Tent City has made its home on the Hill many times before including this stay at St. Mark’s

Seattle will be opening a service center for the homeless modeled on San Francisco’s navigation center, which opened in 2015. Meanwhile, the neighborhood will also host some of Seattle’s ongoing solutions to providing shelter for the area’s homeless population.

According to the announcement, Seattle’s center will be “dormitory style,” with showers, bathrooms, and laundry, dining, and storage facilities. Case management, mental health services, and behavioral management services will be available at all hours, and the center will be able to hold 75 people at one time.

The center was created through an executive order issued on June 9, 2016 by Mayor Ed Murray. In his executive order, Murray reaffirmed a commitment to fighting homelessness, citing the state of emergency Seattle declared with respect to homelessness in 2015 and the fact that as of last count, almost 3,000 people in the city are unsheltered. Murray charged the Human Services Department with evaluating San Francisco’s navigation center model and tailoring it to the needs of Seattle within the next two months.

This executive order comes on the heels of Murray’s announcement in May that he planned on clearing out The Jungle, a longtime homeless encampment under I-5. The creation of Seattle’s navigation center may be one way to help accomplish this. In San Francisco, the center was used as a way to move entire encampments indoors and then get them access to relocation and mental health services, as needed. In his executive order, Murray said that Seattle’s center would also prioritize keeping communities together as they transition to the center, “such as is the situation with many communities or groups of people who are currently living in the I-5 East Duwamish Greenbelt area.”

“Our strategy for helping people without shelter has to be broader than designating another site in the city to pitch a tent,” said Murray in the announcement.

The funding for the center will come from two places: $600,000 was obtained from the state capital budget, and Seattle has matched that with another $600,000 from the portion of the city budget earmarked for homelessness services. The city also plans to establish a fund to collect private donations for the center

According to a report on San Francisco’s navigation center done in May of 2016, the annual cost per bed at the center was $36,682, 399 people had been served by the center in the past year and of those 399, 268 had been moved into traditional housing and 128 had been moved into supportive housing.

Tent City 3 moving to 19th and Mercer for the summer
While the city works to find a location for the center, one of Seattle’s roving tent cities is preparing to return to Capitol Hill this weekend.

St. Joseph Parish at 19th and Aloha will be hosting the Tent City 3 for two months this summer. SHARE/WHEEL, a self-organized group of homeless people, previously set up its tent camp on the church’s property in 2011. The tent city has also set up at St. Mark’s Cathedral in the past.

The encampment, which is moving from a U-District church, is expected to have 100-120 residents nightly, including children, and will stay until August 28th. Permanent residents are required to undergo background checks, and drugs and alcohol are prohibited in the camp.

In addition to offering space for tents on the parking lot and school playground, the church will be providing access to water, power, portable showers, and use of the church’s kitchen and common space through August 28th.

Deacon Steve Wodzanowski said there is always some trepidation about tent cities moving into residential areas, but the congregation and neighborhood have been largely supportive of the move. St. Joesph has hosted an overnight shelter in its basement for years.

“With the mayor declaring a state of emergency (on homelessness), we felt like we wanted to do more,” Wodzanowski said.

Capitol Hill neighbors are encouraged to get involved, Wodzanowski said. The church will be hosting an ice cream social with the tent city residents on June 28th that is open to the public. A talent show, barbecue, and movie night are also in the works.

The church setup a cell phone number for neighbors to call if there are any issues with the encampment — (206) 605 2769. For more information on the tent city or if you want to get involved, you can contact Deacon Steve Wodzanowski.

One block north, women and children from Mary’s Place shelter will be spending a week at a temporary shelter setup by Prospect Congregational United Church of Christ. The 19th and Prospect church will be providing daily meals and activities. Meanwhile, the Central District’s Tiny House Village continues to host residents.

Want to help? There are lots of volunteer/donation opportunities for Tent City 3 and Mary’s Place.