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Jewels Helping Hands, WSDOT working to put fences around I-90 homeless camp

In a weekly newsletter from Jewels Helping Hands, the non-profit said its immediate focus is cleaning around the border of the camp and rearranging RVs.

SPOKANE, Wash. — Jewels Helping Hands is working with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to install a fence around the homeless camp located near I-90 and Freya Street.

This comes after Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich said he plans to clear the encampment by Oct. 14.

WSDOT told KREM 2 on Monday the goal is to start setting up the fence later this week. Until then, Jewels Helping Hands is working with people at the I-90 homeless camp to clean up the border to make space for the fence.

In a weekly newsletter from Jewels Helping Hands, the non-profit said its immediate focus is cleaning around the border of the camp and rearranging RVs. That work is nearly done, according to Julie Garcia, the executive director of Jewels Helping Hands.

“As you go around the camp, you'll notice all three sides have moved in three feet,” Garcia said

Once the fence goes up, Garcia said a curfew from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. will go into effect. Those who miss the 8 p.m. curfew will be taken somewhere else for the night.

“We'll have people here who are able to transport people to different places,” Garcia said. “The UGM has offered to help.”

Jewels Helping Hands will also handle security within the camp perimeter.

The city of Spokane just extended its private security contract with Crowd Management Services (CMS) through the end of October. This third-party security focuses on the neighborhood immediately outside the homeless camp on WSDOT property.

In the meantime, the Jewels Helping Hands newsletter is encouraging people staying at the camp to attend upcoming classes in the cooling tent focused on getting everyone “housing ready.”

They’re also helping people replace their social security and identification cards.

Empire Health and the Department of Commerce are currently working with three service providers, including Jewels Helping Hands, to build an assessment tool. This will be used to gather data about each person living at this homeless camp and help determine what resources they need. 

At this time, the assessment tool is still being created.

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