Puyallup moves homeless camp from Riverwalk Trail to rec center amid coronavirus crisis
The City of Puyallup has shut down the tent encampment along the Riverwalk Trail and created a restricted tent city at the Puyallup Recreation Center parking lot.
The city announced Friday afternoon that police and employees were moving a limited number of people experiencing homelessness to the recreation center.
The Riverwalk Trail has been closed. Police are enforcing no trespassing laws, the city said in a statement. The portable sinks and toilets that had been serving the encampment there have been moved to the recreation center.
The new site holds 30 tents and parking for those living in cars, New Hope Resource Center director Paula Anderson told The Puyallup Herald. About 10 motel rooms have been rented for the most vulnerable, she said.
New Hope provides services to the homeless in Puyallup, but it is not an overnight shelter.
Last week, she was serving around 70 lunches a day at the former encampment. It is unclear where those not living at the parking lot will go.
“I think with the tent site, it’s better for those in that location. They have central access to the services. It’s good to have safe parking for those with vehicles,” Anderson said. “I don’t know if it’s a good situation for those left on the river ...”
The city-authorized tent encampment will remain until at least May 4 when Gov. Jay Inslee’s stay-at-home order is scheduled to be lifted, Anderson said.
Those living in the encampment have sleeping bags and tents on wooden pallets and are following social distancing practices to slow the spread of the coronavirus. City employees will monitor the parking lot, spokesperson Brenda Fritsvold said.
City officials said the Riverwalk encampment was “untenable.”
“The number of people showing up at this site placed an unsustainable burden on the extremely limited resources that were available and potentially jeopardized the social distancing that must occur to hinder the spread of the novel coronavirus in our community,” Fritsvold said in a statement.
New Hope and local churches will continue to provide meals throughout the day to those in the parking lot and in the motels. They will drive around to feed others they can find, Anderson said.
As of Friday, Puyallup reports there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 among its homeless population.
The protocol for those who become sick is unclear, but Anderson previously told The News Tribune volunteers would take sick people to the hospital to be assessed and tested and, if needed, taken to an isolation and quarantine center.
Before Friday, those experiencing homelessness had congregated along the Riverwalk Trail behind the Fred Meyer on River Road after New Hope handed out tents and sleeping bags.
There is no indoor shelter for the homeless in Puyallup.
