A current listing of mine is located near a church with a large, level field sitting right across the street from it. I just got word on Thursday that there is a high likelihood that a tent city will be moving into the church’s field starting in early March. The expectation of time that the encampment will be there is roughly 3 months. We are not thrilled, not because of what tent city is, but because it will unfortunately most likely impact our ability to sell this house for our client during the period of time they are set up there. In a weird twist of irony, our client is a supporter of Habitat for Humanity, so providing low cost housing opportunities for people is in their area of personal interests.
I am personally a supporter of the folks living in these types of shelter because many of them are people who would otherwise be split up if they tried to go to more traditional shelters. When I was living in Phinney Ridge I spent time talking to the people who lived in the tent city that was temporarily located at a church on the corner of 75th and Greenwood. I’d stopped by while walking my dog and asked if there were items that they needed and was told that clothing, such as heavy duty jeans (of all sizes), were useful in helping provide sturdy clothing to their population.
So, when I returned with many pairs of jeans purchased at the local Value Village, I started asking other questions. The folks living here are more than happy to have the opportunity to talk about who they are and what they are doing so that there is more understanding and less fear when they move into a neighborhood.
I learned that traditional shelters usually break up families into male and female designated shelters so couples cannot stay together. For some, this is why they choose to use the tent city as their shelter of choice and I can certainly understand why. Shelters most often don’t allow pets either so some people had their dogs with them. Members of the group also told me that there are rules of the camp and those that do not follow them are subject to being ousted, depending on the offense. No alcohol is allowed in the camps and there are also individuals chosen to provide security detail and also mediation teams to handle any squabbles that may come up among members of the group. It’s generally a peaceful enough existence.
Some folks hold down jobs while living in tent city. The ability to be at a location where shower facilities are available can make a huge difference. Many churches use the period of time that they host the group to provide other services and/or assistance, whether it be food, clothing drives, or otherwise. We’ll see what happens over the course of the next few weeks, but my guess is that buyers will be turned off even though this is only a temporary encampment and that’s too bad.
