Challenges of homelessness prompting debate in Moses Lake

MOSES LAKE — The challenges around homelessness in Grant County and the Open Doors Sleep Center in Moses Lake, and how to address them, prompted the same reaction from Moses Lake Mayor Dustin Swartz and Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce Director Debbie Doran-Martinez.  

“It’s frustrating,” Doran-Martinez said. 

Swartz said the discussion over what to do predates his election to the Moses Lake City Council in 2020 – and for all the attention and effort, there still isn’t a solution or solutions. 

“This has been a frustration of mine the entire time,” Swartz said. “We are in an unwinnable argument in this community.” 

Different people have different ideas about homelessness and how to handle it, he said, which further complicates things. 

“Define the problem – what do you mean by (homelessness)?” he said. 

Doran-Martinez presented the Moses Lake City Council with a letter from the Chamber’s board of directors asking for the closure of the sleep center at the council's meeting Tuesday. In a later interview, she said a petition circulating online resembles the letter given to the council, but the Chamber is not involved with the online petition. 

Doran-Martinez said Chamber officials want city officials to review the city’s response to the homelessness issue, think about its effectiveness and see if there are other options. 

“We certainly need to take a look at different ideas, because what we’re doing isn’t working,” she said. 

The sleep center is located within the city limits at the intersection of East Broadway Avenue and State Route 17. Swartz said the city pays the lease for the property, rents the fence, provides the shower facility and the office and pays for security. HopeSource, a nonprofit agency based in Ellensburg that provides services in Moses Lake, is in charge of its day-to-day operations. 

Most of the expenses are paid through a grant from the state awarded to Grant County, although the city also pays some of the costs. Grant County Commissioner Rob Jones said county officials would have the option to return the grant money to the state if the city withdrew its support. 

HopeSource administrators have told county officials the organization would not be interested in operating the facility without the support of the city, Jones said. 

County officials are working to schedule a meeting with council members and city officials to discuss the facility and its possible future, Jones said. County officials want to do that by mid-May, he said.  

The sleep center has 35 units; Doran-Martinez said there are more homeless people in town than the sleep center can accommodate. People who aren’t using the sleep center are having a direct effect on businesses throughout the community, she said.  

Those experiencing homelessness seek shelter in business doorways after hours and leave trash, and sometimes human waste, behind, she said.  

“(Business owners) spend an awful lot of time cleaning up as opposed to running those businesses,” she said.  

Doran-Martinez said the Chamber’s board is suggesting that city officials research more effective ways to alleviate homelessness. The city’s effort and funding should be redirected in that direction, she said. 

The sleep center was established in 2020, in the wake of a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision that prohibited cities from criminalizing sleeping, sitting or otherwise using public property by unsheltered people unless they had other alternatives for shelter. A later case, City of Grans Pass v. Johnson, allowed cities to ban homeless encampments and enforce penalties for sleeping in public spaces.  Cities throughout the country have struggled to figure out how to address the situation before and after both decisions. 

Swartz said providing homeless services might be outside the city’s actual responsibilities. City government is there to make the city livable and safe, he said, and services like mental health and social services might not be part of that.  

According to the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, a federal entity that identifies successful approaches to solving problems associated with homelessness, there are ways to address unsheltered residents and get them into better situations. They include a housing-first approach, which provides permanent supportive housing without regard to sobriety, employment and other factors to ensure base stability. Other steps include support services with wrap-around care to address the personal challenges unsheltered people face, strong early intervention programs to prevent homelessness for individuals, providing basic resources, expanding affordable housing, and partnerships between government, nonprofits, health care and businesses. 

The contract between the city and HopeSource for sleep center operations is on a month-to-month basis and for the moment, that’s how it’s going to stay, Swartz said. 

“All I will say at this point is it’s month-to-month for however long it can last,” he said. 

During the council meeting, Swartz said city officials are working with other entities to try and find some solutions.  

“We hear all perspectives,” he said. “We’re dealing with all these challenges. I think the next steps are for the council to understand how we as a body feel about these issues and how best to move forward.” 

    Grant County Commissioner Rob Jones tours the Moses Lake Open Doors Sleep Center a few weeks ago. The center's future is in question.