Yesterday I wrote about Nickelsville, Seattle’s homeless camp, and the remarkable efforts taken by the community’s residents to create a safe and sober, transitional alternative to living alone on the streets.  Well, sadly, those efforts may be short lived, as the city is now demanding that the Nickelsville residents clear out by next Monday (one month after the present location was established), or chances are they will be forcibly evicted.  Does that really sound like a reasonable dialogue for the city to have with people who are trying to make the best of unfortunate circumstances?  Community members and supporters are planning to ask the city for more time to find another site where they can relocate, but it remains to be seen whether those pleas will be heeded.

Personally, I don’t know the intricacies of Nickelsville situation, having just learned about it from InvisiblePeople.tv, and I realize that they are squatting on state-owned property, but I hope that the city will make a better effort to engage in a hospitable discussion and find a better solution than simply giving them the boot.  Clearly, the shelter system is not working for many of the people living in Nickelsville, so it would be great if they could work to build on the transitional model that has been established by the residents, and give people the opportunity to find permanent shelter.

Please use the action link below to find out how you can help the residents of Nickelsville and ask Governor Gregoire to do the right thing by opening up dialogue, not shutting down hope.