Locals clean up Licton Springs neighborhood

SEATTLE – Seattle’s Licton Springs neighborhood is a little cleaner because of a group of volunteers.

Residents and businesses in the area have complained about dirty needles and trash left behind by substance abusers living in the neighborhood’s homeless encampment.

On Saturday, a few dozen people, some who were once homeless themselves, came out to clean things up.

Volunteers with The Hand Up Project and Seattle Unified Seattle Coalition say the city hasn’t made enough progress in addressing homelessness.

“50 to 60 percent of the people who are homeless are also drug-addicted or alcoholic. So, to just stick them somewhere and put a fence around them is just not doing anything. It's just not,” said Bud Kopp, president of The Hand Up Project.

Volunteers collected a large haul of debris after just a few hours of work.  Some of them even stayed around to offer help to those living in the tiny homeless camp.

The people living there will soon need a new place to stay because the camp is scheduled to close in March.