Aberdeen priest files lawsuit against city

ABERDEEN, Wash. — An Aberdeen priest is one of three people filing a lawsuit against the city.

The Rev. Sarah Monroe, the priest in charge of Chaplains on the Harbor, said she legally can’t go to the city’s 8-acre River Street homeless camp to help people in need.

“I don’t believe clergy should have to ever apply for a permit to access members of their congregation,” she said.

Monroe said Aberdeen is in crisis.

“One out of every 16 people, according to DSHS (the Department of Social and Health Services), are homeless in Aberdeen and at least half of them are on the street at any given time,” she said.

Monroe has been helping the homeless for about five years.

The problem is that Mayor Erik Larson said the area Monroe wants to access isn’t a sanctioned homeless camp. The city recently purchased the land with plans to clear the site out.

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He said the property is industrial and dangerous, which is why the city added gates and no trespassing signs and began restricting who can visit.

“We need to have a process in place because we need to be able to differentiate from the good people that are down there to help those individuals and the people who are going down there looking to hurt them,” he said.

Some people, however, said the new rules also keep out help.

“I feel it’s horrible. Everybody down on the river went into a depression because their food went to a stop, their warmth went to a stop and their support went to a stop,” said Leah Briley, who lived at the site for years.

So far, the city has approved eight visitor applications.

Monroe applied, but was denied because she didn’t have a detailed plan. She said she still visits the camp despite the rules.

“I informed them I couldn’t provide a detailed schedule because crisis doesn’t operate on a schedule,” said Monroe. “The last thing I want to do this winter is bury more people.”

Larson said he wishes the issue didn’t have to involve legal action.

“We’re disappointed. We felt like this is something that could’ve been resolved without taking this step,” he said. “If she contacted us and was willing to work through that process, we would be more than happy to do so.”

A court date hasn’t been set.

The city said it plans to continue moving forward with its plan to eventually move campers off the city-owned site.

Cox Media Group