For years the City of Tacoma’s homeless outreach team reported low levels of interest in services from people living on the streets, with data showing less than half of people contacted being interested in services.
This year, the outreach team is reporting record levels of interest among the unhoused people it contacts.
In October 2022, the Tacoma City Council passed an ordinance that prohibits camping and the storage of personal belongings in a 10-block radius around temporary shelters and all public property within 200 feet of Tacoma’s rivers, waterways, creeks, streams and shorelines. Under the ordinance, violators face fines of up to $250 and up to 30 days in jail…