Homeless Are Caught In The Middle

The neighbors have had it. The businesses around the old Greyhound Depot on Yakima Avenue have reported to KIT, the City Council and the Yakima Herald-Republic that things are out of control with the homeless people who gather there.

The building belongs to Yakima Neighborhood Health, whose CEO, Anita Monoian, has thrown up her hands, saying they have nowhere to put homeless people. And yet it’s Neighborhood Health’s transportation services that draw them there. It is literally and figuratively a very “messy situation,” with reports of human waste left in the area.

The agency is in a lawsuit with the city over an attempt to convert the former Roy’s Market location into a shelter. So the two sides aren’t talking, and in the meantime businesses and the city's image suffers. If that's the level of stewardship YNH shows now, what can neighbors of the Roy's Market site expect if Neighborhood Health wins its lawsuit?

What can law enforcement do to protect the city while preserving the rights of the homeless? Join us for the conversation Thursday on the Morning News.