On January 31, 2024, the City wound down the Safe Sleeping Program located at the Roberts Lake Park and Ride. The Park and Ride lot was fenced off and closed to the public.
BACKROUND
In October 2022, the City adopted a plan for the unmanaged homeless encampment at the Roberts Lake Park & Ride. The encampment became a “safe sleeping program” with rules for behavior. The City teamed up with HomeFirst and Defense Block Security to provide supportive services and security at the site. Our goals were to:
- Stop the growth of the encampment. We stopped allowing new people to move into the encampment on October 11, 2022. On that day there were 130 people living in the encampment; as of January 31, 2024, no one is living there.
- Increase safety. Defense Block Security provided 24/7 security at the site. There was an 80% decline in the number of calls for Public Safety in the Roberts Lake area from September 2022 to May 2023 – not only in the Park and Ride, but throughout the Roberts Lake Road and Rogers Plaza area.
- Manage the encampment to closure. The City partnered with HomeFirst to connect people at the site with housing options. HomeFirst staff worked daily to connect people living at the site with permanent and temporary housing opportunities, including interim housing at Labath Landing. Of the 72 people served there between October 2022 through January 2024, 53% moved into permanent or interim housing.
For more information on the Safe Sleeping Program at the Roberts Lake Park and Ride, click HERE to view the update staff shared with City Council in July 25, 2023, starting at 00:36:04. Click HERE to read the accompanying staff report.