Seattle's homeless problem has seeped into our parks, our playgrounds and now our sacred spaces. A homeless camp is currently encroaching on a North Seattle cemetery.
"This is where my husband is," says Rita Lawson. "It's a sacred place, to me."
Rita spent nearly 70 years married to her high school sweetheart. She comes to the cemetery to visit her late husband's grave and spend as many more moments with him as possible.
"I do like to visit with him," she says. "It hasn't been that long since he's been gone."
But now Rita feels that time is being stolen.
Over the past few months, homeless camps and derelict RVs have appeared just outside the gates of the Bikur Cholim Jewish cemetery.
"I don't feel safe," says Rita. "I don't know if there are drugs or mental illness. I don't come as often as I used to."
Workers at the cemetery say the problems are many: the homeless block sidewalls and illegally park with impunity while mourners attending funerals get tickets.
The cemetery spent $50,000 cutting down trees and installing lights because prostitutes were working in the woods.
Needles and garbage litter the grounds.
To Rita, this crosses a line.
"I feel sorry for them, but on the other hand, they don't belong right by a cemetery."
Don MacPherson lives in one of those tents with his girlfriend and their dog. They came to Seattle four years ago looking for her estranged daughter. Don says he's sober and doesn't condone the crime that goes on around the cemetery.
"I apologize to these people," he says. "In no way do we want to disrespect people or their loved ones who are in here."
Don says he chose to camp in this particular spot for a reason. It's right across the street from Northwest Hospital where he can get treatment for a medical condition.
"It's really rough on these streets," he says. "We're just trying to be safe where we are right now. We're gonna move on as soon as we can."
Don says he was visited once by Seattle police around four months ago.
"They told me I can't camp here and I had to move. I told them we have nowhere to go. We haven't seen them since."
Seattle police are handcuffed by vague city policies and judicial rulings that have deemed RVs "homes" and tolerate tents in public places. That said, if a crime is being committed, police want it reported.
"We don't want people getting discouraged," said SPD's Sean Whitcomb. "If a crime is being committed, call 911. If it's something like people camping near a cemetery they should contact the city through our Find It-Fix It app to get people connected services. It's a difficult situation, but we want to make it work."
