Fox News analyst Lawrence Jones traveled to Seattle to investigate the homeless crisis
This is an unofficial transcript meant for reference. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Church just reading it Ainsley
Ainsley, happy Holly Hole Holy W.
Everyone out there,
homelessness across the United
States, grew by two percent or nearly
one thousand people in twenty twenty
in Washington State, though, that
number is more than six hers
and in Seattle the crisis is
pushing parents past their
limits, as encampments are taking
over their parks, their
playgrounds and little league
fields.
Lawrence Jones joins us now and
he is live in Seattle
Lawrence. What did you find out
hey good Morning, Ainsley,
a truly tragic story that is
impacting the young people
I had appear opportunity to go
and see it firsthand yesterday.
Take a look
right here is where little
leaguers, with normally play at
baseball play at the park play
basketball. As you can see, there
is homeless encampments
everywhere.
Just in the past three weeks,
there has already been four
incidents with homeless
individuals and children,
and residents are reaching a
breaking point.
There was a fellow that was
taken out on a stretch earlier
this week with all the softball
kids around
parents coming in the morning
before kids, come to the park and
do a sweep of the park to make
sure there are any kneels to
pick up before kids got there.
How do we get to a place
where we think thats normal or
a part of life in Seattle?
You see all these
encampments. How does that make you feel
you feel
makes me feel sad,
its a shame. People cant enjoy
the park
when you see the needles on
the streets and drugs that you
have to cross over. Do you think
its a safety issue?
Yes,
definitely I have a little dog
and I have to be careful that
she doesnt step on something.
Do you think the city
leadership is doing enough to
rectify the problem?
No,
I would like to see more
leadership on the part of the
city,
and I do have a teenager and he
is just really distressed about
the situation.
Are you hopeful that this
will change some time soon?
I am not hopeful,
you are not.
I am not hopeful
im, not hopeful,
but I would like to be hopeful.
I mean I think the community
needs to be brought into the
more
you sea, the kneels, the cap
of the kneels. You see the tin
cans,
you see, they use it to cook food,
but they also use this to cook
drugs as well.
Methamphetamines, cocaine,
heroin. All of this is right in
front of a school right there.
They are supposed to return back
here in April,
and this is what they are going
to sees a theyre dropping their
kids off to school
when they come out here to play
for recess. This is what they
are going to see.
Another cap right here,
theyre everywhere surrounding
this field.
This is where kids are supposed
to be able to play.
This is Miller, play field,
multiuse field
used for soccer, baseball,
lacrosse, ultimate frisbee, all
ages. Right now, the field is not
being scheduled for use because
of the condition of the field
and the proximity
they cant even use this
field,
its not being scheduled
anymore.
Why not?
Because its unsafe,
this dug out here, has got a tent
in it.
Those dug outs over there have
tents in them.
I see people in need.
I see people that need help and
thats what we are trying to do,
help them but help them return.
The field for intended use
are you hearing back from the
city leadership.
I have talked to a number of
city officials.
What do they say
its a tough problem to solve
and we are doing the best we
can.
What is the commitment?
We all agree?
We havent gotten a plan. We
would like to see Miller
prioritized because of its
proximity to the school and
because of its high use.
Our kids are in danger right
now, too.
You know who is advocating for
our children
we reached out to the mayors,
office and Seattle, but we did
not hear back from them.
So this is just a tragic story:
Ainsley gosh, I dont know why
they dont go in there and get
them out of there, so the kids
can have their parks back
its ridiculous,
its kind of unacceptable
Ainsley.
These are kids that are supposed
to be returning back into April.
One lady we talked to she said
that someone stole her car and
she had to track it down herself
and now she has to put trackers
in there to make sure this
doesnt happen again.
This is impacting people all
over Seattle, not just the kids
on this baseball field,
Ainsley yep.
Transcript generated on 2021-03-30.