Tent City History
Tent City IIn the late summer of 1990, a group of homeless people met at the Goodwill Games. They talked about the dangers of life on the street, and realized there was safety in numbers. That fall, Seattle Housing and Resources Effort (SHARE) erected a tent city near the Kingdome, and within two weeks it grew from sixteen occupants to over 160.
The city tried to disband the tent
city, saying there was only room for 30 occupants. However, the residents stuck together and
gained support from the community.
At this time, the Aloha Inn was a run-down hotel known for its drug and prostitution problems. The city closed down the inn and gave it to SHARE to be used as additional housing. The rules at the Aloha Inn are created and enforced by the homeless, as are those at all SHARE-run tent cities.
More information on the Aloha Inn.
Tent City II
In 1998, SHARE constructed a second
tent city in the
Tent City III
Tent City III, the only
encampment other than TC4 that is currently operating, was started in 2000, facing as much
adversity as the former two.
However, TC3 found an ally in El Centro De La Raza on
More information on Tent City III.
Tent City IV
Tent City IV, which began on
After talking to the county council
for quite some time about the lack of shelter space in
Just as people were beginning to
lose hope that the encampment would ever be allowed, SHARE decided to have a
table at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. march and rally in
At a homeless conference in
The County Council said they could not set up in this location, however, because the inexperienced representative from that area could not deal with it. This proved to be a blessing, because it led Carolyn Evans to suggest that they move in to the Brickyard Park-and-Ride, a location ideal for its transportation opportunities.
But the Brickyard location was also very near to a school. People living nearby were far from supportive, and proponents were yelled at and insulted. Neighbors banded together and sued SHARE for the land (which they said could not be used for anything besides transportation).
In an emergency meeting, Ron Sims, SHARE, Women’s Housing Equality and Enhancement League (WHEEL), representatives of St. Brenden’s Catholic Church, and their lawyers discussed their options. They could either stick it out and win (since the lawsuit was slapped together) or back off and keep from risking a loss. In the end, they decided that they could not afford to lose. Their mission wasn’t about pride--it was about helping people off the streets. At this meeting, however, Father Mender of St. Brenden’s offered to let the encampment stay on their church grounds.
The plan was simply to stay at St. Brenden’s for 90 days to prove themselves, and then move to the Brickyard Park-and-Ride. But SHARE could only give three days advance notice, and the citizens were angry. They wanted a public comment period so that their voices could be heard. These complaints led to the creation of a Citizen Advisory Committee on Homeless Encampments.
At the first meeting of this committee, three questions were asked: Is there a need for homeless encampments? Should they be on public or private land? And how should they be run? The first question was answered with a unanimous “yes,” and the second was split, with a majority answering “both.” For the third question, a majority of the people answered that this encampment should use the same rules as TC3.
On the third day of TC4’s stay in
Bothell, the Pastor Michael of the
Tent City IV never moved to the Brickyard location. They have stayed in Bothell, Rose Hill, and Kirkland. At the moment, the encampment is located at Lake Washington United Methodist Church.
More information on Eastside CARES, SHARE/WHEEL, and TC4.
