The City of Olympia and its regional partners have begun the long process of transitioning inhabitants of the city’s largest homeless encampment into housing.
As of this week, 18 of “The Jungle’s” roughly 275 permanent residents had been transitioned into temporary or permanent housing, and a group of about 20 individuals are preparing to move into state Encampment Resolution Program (ERP)-funded beds or housing units.
“There's a tremendous amount of work that's been underway,” said Olympia Assistant City Manager Stacy Ray, who provided an update to the Olympia City Council on Aug. 26 on the city’s work with its regional partners to close “The Jungle.”
The regional effort officially launched in May, and is expected to take a minimum of 18 to 24 months.
“The shared goal is to close the site safely and compassionately, in a way that supports both encampment residents and the broader community,” the City of Olympia states of the transition plan on its website.
“The Jungle” is the last of Olympia’s major homeless encampments following a concerted city effort to close 14 camps in the last few years.
Spanning 20 acres and housing up to 290 residents, “The Jungle” presents challenges that the city’s other homeless encampments did not.
“This is a challenging site. We have difficult and unsafe conditions. The size has a tremendous impact on our surrounding community,” said Ray.
With the impact that “The Jungle” has on the entire region, the City of Olympia is utilizing a regional approach to closing the encampment.
The city has established a Regional Encampment Planning Team, which includes representatives from neighboring jurisdictions, the business community, as well as those with expertise and lived experience in areas such as homeless services, Coordinated Entry, and mental health and addiction services.
“This is really a group that has really leaned into this process. They're thinking strategically. They're thinking creatively. They're collaborating together and really looking at how to problem solve as we move through this process,” Ray said.
So far, the Regional Encampment Planning Team has sought and received approval from the Washington State Department of Commerce to designate “The Jungle” as an ERP site, which opens up a swath of state resources to help transition residents into housing.
Formerly known as the Rights-of-Way Safety Initiative, the ERP was established in the 2022 Legislative session with the goal of transitioning individuals residing on state-owned rights of way to safer housing opportunities, with an emphasis on permanent housing solutions.
The resources that come with the ERP site designation come with stipulations, however, including that the City of Olympia does not “sweep” the camp, that all permanent residents be given a reasonable offer of housing before the camp closes, and that “The Jungle” not be allowed to regrow.
To fulfill that last requirement, the city is cleaning and blocking off sections of “The Jungle” after all residents of that section have been moved into housing.
The city also has to generate a “By-Name” list showing who the permanent residents of “The Jungle” are and who will be displaced if the encampment closes.
That list will be used to match Jungle residents with ERP housing opportunities.
There are a total of 275 names on the list, which was developed by working with the city’s homeless response team and longtime service providers at “The Jungle.”
“This is an encampment closure program, and so we needed to see confirmation that folks had been long-term, permanent residents of the site,” Ray said.
The “By-Name” list — which is now closed and not accepting new entries — notably doesn’t include individuals who just moved to “The Jungle,” haven’t stayed there long-term, or infrequently utilize resources at the site.
While the closure of that list has caused some concern for homeless advocates worried that it closes the door for some Jungle residents to get into housing, Ray said there are still options available for those not on the list.
The ERP is just one of two primary pathways for residents of homeless camps to transition into housing, Ray said.
The other avenue, Coordinated Entry, remains open to all Jungle residents.
Also run by the state Department of Commerce, Coordinated Entry is a system of available housing resources that connects people with those resources based on need, which is determined through a vulnerability score.
Anyone not on the “By Name” list can work with a service provider to obtain a vulnerability score and get added to that system.
If there are still ERP housing units available after everyone on the “By Name” list is housed, the remaining units will be opened up to the broader Coordinated Entry system.
The city’s homeless response team and independent service providers from across the region are working with Jungle residents to help them understand what’s going on and access what housing resources are available to them.
“Our homeless response team has been engaging with Jungle residents for years, and they're continuing to do that work, and they've built trusting relationships, and those are proving to be really critical right now through this transition,” Ray said.
Olympia Police to ramp up presence at ‘The Jungle’
As service providers increase their presence at “The Jungle” to help residents transition into housing, the Olympia Police Department plans to increase its presence in the coming months, as well.
“This change is not due to a single incident or a sudden change in conditions. It is another layer of support that's being added as the city's work at the encampment moves into this next phase,” Olympia Police Chief Stacy Parker said Tuesday.
The Olympia Police Department has historically taken a “reactive” approach to policing “The Jungle,” but is now shifting to a “more relationship-based presence,” Parker said.
The goal of that shift is to help mitigate any problems that arise as residents begin transitioning into housing.
“The transition process itself can create stress and uncertainty for residents as people begin moving into housing. Camp dynamics can change and tensions can rise. This makes it even more important that concerns are identified early, and that residents know where they can turn when they need help,” Parker said.
The Olympia Police Department’s Neighborhood Police Officers, also called NPOs, and crisis response units will be the primary units making those proactive visits to “The Jungle.”
NPOs have been involved in previous camp closures, with positive results, Parker said.
“They've established relationships and really used this relationship-based model positively,” Parker said, noting that NPOs have not had to make arrests at any prior camp closures.
Parker emphasized that the increased police presence at “The Jungle” “is not an effort to accelerate closure of the camp through enforcement, and it is not about criminalizing homelessness.”
Officers have also been instructed to not use the “relationship-building visits” as “an opportunity” to seek out misdemeanor warrants, offenses, or other “unrelated low-level enforcement issues,” Parker said.
“Residents should be able to talk with an officer or crew member about victimization or a safety concern without worrying that asking for assistance will create another problem for them,” she said.
In most cases, Parker said, low-level offenses are better addressed through means other than direct enforcement, such as referral to a deferment program or other community resource.
At the same time, Parker said, officers will not ignore activity that has a high impact on the safety of Jungle residents and the surrounding community.
“There needs to be a clear distinction between responding to serious safety concerns and contacts whose primary purpose is engagement and connection to services,” Parker said.
Parker said she is aware of homeless advocates’ concerns that increased police presence at ‘The Jungle’ could cause residents to leave prematurely or not seek services.
Police presence will be phased in gradually to hopefully mitigate that concern, Parker said, and The Olympia Police Department is currently coordinating with service providers to ensure that their visits are not overlapping.
“The key will be coordination and sensitivity,” she said.
Officers will also be “deliberate” about where and how their vehicles are parked when they visit, Parker said, “so that a routine visit does not appear to be a major police response.”
Over time, Parker said, the goal is that the sight of a police vehicle near “The Jungle “ becomes “an ordinary sight rather than an alarming sight, a sign that a resource is available and not that something has necessarily gone wrong.”
The goal of the increased police presence is ultimately to support service providers’ ongoing work. If feedback from providers, residents and the surrounding community shows that the increased presence is not meeting that goal, Olympia Police will reevaluate its approach.
“Our presence is intended to complement, not replace or interfere with their work,” Parker said.
Additional information on the plans to address “The Jungle,” including frequently asked questions and ongoing updates, is available on the City of Olympia website at olympiawa.gov/jungle
