SPOKANE, Wash. — As politicians and activists at the federal, state and local level continue to battle over how to address homeless encampments in cities, Spokane has seen a rise of such camps in 2023.
For Jeremy Pittman, a grandfather living in northwest Spokane, one of those encampments in Indian Canyon Park is a major safety risk.
“I would not take my grandkids on any of these trails around here,” Pittman said. “They’re very beautiful trails, and it’s meant for people to go out and enjoy the environment, but there’s needles, there’s condoms. There’s stuff that you just wouldn’t want your kids to see.”
Jeremy Pittman rides his bike every day through Palisades Park, giving him a unique perspective on the growth of the camp.
“I’ve seen a bigger camp come up. It looks like maybe two or three tents, and there’s one area, and it’s just the garbage is getting really out of hand,” Pittman said.
He added that some people living in the park have just fallen on hard times, and that’s something he understands thanks to firsthand experience.
“I understand homelessness, I really do,” Pittman said. “I understand addiction. I’ve been on both sides of the fence. But even though you’re having a hard time and you’re homeless, it doesn’t mean you have to go around and hurt other people in the community because of it.”
Although Pittman has compassion for some of the people living in the park, he says the clock is ticking to solve his community’s homeless problem.
“It’s just a matter of time before somebody gets hurt, and we don’t want that,” Pittman said.
