Tent City3 is coming back to the neighborhood. Tent City members are being hosted by the Cherry Hill Baptist Church located at 700 22nd. A neighorhood meeting will be held this Sunday, 4/19, at 4pm at the church to learn more about Tent City3.
What do you know about Tent City? What do you think about hosting homeless individuals?
Tent City was in the parking lot of St. Joseph’s School/Church at 19th & Aloha a couple of times a few years ago. First time there were much outreach, meeting before they arrived, visits with them when they were established, second time much less outreach.
On both occasions it was a NON-EVENT, neighborhood impact wise:
no crime, no people hanging out, just a few neighbors noting people waiting for the bus in the morning, and others noting less trash than normal on the streets.
A few (old, some broken) links from the old neighborhood website about tent city:
>http://tinyurl.com/cv54h8
Note especially the rules of conduct:
http://home.jps.net/~tayles/Affordable_Housing/tent_city/cod
and the (what we would now call, but didn’t then) FAQ:
http://home.jps.net/~tayles/Affordable_Housing/tent_city/q_a
Honestly, some of my neighbors are a lot more disruptive than any of the last two tent city residents I’ve seen. This is a great idea, and provides some opportunity for people who can’t otherwise get housing in this city. Plus, it seems to me there is less hoo-ha going on in that lot when it’s occupied by tent city than it is when it’s vacant.
so, i’m definitely supportive of tent city as a member of my immediate family is a resident. these people need a place to stay, amenities, etc. additionally, they are no threat to the community in which the reside. my only qualm is that that there is little to no outreach within tent city. the family member mentioned above found themselves in homelessness about two years ago and has been staying with tent city for over a year. i ask them about solutions to their homelessness. what kind of resources have they looked for in terms of permanent housing. nothing. and it seems to be a trend among residents. settling for homelessness because it’s “comfortable”. no work or responsibility (with the exception of minor camp duties). staying homeless in tent city is easier than trying to transition back into society. many suffer from addiction or poor mental health but they are prevented from understanding the severity of their disease. but of course, regardless of what afflictions they may suffer from, they deserve a roof (or tent) to shield them from the rain at night and warm food in their stomachs. i do think it is incredibly necessary for those who can, to visit and educate on addiction/mental health issues, transitional housing, employment opportunities and other resources for the currently homeless. perhaps, if residents at tent city are shown a light at the end of the tunnel, they may be more inclined to move towards it and out of homelessness.
“On both occasions it was a NON-EVENT, neighborhood impact wise:”
Well, it is the CD folks, what kind of impact could 100 bums make besides a positive one.
That was at 19th & Aloha in deepest single family Capitol Hill!
I lived one block away when it was at 19th and Aloha and have to admit that I was entirely unaware it was even there until one day when I walked by and noticed the tents. No noise, no problems, great to have it in the neighborhood. I often pass Nickelsville in the U-District and same thing, though that site is slightly more visible.
TentCity3 has a great booster organization that helps the residents move and provides some support (food, clothing, cots, etc.
http://greaterseattlecares.org
HI, all. I live here in the hood and and am also a graduate student at Seattle University. I am currently working on homeless issues this quarter. I would love to hear from any of you both pro and con the tent city and its impact on the neighborhood (at minimum your perception.)
If you are willing to speak with me, please leave me a message here and I will find a way that we can exchange emails.
Thanks for all your help (in advance!)
I am one of the students trying to bring Tent City to the UW. We are working on creative ways to raise money to help offset any costs such as the use of water and electricity. So far there has been both support and some concerns raised, but we are confident that the UW will see this as a great opportunity for giving back to the community, and to provide a mechanism for real change around homeless issues and the lack of affordable housing. The people who are homeless are disproportionately persons of color, and there is now an increase in families and single women. The role a public university should play in a human rights issue is called to question now, and now is the time to step up and accept the challenge. The legislature just passed an act to create a Human Rights Center at the UW so I think they should look at domestic human rights as well as International ones.
http://www.realchangenews.org/index.php/site/archives-blog/2