Snohomish County Communities Celebrate Launch of North County Office of Neighborhoods Unit, New County Nuisance Property Ordinance (03/29/2018 news release)

MARYSVILLE, Wash. – Today, leaders from across Snohomish County officially launched the North County unit of the Office of Neighborhoods and touted the recent passage of a nuisance property ordinance at a press conference in the Lakewood/Smokey Point area.  The mayors and police chiefs of Marysville and Arlington joined Snohomish County Sheriff Ty Trenary and Snohomish County Councilmember Nate Nehring at the media event.

“We have learned very clearly that the traditional methods of arrest and incarceration do not solve our homeless crisis,” said Sheriff Trenary. “We need to hold drug dealers accountable, and we need to find treatment options for addicts.  These are not just law enforcement problems.  Responding to these complex societal issues requires partnerships that make our communities safer.”

Sheriff Trenary cited the success of the Office of Neighborhoods in Snohomish County, a unit he launched in 2015.  Based on similar programs in other parts of the country, the concept is to create teams of police and social workers who go to homeless encampments and nuisance properties and provide direct outreach to those who struggle with addiction and homelessness. This is the second time the unit has expanded since they added an east county unit, in collaboration with the City of Monroe, in 2017.  This latest agreement between the cities of Marysville and Arlington with the County is the result of months of planning and collaboration.

[More…]