Tent City 4 - An "Emergency" Solution for the Last 5 Years
Tent City 4 has never been considered a permanent solution to a shortage of homeless shelters in the Eastside suburbs of Seattle. Here it remains, however, five years later and still moving around to Eastside churches every 90 days. Next stop: Woodinville Unitarian Universalist Church.

WOODINVILLE, WA, January 30, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Tent City 4 returns to Woodinville Unitarian Universalist Church (www.wuuc.org) on February 1st. It will be the homeless encampment's third stay at the church since Tent City 4 began in 2004. Eastside churches and communities now have processes in place for hosting the roving encampment, though many seek a more permanent solution. As the economy struggles, both the problems and the solutions could become more difficult.

What is Tent City 4?

Tent City 4 is a temporary encampment that actually does use tents to house up to 100 homeless on the Eastside. The encampment was established in the spring of 2004, following in the footsteps of Tent City 3, a roving shelter in Seattle. Local governments (cities) issue conditional use permits allowing Tent City 4 to stay for about ninety days on each host property. Tent City 4 is sponsored and managed by SHARE/WHEEL, which stands for Seattle Housing and Resource Efforts (SHARE) and Women's Housing, Equality and Enhancement League (WHEEL). The camp has a strict code of conduct and Seattle-King County Public Health provides support services to camp managers.

James Kimbrough, WUUC member and Tent City 4 coordinator said a large majority of Tent City 4 residents work, and need bus transportation, which is difficult out at the Woodinville church. Kimbrough adds, "most people are there 90 days or less. There are only a very few who stay longer." Bruce Thomas, Tent City 4's resident advisor confirmed, reporting the average stay is six weeks.

Why is Tent City 4 at WUUC?

Churches have hosted Tent City 4 since its inception in May of 2004. At that time, King County originally provided for Tent City 4 to reside on what it thought was county-owned property. This land turned out to be owned by Metro Transit, which made it subject to a law prohibiting encampment. St. Brendan's Catholic Church in Bothell agreed to be the very first host of Tent City 4 instead. This initial stay in Bothell, and its subsequent move to Northshore United Church of Christ in Woodinville, launched a series of local government meetings, hearings and public testimony about what kinds of permits and regulations should govern how, when and where Tent City 4 could reside.

The initial hubbub has died down, and now, most Eastside cities allow the encampment to stay for a maximum of ninety days at one location. Many permits also require at least one year to pass before Tent City 4 can return to that location. At the start of this year, Tent City 4 discovered its next host site, a church in Kirkland, which was to begin hosting on February 1st, was not available under the permit requirements. According to Thomas, the camp was nine days short of a year since their last stay. After searching for available hosts, the camp determined the only option was WUUC, whose congregation voted unanimously to be a third-time host.

Kimbrough, a housing advocate since the 1960s, reports that "each visit has been a positive experience for our congregation and our children." He said the initial concerns are now pretty much a non-issue. If residents do not follow the code of conduct, they are kicked out. Thomas reported that 50 homeless people died in King County last year; often in isolation outdoors or from violence. He stressed that the tent city keeps homeless people safe.

What is being done for homelessness?

King County statistics show that, on average, 8,000 residents are homeless each night, with only about 6,000 beds available in shelters. In 2005, the Committee to End Homelessness in King County (CEHKC, www.cehkc.org) initiated its Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness.

Some examples of CEHKC programs include the SHIFTS Project (Supportive Housing Intervention for Transition to Stability) and adding 1,449 additional housing units to date. There is also a new homelessness tracking and resource database called the Safe Harbors Information Management System. Thomas reported that this system and its administration costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to set up and administer, but he said the answer to homelessness doesn't need a database—it can be summed up in two words: "affordable housing."

To understand just what affordable" means, consider the average monthly cost to pay rent and utilities for a two-bedroom unit in King County: $985 - $1,133. This monthly outlay requires wages of at least $17-21 per hour. There are many working poor who earn less than this amount, sometimes less than half. Another example to consider is the monthly income of someone receiving Supplemental Security Income, often $603 per month. Someone receiving this amount can only afford rent of less than $200 per month, but the average rate of a one-bedroom unit in King County is $812. Section 8 Housing in King County, as reported by CEHKC, received over 11,000 applications on its waiting list during a two-week period in 2007. (Averages, SSI income and other statistics are from the CEHKC Causes of Homelessness page, www.cehkc.org/scope/causes.aspx)

The CEHKC Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness states that while it neither promotes nor disapproves of tent cities, it does recognize tent cities as an emergency response to homelessness.

Both Kimbrough and Thomas stress that being in a camp that is uprooted every ninety days is difficult for anyone trying to get back on their feet, and the WUUC location presents its own challenges. The church is about four miles east of downtown Woodinville on the Woodinville-Duvall Road, a narrow, two-lane road traversing mostly residential areas. There is limited bus service and few resources within walking distances. "We love it out there," commented Thomas, "but it's not very convenient." For the limited buses that are available, Tent City 4 asked SHARE/WHEEL for bus tickets for tent city residents, but Thomas said their request was cut from this year's budget.

Tent City 4 has been on the Eastside for five years despite being considered an emergency solution to an affordable housing shortage. Many different churches continue to host the encampment by juggling dates and timing required by conditional use permits. Kimbrough stresses that churches should not be doing this; our government(s) should be doing more. As Tent City 4 prepares for its move to the wooded parking lot up a steep driveway and behind WUUC, Thomas said the group "had no other options. Once again, WUUC is our knight in shining armor. This is the third time WUUC has allowed our people to be safe."

Press Release Contact Information:

Jocelyn Campbell
Woodinville UU Church
Communications Coordinator
PO Box 111
Woodinville, WA
United States 98072
Voice: 425-788-6044
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