SPOKANE, Wash. — Teachers at the Northeast Youth Center in Spokane’s Hillyard neighborhood are taking extraordinary measures to ensure children’s safety by cleaning up dangerous items at Kehoe Park before allowing kids to play there.
Staff members regularly search the park for drug paraphernalia, broken glass, and discarded clothing that could pose serious risks to children who use the playground daily.
“This is a beautiful park in Hillyard. And we love to walk our kids down here to be able to play on the play structure and maybe play soccer or dodgeball,” said Sheila Geraghty, Executive Director of the Northeast Youth Center.
What should be a simple recreational outing has become a complex safety operation. Before children arrive, teachers must thoroughly inspect the entire grounds, with special attention to high-risk areas like the wood chips under play structures, beneath trees, and near public restrooms.
“One of our adult teachers has to come down and canvass the whole entire park to make sure there aren’t needles or beer cans or anything like that,” Geraghty explained. “We have learned from previous times that we have come to this park that kids will say, ‘Hey, teacher, look what I found,’ and it’s a syringe.”
The Northeast Youth Center isn’t alone in facing these challenges. The neighboring Chesterton Academy and residents living across from the park have adopted similar precautionary measures. Some neighbors have stopped allowing their children to visit the park altogether due to safety concerns.
“We just want them to have a safe life, a safe time when they come to a park like this,” Geraghty said.
The hazardous items typically come from individuals who spend the night at the park, some of whom remain well into daylight hours. These overnight stays have sometimes led to more serious concerns.
“Unfortunately, there are some individuals who like to come here and spend the night or do some illegal activities. We did have to call the police,” Geraghty noted.
Many community members contact police or neighborhood resource officers when they encounter problems at the park. However, city officials recommend calling 311 to report any drug paraphernalia or other trash lying around. If you see people camping in the park or open drug use happening, officials say to contact 911.
“I know it gets frustrating sometimes if your call isn’t immediately responded to, but when we have those calls and we see people calling about a location consistently, that gives us the intel to then maybe change our operations,” said Erin Hut with the City of Spokane in response to 311 calls.
These safety concerns persist despite previous efforts to address them. Proposition 1, which banned camping within 1,000 feet of schools, parks, and daycare centers, was recently struck down by the Washington State Supreme Court. On Monday, the Spokane City Council voted against reinstating this initiative.
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