I got home today to find a flyer in my door announcing the return of Tent City 3 to the neighborhood, starting December 29th and staying to the first of March. Once again they’ll be setting up at the corner of 22nd & Cherry in the vacant lot behind the AM/PM.
This is the 4th time they’ve set up in the neighborhood, and although I was very skeptical at first, it’s turned out to be an OK situation. Sure the camp is a bit unsightly, but honestly it’s not that much of a step down from the vacant lot or the AM/PM itself. The organization is pretty well managed, and they actually help out quite a bit with their roving patrols, including doing more than their share of trash pickup within a 2 or 3 block radius around the camp.
Tent City is invited to the area by the Cherry Hill Baptist Church, which is right across the street and owns the lot where the camp sets up.
There’s a public meeting planned for this Friday 12/21 at 7:00PM at the church, in case you’d like to welcome them, give your 2 cents, or ask a few questions. You can also call the organizers at 206-448-7889, the church at 206-328-0894, or the City of Seattle’s representative Clay Thompson at 206-684-7794.
Good to see the community supporting good folks. I wouldn’t consider a campsite a “step down” from a vacant lot. A “step up” would be a much much better way of looking at it.
I’m relatively new to Seattle, but it seems to me that we don’t do much for our homeless population. Correct me if I’m wrong. Maybe we could do much better than just giving them a vacant lot to pitch tents.
And CAMP is leaving too??