Through the Static

by Hannah Saunders

Transgender community members who regularly provide mutual aid in Cal Anderson Park, which rests in the heart of Seattle’s historically LGBTQ+ neighborhood, came under attack by city workers during sweeps that began on Oct. 22.

“This is so targeted against the Trans community, it’s just not funny, and it’s targeted against us as a mutual aid group, because we are trying to get things done,” Elle Cree of the Mutal Aid Network for Trans and Intersex Individuals (MANTIS) told TtS.

Kareem Jenkins, who serves as a field coordinator of the Unified Care Team (UCT), allegedly told Cree that city workers would be showing up four times per day to conduct sweeps. Cree said that while they were questioning Jenkins on what happens if unhoused people refuse to relocate, and as dump trucks approached the back of the shelter house, he allegedly said they simply trash belongings, despite the City being required to store personal belongings.

“Kareem told me that he did not have to offer shelter,” Cree said. “And I was told yesterday by my contact at the City [that] they absolutely have to offer shelter. That is part of what they’re supposed to be doing.”

Cree noted how there was a line of tents along the soccer field, and police started to approach her and Jenkins, and she questioned why they were focused on only one side of the park— the Kitty Perch near the pump house, where Trans people go at night to find community, and where a memorial for Trans lives lost is.

“He said, ‘Well this is where the problem is,’” and he pointed towards the Kitty Perch as a mutual aid volunteer was cleaning. “That’s when the discussion started moving towards the idea that this was Trans-based. After that, I finished my conversation separate, and that’s when I was told that we were definitely upsetting the Mayor, she was mad at us, and that this was the Mayor’s agenda.”

Cal Anderson Park Alliance’s letter to the Mayor

Earlier this year, the Cal Anderson Park Alliance (CAPA) wrote a letter to Mayor Katie Wilson, the Seattle City Council, and Seattle Parks and Recreation seeking to make upgrades to the park, including by planting flowers and picking up litter.

It also cited, “a large presence of drug use in and around Cal Anderson, especially around the side street of Nagle. Large groups of visibly intoxicated people congregate in the area, leaving behind needles, tin foil, and other personal belongings that are often picked up by the community and business owners. The lack of deterrence systems creates a feedback loop wherein perceptions of neglect lead to increased criminal activity.”

The letter said people view the park as being an “unsafe” area to walk through, and only visit one side of the Capitol Hill Neighborhood. It also stated that encampments and substance use are exacerbated by a lack of resources and outreach efforts, as well as a lack of trust.

“The structural burdens of increased drug use in the park also disproportionately burden the neighboring small businesses. Businesses report consistent issues, including overdoses in their bathrooms and behavioral health disturbances affecting customers,” it said.

The letter was signed by Gabriel Neuman of the Greater Seattle Business Association and Capitol Hill’s Chamber of Commerce; Quentin Ertel of Havana and Studio Q; Thomas Goldstein of TGA; Jill Cronauer of Hunters Capital; and residents Don Blakeney and Andrew Haas. Former Madison Valley restaurant owners and current residents, Marceil Van Camp and Katy Knauff, also signed on.

SSC issues a response

Just several weeks ago, SSC responded in a letter directed to CAPA, Mayor Wilson, the Council, Seattle Parks and Recreation, the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA), and the GSBA, stating that it also wants improvements in Cal Anderson Park, and for unhoused people to be safe. The city is currently experiencing a Transgender refugee crisis, with many seeking safety from violence, persecution, displacement, poverty, and isolation, which SSC responds to on a weekly basis.

Every Wednesday, SSC regularly serves over 200 people with hot meals, clothing, hygiene supplies, wound care, harm-reduction supplies, tents, sleeping bags, survival equipment, and assistance navigating resources.

“We are seeing Transgender refugees at an alarming rate. Many arrive without established support systems, without reliable housing, without sufficient resources, and without people they can trust,” the letter stated. “Some struggle simply to access food, clothing, identification, medical care, transportation, housing, or a safe place to exist. Stone Soup Crew is one of the places they come to.”

The letter also stated that $2.3 million that was allocated to the Salvation Army via the KCRHA disappeared and needs to be accounted for, that it does not want increased Seattle Police presence in the park, or displacement and sweeps. SSC said the City needs to fund systems that are already in place conducting this work, rather than additional, disconnected systems.

Capitol Hill Seattle Blog recently reported on the $16.7 million shortfall, and how elected officials “said the county and the city are working on a repayment plan to cover the KCRHA shortfall financed on credit through King County’s treasury as the authority continues its restructuring.”

SSC demanded the public be made aware of issues surrounding this funding, like services that were delivered, how many people were connected to housing, and “why was an organization with an established, weekly presence at Cal Anderson not adequately funded to provide the place-based outreach the City now says is necessary?”

Wilson announces new homelessness strategy

These sweeps come as the Mayor’s Office announced a new effort to reduce homelessness, or “A Commitment to Common Sense.” She provided remarks on Oct. 20 at a conference, where she plans to reallocate existing funds to create a larger impact.

“Let me put in plain terms what we will do: We are scaling up our success from this summer’s World Cup in one downtown neighborhood, to other parts of Seattle,” Mayor Wilson said. “We are doing this within existing resources, by marrying my shelter acceleration initiative with this focused, proven strategy informed by Community Solutions.”

The community solutions framework, which prioritizes securing housing and care options, was activated in Pioneer Square prior to the FIFA World Cup that kicked off in Seattle this past June. Mayor Wilson noted how 70 out of 80 unhoused people were relocated to a shelter or other form of housing, and that only three refused services. She said that this strategy is reliant on $37 million for shelter passing in her budget, and that helping unhoused people will in turn, help activate public spaces for pedestrians and local businesses.

“The bottom line is this. Our public parks and public sidewalks belong to the public: they should be kept open and usable for their intended purposes. Scaling up this approach is how we can meet this reasonable expectation, without merely sweeping human beings around our city from one block to the next,” Mayor Wilson said. “We will go as fast as we can.”

Cal Anderson Park’s point of contact

SSC wants to continue acting like a warming station for the entire community. Cree said the Trans community is being marginalized by Mayor Wilson for pushing back against sweeps, and SPD funding and accountability; Trans and Queer community members involved in these mutual aid efforts were also brutalized in May of 2025 during a protest against a Christian-fascist group.

Cree added how people’s first point of contact when it comes to assisting those who are unsheltered living in the park, or seeking mutual aid, should be SSC, as it has the experience and trust to successfully carry out this work.

The Mayor’s Office did not respond to TtS’s questions or requests for comment.

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