Camp Dearborn receives another eviction

Camp Dearborn is staying at 2314 E Spring St, at Umoja Fest Peace Center.
Yesterday, they and the primary tenant received a notice of eviction. A picture of it is shown (it's posted on the FaceBook page of the External Affairs Coordinator, Troy Morgan.

About Camp Dearborn

I stopped by their camp this afternoon, and they seemed fairly well organized. The camp was peaceful. I introduced myself, and asked a few questions.

So, Camp Dearborn, having split from Nickelsville, is still following somewhat of a Nickelsville model of governance structure, but not the Nickelsville model of governance style.

So, they have an Arbitrator, a Chief of Security, and an External Affairs Coordinator, elected by the camp.

They've decided that their rules are... not set in stone at the moment; they want some flexibility. So they've decided to call their rules "guidelines." So I asked the obvious question: What happens when someone refuses to follow the guidelines?

Their response: we'd bring it to the camp, democratically, and if the person refuses to follow the guidelines, we'd eventually have to kick them out.

So I asked about their needs. They said, "Water."

I could see, neatly stashed in a box, 5 empty gallon-sized water jugs. With about 20 people in camp, the need for water would be a no-brainer.

They probably also need food. I could see a propane grill, and they mentioned their meal calendar was bare. Which we can see after looking at it.

So, in 9 days they have to leave again. The City of Seattle seems to be stuck on repeating the past. This is approximately what happened with Tent City 3 16 years ago. They moved around a lot because the City of Seattle, despite the lip service it pays to "sheltering the homeless," doesn't seem to really like the homeless doing things for themselves.

What do the homeless need most of all?

What's the Number One need of the homeless?

At a conference on March 11 in Tukwila, a number of leaders from cities around King County asked that question of three formerly homeless people.

And it's true that the homeless need Housing, and Jobs, and Shelter. Yes, they need those things. They need Showers, and they need Food.

But there are some things missing in that list.

Treat them with Dignity.

This is perhaps the single most important thing you can do. When you recognize that the homeless person you're looking at, the person you're trying to help, is a human being, and you treat them with the Dignity due every human being, something changes in your attitude, and something will change in theirs, too. Treat them with Dignity.

Include them in Community.

The homeless are citizens too. Include their opinions and respect their opinions when creating policy surrounding homelessness. They really are experts on their personal situation and why they're still stuck there. Include them in community.

Let them Participate.

Given the opportunity, most homeless people will seize it and make their own way out of homelessness. Seriously, this is the message that we see in all the data. For example, in Seattle, between a sixth and a quarter (the number depends on who you ask) of the homeless are chronic -- what man providers term "long-term stayers." But think about that. That means that three-quarters to five-sixths are getting themselves out of homelessness before they become long-term stayers! And, to be honest, the long-term stayers, given a reasonable opportunity to get off the streets... will seize it with both hands. So give them the opportunities, and let them participate in their own rehabilitation from homelessness.