SWEEP HAS BEGUN
Serious police presence on the ground. Sweep was announced for tomorrow at 4 PM. Outreach volunteers worked through the night to assist those campers who wanted to escape. They thought they had another day to finish getting people out.
My guess is that the sweep is early because it was noticed that social media calls had gone out inviting the rioters back.
I have been very quiet for a few days for fear of blowing up the powder keg.
We are pausing the soup brigade. Volunteers have been working to create alternate distribution.
With luck, volunteers will be able to document how many people are turned away from Base Camp & the Drop In Center. Critical information which I have not been able to find. City and County do not appear to require their partners to collect and provide that information.
The police report that their intention is to assist campers to gather their belongings, and help them find transportation and shelter. I think it will also be very important to document their follow-through on all three of these points.
I will post again later. You can check the website through the day. It often takes a couple hours for a post to reach you by email, but it’s up immediately on the site.
I have lots of other information and will post it. The Bellingham Herald has a drone on site. I am hoping they document how well the police actually follow through on their stated mission.
WEBSITE
My website is back up and my tech volunteers report that it is safe to click on. If anyone clicks and finds themselves directed anywhere but columbianeighborhood dot org, please let me know immediately. The hacking was pretty clearly a random event, not targeted. I’ve paid for better protection going forward.
Love/Fl!p 360-671-4511 text