Seattle Parks Foundation, the fiscal sponsor for Volunteer Park Trust, sent out a “call to action” last week to the community:

Volunteer Park Trust supports this message. We believe that the city needs to take emergent action on homelessness and that parks should not serve as overnight shelter space. We encourage you to read the message, and share your thoughts with our city leaders.

We suggest the following resources to learn, read and volunteer your time to help support those experiencing homelessness in our community:

• • Attend a Homelessness Advocacy 101 community workshop from the Seattle/King County Coalition on homelessness
• • Review City of Seattle resources on the Homelessness Response website
• • Report unauthorized encampments through the City’s Customer Service Bureau through the CSB General Inquiry Form, or by calling 206-684-2489. Please note that while the City is not taking action against encampments in parks, they are still collecting complaints, and this helps to demonstrate the extent of the issue.
• • Call 2-1-1 to connect with services that can help individuals with rental assistance, shelter, legal referrals, housing assistance, transportation, food, and other needs.