Homeless camp residents near Redmond running out of time

A plot of land east of Redmond is home to a few hundred homeless people. It’s scheduled to be cleared out soon.

Officials blocked roads leading to the camp last week to prevent anyone else from settling on the land, leaving only one entrance open. The problem is some residents say that road is too bumpy to move their things, including their trailers.

“Barricading the homemade entrances that were made over a period of time — I can understand that,” camp resident Glenn Jordan said Thursday. “But as far as the green gates, for them to have chained and locked them, that is basically denying these people from being able to remove their stuff.”

That’s assuming they can obtain a truck to move them.

“These trailers are things that have been given to them,” Jordan said. “Somebody volunteered to pull them in, set them up for them. They have no way to take them. These are their homes, and their property is contained in them.”

Residents of the camp say officials are not making an effort to help them.

“I feel like I don’t matter, like I’m less than a human being,” camp resident Sharon Suydam said. “That’s how people treat us.”

To make things worse, there’s a feeling inside the camp that they’re running out of time to make things work.

NewsChannel 21 reached out to the land owners Thursday but did not get a response.