Information on

Tent City 3’s stay

on Beacon Hill

The following is transcribed from Tent City 3 information passed out at the Sept 14, 2004 North Beacon Hill Council Meeting. Additional words of clarification were also added.

Our Promise to Our Neighbors

· Neighbors will see the property we are using, and the neighborhood we are in, being treated respectfully, with regular litter pickups.

· Neighbors will not see us panhandling, purchasing or drinking liquor, loitering, or being boisterous in the neighborhood.

· Drug dealing, using, and other illegal behavior that is difficult to control in vacant lots at night will be eliminated from our Tent city. We will discourage – by our presence and by calling 911 – any illegal activity we see anywhere in the neighborhood.

· When we leave, the church grounds and neighborhood will be as good as we found them.

Our greatest strength is a reputation for being responsible in our operations. The entire SHARE/WHEEL Community of 15 shelters, storage lockers, and other efforts will not tolerate losing this strength and reputation over Tent City 3. Neighbors have our word that if they contact SHARE/WHEEL directly over a pattern of problems that are our responsibility, if we then fail to correct them and are notified again, we will elave the neighborhood immediately.

Please drop by SHARE/WHEEL’s Tenty City 3 while we are at El Centro de la Raza. Ask for the Security Person on Duty. You are welcome to ask us questions there directly at any time. We will be delighted to give you a tour of the camp, or describe any details you are curious about. We would also be great appreciative of suggestions.

REGISTERING PROBLEMS OR COMPLAINTS, HOWEVER, CANNOT BE DONE AT THE SITE. IT MUST BE DONE THROUGH ONE OF THE THREE METHODS DESCRIBED {BELOW}.

REPORTING AND SOLVING A PROBLEM

WITH SHARE/WHEEL’S TENT CITY 3

METHOD #1

SHARE/WHEEL’s Preferred Method: Contacting SHARE/WHEEL directly:

1. Report the problem directly to SHARE/WHEEL. This must be done by calling or writing the SHARE/WHEEL Office and speaking or writing to Michele Marchand or Scott Morrow.

SHARE/WHEEL

206-956-0334

PO Box 2548

Seattle, WA 98111-2548

2. If the problem is the responsibility of Tent City 3 or one if its participants (as described in “Our Promise to our Neighbors” and the SHARE/WHEEL Tent City 3 Code of Conduct), we will solve it.

3. If the same problem continues, call or write to report it again.

4. If SHARE/WHEEL is informed and the problem continues unabated – and in fact it is continuing unabated -- after we have been informed of it directly and given an opportunity to fix it, we will pack up and leave the next day.

METHOD 2

Contact the Host of SHARE/WHEEL’s Tent City 3: El Centro de la Raza

1. Call or write El Centro de la Raza and report the problem to them. Their contact person is:

Mireya Mendoza

206-957-4605

2524 16^th Ave S

Seattle, WA 98144

2. If the problem is the responsibility of Tent City 3 or one if its participants (as described in “Our Promise to Our Neighbors” and the SHARE/WHEEL Tent City 3 Code of Conduct), we will solve it.

3. If our Host, El Centro de la Raza, believes we have not solved the problem and asks us to leave, we will do so the next day.

METHOD 3

Contacting Seattle’s Department of Planning and Development

1. Call or write the Seattle Department of Planning and Development. Address your concerns to:

Tom Campbell

Code Compliance Manager for the Seattle Department of Planning and Development

206-684-3787

700 5^th Ave S, Suite 2000

Seattle, WA 98104

2. If the problem is the responsibility of Tent City 3 or one of its participants, we will solve it.

3. If DPD informs SHARE/WHEEL that the problem has not been abated, the will also request a Dispute Resolution Meeting. If the issues are not resolved at that meeting, SHARE/WHEEL and DPD shall present their disagreement to a mutually agreed-upon mediator. If the issues are not resolved through that process, action may be initiated in the Superior Court.

SHARE/WHEEL

Tent City 3

Code of Conduct

{for the residents of Tent City 3}

· We, the people of SHARE/WHEEL, in order to keep a more harmonious community, ask that you observe the following code of conduct:

· Share/WHEEL’s Tent City is a drug and alcohol free zone. Those caught drinking or using drugs will be asked to leave. Sobriety is required.

· No weapons are allowed. Knives over 3-1/2 inches must be checked in

· Any violence will not be tolerated. Please attempt to resolve any conflict in a creative and peaceful manner.

· Degrading, ethnic, racist, sexist or homophobic remarks are not acceptable. No physical punishment, verbal abuse, or intimidation will be tolerated.

· We are a community. Please respect the rights and privacy of your fellow citizens.

· No men in the women’s tents. No women in the men’s tents. No open flames. No loitering or disturbing neighbors. No trespassing.

· Attendance of a t least one of the several community meetings held through the week is required; days and times will be posted so that you may work it into you schedule.

· If these rules are not respected and enforced, Tent City 3 may be permanently closed.

What is Tent City

We are a community of 100 homeless men and women, joining together as Tent City 3 to solve our shared problem of no place to stay. Everyone must be sober and non-violent at Tent City 3 and the surrounding neighborhood. It is a tent camp, not a car camp. Participants may not park cars in the surrounding neighborhood or at El Centro. Panhandling and violence are strictly prohibited.

You are welcome to review our stringent Code of Conduct. Those not respecting it are removed from the community. Garbage pickups occur twice a week and our five sanicans are pumped three times weekly.

Since starting on March 31^st, 2000 we have moved 42 times, from Rainier Beacj t Captiol Hill to Tukwila to Shoreline and many other neighborhoods. We greatly appreciate El Centro for helping us stay together and safe – this is the third time they have hosted us!

Our organization’s name is SHARE/WHEEL. We have been around for 4 years, and are now the largest and cheapest provider of shelter in King County. We are made up solely of homeless and formerly homeless men and women.

The need for a Tent City

Tent City3 residents are some of the more than 3,000 people who sleep outside throughout Seattle after EVERY indoor shelter bed is full. You can imagine how dangerous and scary it is to sleep outside alone. Many of us have been assaulted, robbed, and abused. We have friends who have died outside. It is hard to keep healthy or hold a job.

Most of us would prefer staying inside, but it takes a very long time for shelter or low-cost housing to get started. We want to still be alive when there is enough shelter and housing for us. That is why we have banded together in Tent City3.

The privacy, storage, 24-hour access, ability to allow couples and families to stick together, and self-management are other factors which make Tent City3 a sensible place to get one’s life together and work back into the mainstream.

The Needs of Tent City3

Needed most are sani-cans, dumpsters, bus tickets, and cell phones. These items are the back bone of the camp, and are necessary for our mutual survival. NO CONTRIBUTIONS TO TENT CITY3 GO TO STAFF SALARIES. The monthly cost of Tent City3 is $4,000 a month.

Other donated items we could use include TENTS, TARPS, BLANKETS, pots, Thermarest foam pads, flashlights, batteries, microwaveable canned goods, margarine, sugar, creamer, ICE, first aid and office supplies. Right now we especially need COFFEE.

Tent City3 is unable to accept anonymous donations at the Camp Site. If you prefer to remain anonymous, please donate directly to SHARE/WHEEL, PO Box 2548, Seattle, WA 98111-2548.

Anonymous items can also be dropped off at the SHARE office or elsewhere by prearrangement. The office phone number is 206-448-7889

WISH LIST FOR SHARE/WHEEL TENT CITY 3