The Jackson Street Nickelsville homeless encampment will be receiving sleeping structures and tent platforms tomorrow, courtesy of a partnership between the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) and The Home Depot Foundation.
LIHI and Home Depot have assembled a group of 80 volunteers, 65 of which are Home Depot Associates, to build a total of six tent platforms and three sleeping structures at the homeless encampment at 2020 S. Jackson Street. Volunteers are also slated to paint the encampment’s existing sleeping structures, install a new storage unit for food and donations, and build a play area for children.
The project honors Veteran’s Day and the estimated 10 veterans living at the Jackson Street encampment. Recent data from the National Coalition of Homeless Veterans counts 76,229 homeless veterans. LIHI says it has made housing veterans a priority, providing homes to 400 single veterans and veterans with families and serving an estimated 1,750 veterans each year at hygiene centers called Urban Rest Stops.
“We thank The Home Depot Foundation for providing a grant of $14,000 for LIHI to purchase building materials for the tent platforms, sleeping structures, and children’s play area as well as paint, concrete blocks and a storage shed so that homeless families including veterans can have a safe place to live at Nickelsville”, said Sharon Lee, LIHI’s Executive Director, in a press release. “With the help of Home Depot volunteers, we can help end homelessness for veterans.”
I have heard very little complaint regarding our new neighbors. I had hoped we could discern various positive or negative impacts for discussion. But it seems they simply blended in. Not hard to do in the CD.
what you are seeing here is the potemkin village.. the next stage will be the scott marrow ,sharon lee plan to build a permanent shelter here ..for the children of course..and i am even ok with that… just be sure that families with children from the central district have priority..what is being done here is called creating a need then filling it..make sure it gets filled with some people from the c.d. that could use the help at least
I can’t say that I find the news of people living in substandard housing heartening.
That’s why it’s called Hooverville (aka McSchwinnville, aka Sawantville).
It is our choices that lead to this kind of housing situation. Seattle does it out of romanticism with poverty, as do many of the residents.
In the real Hoovervilles people were found in these circumstances as a result of a giant unpridictable (to the average Jane) shift in world economics. 25% percent of the population was de-employed. Socialism gripped the country in a battle with runaway greed. The country was forever changed.
Today – all this is predictable yet unpreventable. Some unfortunate families will hit the skids. If it were these folks – we can help them.
Many of today’s homeless are extremely difficult or impossible to help. Some are crazy. Others are addicts, perverts, or criminals that just can’t fit in anywhere. Some are simply addicted to the concept of poverty – they have impoverished minds or romantic notions of poverty, like anarchists, or people who think their self imposed plight will lead us all to consider becoming commies.
Very few of the folks at the camps can be helped out of poverty.
For all of them, at this time, we are accepting their movement out of the I-5 jungle nightmare and into the light of Jackson Street. It is a bit safer and more comfortable. It is a chance to have some stability and a chance to climb.
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