I learned a couple of days ago that the City of Seattle has a service that allows citizens to use an app to notify the city about potholes or other defects in city rights-of-way.  A neighbor and a delivery person had both told my wife that there was a deep hole in the parking strip adjacent to our street, possibly dug by a mole or other critter.  One of my network-connected children fired up the app and reported the problem to the city.  The city’s goal is to respond within 48 hours.

When another problem involving public rights-of-way emerged in my neighborhood this morning, I put the city’s responsive, customer-oriented attitude to the test.  My house is very near to an Olmsted-designed park that the City of Seattle has allowed to decay. Between the western edge of the park and the abutting street, the city has installed an attractive sidewalk that separates the park from the community arterial that traces a gentle curve along the top of the ridge from which the park descends to Lake Washington.

This morning, there was a shopping cart loaded with goods sitting on the sidewalk.  Next to it, lying on the pavement was a person with a blanket over his head.

I was on the opposite side of the street dealing with a dead car battery.  After ten minutes, I saw no movement from across the way.  Several walkers and joggers had passed by as had many cars.  There had been enough activity to disturb a responsive individual.  I decided to call 9-1-1.

The difference between the way the city responds to a pothole – damage to public property – and a person sleeping on the sidewalk – using public property for an improper purpose – was eye-opening.

The 9-1-1 operator gave me two choices.  If I thought the individual was putting himself or others at risk, she would connect me to the police.  I had no intention of swearing out a complaint because someone was sleeping on the sidewalk.  My other option was to talk to a medical response unit.  However, she warned me, they would send someone out only if I told them that I was witnessing a medical emergency.  I was not prepared to make a medical evaluation of a person lying immobile on the other side of a public street.

I told the 9-1-1 people that I felt I had done my part by alerting them to the issue.  I would leave any further action to them.  Their response made it clear that no further action was going to take place.  While I was talking to them, the fellow’s foot twitched, so I knew that he had cheated death, even if my car battery hadn’t.  Later, my temporary neighbor got up and walked away with his cart.

In 2005, the City of Seattle and King County made a solemn pledge to end homelessness within ten years.  In the fall of 2015, at the end of the ten years, the City declared homelessness to be a state of emergency.  Eighteen months later, the number of homeless counted in a one-night census – not necessarily reliable – had gone up by some 20%.

Clearly the City of Seattle has no idea how to improve this condition, let alone end it.  This is not to their shame.  I don’t know anyone who has a solution to the problem.  Seattle’s mayor famously said some months ago “We are literally making this up as we go along.”  One difference between those of us who know we don’t know and the city is that we are not demanding to be paid significant sums of money while standing in front of armed collection agents.  I don’t value my ignorance above its true worth.  I don’t think my good intentions entitle me to take anything from anyone else.

My experience trying to engage the city in addressing one homeless individual gets multiplied hundreds, then thousands of times.  Doubtless, many others have had the same response.  I won’t bother calling next time.  Meanwhile, the city has enacted an income tax to help it better address the problem of homelessness.  When the funds start pouring in, someone should tell 9-1-1.