“Nickerson street is one of the last camps of the initial[ly] identified camps to be completely cleared and that should be finished by the end in two weeks' time by the end of November,” said Keylee Marineau, Homeless and Affordable Housing Coordinator.
Marineau updated Thurston County’s Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) about the Rights of Way (RoW) Initiative yesterday, emphasizing that only one encampment remains to be cleared.
Thurston County has homeless encampments on the Washington State Department of Transportation’s (WSDOT) state right-of-way, and the state has started the RoW initiative to move people on RoW sites into better places while clearing these encampments.
“At this point, these camps have been completely cleared -- Wheeler, the City Center, Sleater-Kinney, Pacific, and Lilly Road – all of those camps are clear,” said Marineau.
Olympia residents left at Nickerson will be moving to Franz Anderson Tiny Homes and the New Hope Tiny Home Cottage Village, located underneath First Christian Church.
During the BoCC’s meeting last Month, October 31, it was known that less than 20 individuals were inhabiting these encampments.
The county’s annual point-in-time homeless census will be on January 25 of next year, after a donation drive for homeless locals.
There is a red tub at the county’s Public Health and Social Services atrium meant for donations, and interested individuals are encouraged to drop off gently used coats, hats, gloves, socks, and other warm clothing to be distributed during the point-in-time count.
There is also a Winter Clothing Drive for Thurston County Point in Time Count, located at Olympia’s old Fire Hall, which will last until January 19 next year. The Olympia Municipal Court also initiated The Joy of Giving Drive ending this month, and the Olympia Fire Department has Toys for Tots ending on December 16.
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