Community members expressed outrage Monday at the conditions in a Seattle park where asylum-seekers have set up an encampment for about a week.
More than 100 asylum-seekers are sleeping in tents at Powell Barnett Park in the Central District after running out of private donations that had been covering hotel stays and short-term rentals across King County.
Central District community leaders and residents held a news conference near the encampment Monday afternoon, calling on city leaders to address the lack of immediate housing opportunities for the group and unsanitary conditions at the park. It’s one of the first times in recent months community members, rather than advocates or asylum-seekers themselves, have publicly called for action.
About a month ago, many of the same asylum-seekers sought refuge for one night outside of Seattle’s Garfield Community Center after running out of private donations to cover their hotel stays. Tukwila’s Riverton Park United Methodist Church, which first began sheltering asylum-seekers in 2022 and has become the epicenter of the region’s asylum-seeker crisis, now has about 300 people staying on the property.
Maisha Barnett, granddaughter of the first president of the Leschi Community Council (then known as the Leschi Improvement Council) after whom the Central District park is named, on Monday said city and county leaders have been “passing the buck.” She called for there to be “no more plans, just actions.”
“The dysfunction of our leadership is an embarrassment and disgrace,” Barnett said.
John Barber, a member of the Leschi Community Council, said people in the neighborhood are no longer able to adequately or safely enjoy the park. Barber said there are only two toilets for the asylum-seekers, and asked the city to bring in portable bathrooms and sinks. He said the city’s lack of response so far has been “rather alarming.”
City spokesperson Karissa Braxton said parks staff will remove trash twice daily and continue to clean the restroom two to three times daily.
King County last month awarded $2 million to local nonprofits to support asylum-seekers in need of shelter as they wait to receive their work permits. Two of those organizations, Lutheran Community Services Northwest and Refugee Women’s Alliance, each received $750,000 to fund longer-term housing.
City and county leadership have said no other funding exists to support this group.
Matt Misterek, spokesperson for Lutheran Community Services, said the group plans to use its funding to house 25 families for nine months, but said those selections could be made from around the county, not just from the group living at Powell Barnett Park.
The county funds have yet to be distributed, but after hundreds of people ran out of private funding to cover their hotel and private rental stays on April 29, forcing them to move outside, Jon Grant, the Low-Income Housing Institute’s chief strategy officer, said they started looking for ways to help immediately.
The Low-Income Housing Institute, working alongside Refugee Women’s Alliance and Riverton Park United Methodist Church, moved 103 people from the park into temporary housing last week — prioritizing pregnant people and families with young children. Two other families were also moved from the park into longer-term housing by the same group.
Grant said that in the course of 48 hours late last week, some of the most vulnerable people living in tents at the Seattle park were prioritized for the temporary housing.
Grant said they have enough funding to cover the housing costs for these 103 people for the next month, but when that money runs out they’ll need others to step up to help.
In a statement, spokesperson Braxton said the city has identified shelter options for the remaining 40 families with children. Braxton said staff is “working to transition them from the park.” Braxton said staff will then evaluate and restore the park for its intended use.
“We really want to emphasize that the King County funding made any of this possible to begin with,” Grant said. “And we need more public partners and partners in philanthropy to continue that work and grow it even more.”
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, which received $250,000 from King County’s recent distribution, to provide legal assistance, has agreed to give $25,000 of what it received to help the Low Income Housing Institute, Refugee Women’s Alliance and Riverton Park United Methodist Church cover temporary housing costs, Grant said.