XPost: talk.politics.guns, tacoma.politics, sac.politics   
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   From: we.heal@crimes.rus   
      
   The Hosmer Business Association paid a private security company to clear   
   people off private properties on Thursday and to patrol the area the   
   following 30 days.   
      
   TACOMA, Wash. — With recent violence, business owners are fed up with   
   public safety issues along Tacoma's Hosmer Street.   
      
   At the beginning of the month, a 26-year-old man named Oliver Vaovasa   
   was shot and killed after his family said he was going to buy something   
   at a market on Hosmer Street. His family said he was quiet and enjoyed   
   playing basketball with his friends.   
      
   The Hosmer Business Association said it is now taking matters into its   
   own hands, because it doesn’t feel like the city is doing enough to help   
   with the issues of homelessness, drug use, and crime in the neighborhood.   
      
   The Hosmer Business Association is paying the private security company   
   Blue Falcon Tactical Services $17,000 to clear people off private   
   properties on Thursday and to continue to patrol private properties   
   along 12 blocks of Hosmer Street for the following 30 days.   
      
   "We're left here to fend for ourselves,” said Jeremiah Saucier, who is   
   the president of the Hosmer Business Association and is also the owner   
   of Crossroads Treatment.   
      
   Saucier used to battle addiction himself and works to help people facing   
   addiction at Crossroads Treatment, which is an outpatient treatment center.   
      
   Saucier said when they moved their business to Hosmer three years ago,   
   they were burglarized and were calling police up to eight times a day   
   for different issues. He said once they got private security, that all   
   changed, which is why he is hoping this public safety push can help   
   other business owners on Hosmer be able to operate their businesses safely.   
      
   "There's some good people running these businesses that are getting hurt   
   badly and I feel like they're being ignored,” said Saucier. “I'm not   
   going to let my business die; I'm going to fight.”   
      
   Other Hosmer business owners, like Young Martindale, who runs Helen’s   
   Barbershop said her business is being impacted because people don’t feel   
   safe.   
      
   "My customers fear for their life, so they hesitate to come back,” said   
   Martindale.   
      
   She said she has reached out to city leaders for help and says calling   
   911 doesn't always help.   
      
   “Around the corner of my business, left and right, they are shooting,”   
   said Martindale. “I call police, and they say they will be here.   
   Sometimes they come right away, sometimes they never show up.”   
      
   Martindale said she feels sorry for the people on the streets, and says   
   if she is not able to pay rent for her business, she could end up in   
   their situation too.   
      
   Blue Falcon Tactical Services, which was hired to get people off private   
   property, is also located on Hosmer. The owner said this is not only   
   about helping businesses, but also families who live in the area.   
      
   “That’s the main goal, allowing this place to thrive again, allowing   
   kids to be able to get up and actually be able to go out and walk to the   
   bus stop without having to walk through a cloud of fentanyl smoke or   
   worry if they are going to be shot,” said Tema Woods, the owner of Blue   
   Falcon Tactical Services.   
      
   The business association said they were connecting people with services   
   and had been over the past few weeks. They said they met with several   
   community organizations to get services lined up.   
      
   KING 5 talked to two unhoused people on Hosmer about the effort to move   
   people. They said they don’t feel like the city offers the right kinds   
   of services and said when they get pushed out of one area, it just   
   forces them to have to find a different place.   
      
   The City of Tacoma sent the following statement:   
      
   “The City is aware of the encampment clean-up on private property   
   initiated by the business association and understands the concerns that   
   prompted this action. Homelessness is a complex issue, and the City   
   remains committed to a "services first" approach. This approach is   
   founded on compassion and prioritizes connecting individuals   
   experiencing homelessness with the resources they need to find stable   
   housing and support. Our HEAL team has been actively engaged with   
   individuals who reside in encampments along this corridor, offering   
   assistance with shelter options, essential services, and connections to   
   relevant programs.”   
      
   https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/tacoma-businesses-hire-   
   ecurity-company-public-safety-issues/281-d1e21ddb-0e24-4a18-bfbf   
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