Offering frequent news and analysis from the majestic Evergreen State and beyond, The Cascadia Advocate is the Northwest Progressive Institute's unconventional perspective on world, national, and local politics.

Sunday, January 07, 2007

Fight homelessness, not the homeless

Ask almost any person in America if ending homelessness is a worthy goal worth pursuing, and you're likely to hear a yes.

But the way some people act, you'd hardly get that impression.

It's been said that we are better defined by our actions than our words, and that's certainly true in the case of the misplaced and regretful opposition to SHARE/WHEEL's Tent City 4, a roaming encampment of homeless citizens that is hoping to make St. Jude Catholic Church in Redmond its temporary home shortly.

Almost everywhere Tent City has gone on the Eastside, it has faced an uphill battle against fearful and apprehensive people. There's been obstructionism, protesters, and red tape - miles of it, coming from municipal officials determined to do everything in their power to get rid of or harass Tent City.

I've seen this kind of behavior before, but seeing it now from people who live in my neighborhood is disheartening. How can people act like this? Were the situation reversed, I can't imagine any of them would appreciate being treated this way. It's appalling, it's disgusting, it's unacceptable, it's outrageous.

Perhaps it's evident in my writing that I feel very strongly about this subject. I am a progressive and a Christian, and consequently I possess deeply held values and convictions. The actions of nearby residents who I am almost afraid to call neighbors are embarrassing to me. How can there be such hostility?

Let me describe specifically what I'm talking about. From an article in last month's Kirkland Courier:
Bothell recently slapped Tent City 4 with a $4,000 bill (which has since grown to $5,000) for the time devoted to processing the application for the permit to stay at the First Evangelical Lutheran Church in August. Tent City 4 reportedly was hamstrung by the many conditions attached to the permit and never moved there, as it had hoped. Instead, it moved to the Woodinville Unitarian Universalist Church in unincorporated King County. The First Evangelical Lutheran Church paid the bill - as it would have crippled the non-profit SHARE/WHEEL - reportedly under protest.

There have been similar legal twists and turns associated with the city of Woodinville. In fact, a series of civil infractions filed by the city against SHARE/WHEEL employee Scott Morrow were recently dismissed by a King County judge.
As SHARE/WHEEL notes, "Tent Cities are legal. The King County Court of Appeals said on September 27, 2001, that 'tents are obviously habitations' and that the use of tents is not in itself sufficient reason for declaring a zoning violation or refusing to grant a land use permit."

That hasn't stopped some folks from doing everything their power to work against Tent City 4 instead of asking, "How can we help?"

Tent Cities aren't just legal, they're clean, safe, well-run operations with a strong sense of community. There is zero tolerance for drugs, alcohol, weapons, violence or abusive behavior, physical or verbal.

About a third of the residents of Tent Village are couples or families. Generally at least half of the residents are working full-time, and many of the rest are working part time or in an educational program. According to the article referenced above (published last month), between 70 and 80 percent of the residents of Tent City 4 are employed, which is a very high figure.

Tent City 4 has already proven itself to have a good reputation. Police departments around the Eastside report the absence of a spike of suspicious or criminal activity in areas where the encampment has stayed.

St. Jude Catholic Church in Redmond (which is where I worship) has generously opened its doors to host Tent City 4. The church and SHARE/WHEEL have worked jointly to navigate the permitting and land use process. Unfortunately, some residents have filed appeals attempting to impose some of the most ridiculous conditions on both the host and the organizers...like demands for a fence, constant monitoring, duplicative identification, and warrant checks of Tent City 4 residents.

As both St. Jude and SHARE/WHEEL note in their own appeal, such permit conditions are unreasonable. Just because someone is homeless doesn't mean that they're a criminal. People deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.

Who would want a government-mandated fence around their home, a guard assigned to watch you, and an investigation of your background when you move in on the presumption of guilt instead of innocence? Probably none of the folks who claim these things are needed.

Tent City 4 is a self-policing entity with a code of conduct and already has a system in place for background checks of its residents. The objections that have been raised amount to nothing more than obstructionism.

Tent City is not a legitimization of substandard housing, as the organizers observe:
Are we legitimizing sleeping in doorways and dying under bridges? That's the alternative to tent camps.

SHARE/WHEEL is one of the largest single adult shelter facilitators in Seattle. We are constantly involved in creating new shelters. We have been instrumental in creating transitional shelter and affordable housing. We are working all across the spectrum of need — from immediate survival to permanent stability.

No one individual stays in the camp forever; people move on to better options. And other people in need move in, to stay safe and warm until they, too, can find better options. The average length of stay at Tent City is about six weeks.
Despite the unfortunate and misplaced hostility, Tent City 4 appears to be receiving a lot more support than it has in other communities.

Redmond city officials have thankfully not been as difficult to work with as those in other municipalities. Redmond's senior planner told the Seattle Times that comments at last month's hearing were about evenly split between supportive residents and those in opposition.

There is still a lot of work to do to change public perceptions about Tent City. Fortunately, SHARE/WHEEL has a web site which helps debunk some of the myths about Tent City - and we encourage you to check it out.

If you're interested in finding out how you can help Tent City 4, you can call St. Jude at 425-883-7685 or visit the Tent City 4 organizational website. St. Jude's page about Tent City is here.

America is supposed to be the land of equality and opportunity. Regardless of our political beliefs, all of us should be making a commitment to fighting (and ending) homelessness - not fighting the homeless.

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