The homeless encampment that greeted many commuters and tourists as they drove into downtown Seattle is disappearing.
The long-time tent city and tiny house community where I-90 meets I-5 was cleared of all residents on Friday.
Key developments:
- Property owners wrote mayor for help in February
- Some call the camp “Camp Dearborn” or “Nickelsville”
- On Feb. 13, the church gave campers a notice to vacate the site by Feb. 20
According to Seattle's Human Services Department and Low Income Housing Institute, "Camp Dearborn" campers were notified on Feb. 13th that the tent city would soon close.
LIHI executive director Sharon Lee said the campers were given until Feb. 20 to either find alternative housing or accept LIHI’s housing options.
Still, Friday’s evictions were met with strong protest by many of the approximately 16 campers who remained and their advocates.
"You're a liar! All of you!" Cecilia Carey angrily yelled at Lee and Peggy Hotes, of Nickelsville. "You profit off of peoples' hardship," she screamed.
Stephan McKnight said, "They were supposed to give us a few days, but they just came in and ran us out of there."
Nickelsville, the long-time operator of the camp, withdrew its oversight weeks ago. Lee blamed the split on a personnel issue.
She told KIRO 7 a recently-fired employee turned some of the campers against LIHI and Nickelsville, so those campers voted to run the site themselves and renamed it “Camp Dearborn.”
The operator and property owners of 1010 S. Dearborn Street wrote to Mayor Ed Murray and Seattle council members in February, asking for help in vacating the property.
The letter explains that Coho Real Estate, the owner of the property, entered into an agreement with the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd to allow the church to sponsor a temporary encampment with Nickelsville "so that homeless men, women and children would have a safe place to live."
Critics of the new self-governing camp claimed residents didn't follow the strict no alcohol, drugs, violence or weapons rules.
“The whole reason they want to break off is so they don’t have to follow rules and have their own little party town,” former resident Matthew Hannahs said.
During cleanup on Friday, Lee said multiple drug needles were found.
The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, which owns the property, was upset with how the camp was operating and recently asked the city to evict the remaining campers.
“Over the last few weeks, everyone’s been offered alternative housing or shelter, or other places to go,” Lee told KIRO 7.
She said, of the 16 people still living at Camp Dearborn during the eviction Friday morning, eight accepted LIHI's offer of alternate housing.
The other eight told KIRO 7 they don't know where they'll sleep tonight.
“Maybe go to the Jungle, or go to the cave and check that out,” Ronald Hawthorne said.
Gabriella Duncan, of ChangeHomelessness.com, objected to the way the residents were forced to leave, she said, without their tents or belongings.
“I just wish people would be more loving and concerned for the people that are going to be sleeping on the streets somewhere tonight.”
Peggy Hotes, of Nickelsville, expected the clean-up to take at least a week.
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Cox Media Group
