LONGVIEW, Wash. — A months-long showdown outside Longview City Hall sparked a historic re-write of city code this week, and it’s all because dozens of homeless men and women were tired of being swept from place to place by police.
“You know, out of sight, out of mind. Well, we're not out of sight,” said Phil St. Jean, who spent the last couple months camping in a tent along the building’s front sidewalk.
St. Jean’s was one of more than two dozen tents lining that busy main drag in Longview Friday.
At the time, the impact of what happened inside City Hall hours earlier was still sinking in.
“I think it was a show last night,” St. Jean said.
Thursday, city council members voted unanimously to amend existing city ordinances, restricting access to City Hall on nights, weekends and holidays and banning camping in tents citywide.
They had originally planned to declare an emergency in Longview, forcing campers to leave immediately, but opted to forego that and, instead, give them 30 days to prepare.
Council members, all of whom declined to be interviewed or failed to respond to requests, also reportedly said the city would try to help campers find somewhere to go.
The newly amended ordinance allows for one ‘hosted encampment’ within the city, meaning officials will let a willing church or agency host campers on their property.
Angela Sprague has been homeless since she was fourteen years old. “Hopefully it'll be close to town because everything is accessible here,” she said. “Mental health is here. Core health is here.”
The move comes in a city with no general, low-barrier homeless shelter, despite a rapidly rising homeless population.
The most recent Point In Time count showed a 38% spike last year.
It’s a sign Longview needs to change its tactics, said Councilwoman-elect Hillary Strobel, who was just voted into the position.
She, along with a few other newcomers, will take the seats of most existing council members next month, at which point, she plans to prioritize finding safe shelter space for those camping outside.
“I don’t think anyone agrees that this is anything other than dangerous and unsanitary,” she said. “Whether you want to take the compassionate approach or the punitive approach everyone agrees that this isn't working.”
In the meantime, people are still sleeping in the elements, and it’s getting cold.
It’s why several local churches felt compelled to step in.
“They really get to be people when they come here,” said Pastor Allison Mattocks, co-director of Longview’s newest and only emergency weather shelter.
It exists in a banquet all in First Christian Church, and it can hold close to 100 people.
Staff at the church made their debut Wednesday, after overnight lows dropped below freezing, prompting the city declare a severe weather emergency, a prerequisite for emergency shelter operations.
Church staff estimate they housed more than sixty people, feeding them two meals each.
They add, they had security on staff all night and had zero incidents.
“The lowest bar is just to keep people alive,” said Pastor Mattocks. “We want to do more than that.”