Spokane Spends $150K On Rocks To Deter Homeless Camping

SPOKANE, WA - The city of Spokane is taking a prehistoric approach to to homelessness. The city has purchased $150,000 in centuries-old basalt rocks, which will be strewn under I-90 overpasses to deter homeless people from setting up camp, according to the Spokesman Review.

It's not punishment, city officials told the newspaper. The rocks are being placed under I-90 overpasses as a form of encouragement, so homeless people head instead to homeless shelters. The Spokesman Review spoke to the City Council president, who noted that the homeless under I-90 are of concern to local business owners.

The rocks were dropped for a cost of $150,000, and city leaders say it’s just one of many steps Spokane is taking to get people off the streets and into the shelter system, which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, due in part to city funding.

City Council President Ben Stuckart said he supports the boulder placement as part of a larger project to get homeless people to take advantage of homeless services. He added that the homeless people below I-90 have raised concerns among nearby business owners.

As the Spokesman Review reported, cities around the world have used environmental enhancements to rid public spaces of un-sheltered people. In July, for example, Tacoma made outdoor camping illegal in the city. If you violate Tacoma's ordinance, you could get a $1,000 fine or get sent to jail - although Tacoma police have been instructed to guide public campers to shelters.

Basalt boulders are certainly uncomfortable, but other cities have taken even more uncomfortable approaches. In London, spikes were installed in some doorways to prevent people from sleeping there. According to the National Coalition For the Homeless, some 30 cities across the U.S. have made it illegal to distribute food in public places.

Back in Spokane, at least one homeless person praised city's $150,000 boulders.

"It looks nicer than a bunch of dirt and scraggily trees," Jeremy Hinricks, 46, told the paper. “But it won’t stop us. We’ll just find somewhere else to camp.”

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