Moses Lake Sleeping Center sees some use during first weekend

MOSES LAKE — There were around 30 occupants at the Moses Lake Sleeping Center, some of which were repeats, during its opening weekend, according to a city official.

The Sleeping Center, a managed camp for those without shelter, located at the intersection of East Broadway Avenue and state Route 17, opened its doors for the first time Friday night. The center will open at 6 p.m. every day, with final check-in at 10 p.m., wake up calls at 6 a.m., and final check-out at 8 a.m. The site will also have security services to monitor the site from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., said Taylor Burton, housing and grants coordinator for the city of Moses Lake.

Those 30 guests were spread out over the site’s first three days in service and include repeat stays, with a peak of around 10 of the 35 units occupied on Saturday, Burton said. Burton said he expected a significantly bigger turnout Monday night, as Moses Lake police made the rounds to a number of local unsanctioned campsites and gave information about the site to unsheltered people in the area.

Local police also informed campers located on property owned by Columbia Basin Railroad that they were trespassed from staying on that property, said Moses Lake Police Chief Kevin Fuhr in a Monday interview. More trespassing notifications are expected in the coming days for other campsites on private property as those landowners are contacted by local authorities, Fuhr said Monday.

Police have waited to more actively enforce trespassing ordinances against unsheltered individuals in Moses Lake until after the Sleeping Center had opened, Fuhr said in a prior interview.

Leeanna Rasor, originally from Spokane, has been unsheltered in Moses Lake for a little over six months. She said that she has been robbed several times while sleeping outside, including on Sunday.

“It’s been brutal,” Rasor said. “You get robbed all the time. For women out here ... not only women, but men, too.”