and It was like this house was kind of evolving right along the side of the interstate and people were very interested in it And this was a couple who said, you know, we've been homeless. We've been to different encampments We wanted something more permanent. So they went on to a track of state land and just built a house and it was kind of It was very controversial because on the one hand you say well, these people are homeless They need to live somewhere. But on the other hand here They are building a house on the side of the freeway Where a lot of cars drive by this entire tract of land there had been multiple fires there There were lots of issues with drug use going on at that encampment drug dealing There's a nearby homeless services center. And so it was a very controversial story That was kind of one of the more memorable, but we had the ship canal bridge Encampment that was a huge story there Anybody who drove on I-5 in the express lanes saw that encampment there on the north end of the ship canal bridge That was a huge story as well And and we actually saw the governor go out there himself while we were out there. I met with a lot of those families They were furious, you know, we had a an encampment within one block of their of an elementary school Major issues with gun violence fires drug dealing theft So those were some of the more memorable moments that stand out to me from this year And one of your best qualities as a reporter is your ability to question officials and we have seen you do that We've seen you question the governor Seattle City Council members. You don't back down What has that been like holding those people accountable for what's happening in our city? Well, it has been really interesting and and I feel for them because there is no easy answer if there was an easy answer to Homelessness and to the acute problems that these encampments caused they would have done it long ago So they're battling a lot of different things. They're battling Where do we get the money from to deal with this? How firm are we going to be in terms of enforcing things like camping ordinances and trespassing laws that are on state property? So they're in a tough position But they are also the ones who are in the position of power and they need to be held accountable for that So we took that and the ship canal bridge. It was a really good example of this you had These parents who said why is my child on a playground? One block away from from a horrible drug encampment where there's fentanyl. There's been shootings There are regular fires. So those those parents said we need to hold the government accountable for why this is being allowed and There was a backstory there too about why is that? Why is it taking so long to develop housing? Why don't we have a place to put these folks and when we do have a place? How quickly are you going to be putting your foot down and saying you're out? We're gonna you can either go into housing, but you can't stay here So these are really tough issues, but and we have questioned and I've I know the governor, you know I'm I've had to chase him down through a parking lot before to ask him about some of this stuff and it's been I Feel for him on the one hand But I also think there are really valid concerns from people who live around These encampments and who are dealing with the day-to-day issues that are associated with homelessness in Seattle and the homeless people themselves who deserve to You know have a path to getting out of the situation that they're in So Holly and Jeremy's conversation on Seattle's homeless crisis continues Monday on arc Seattle