Our Neighbors
On the path leading to their tent home there was
no trash or pile of clothes in sight. When the tent structure came into view it was clear someone had
put a lot of thought into how to construct a home
with little to no money that could withstand a northwest winter.
An area had been leveled out so that a larger tent structure made from canvas could stand on level ground. The whole thing is covered with tarps.
Inside, poles support the roof so it doesn’t sag
with the weight of the tarps on top of it.
The large tent serves as a living area with room for furniture retrieved from dumpsters, carpet, clothing, and storage. A smaller tent with shelves and a bed made from many blankets comprises the bedroom.
Brandy and Kimberly have been homeless for many years. After owning several homes and a business and losing everything in a couple of divorces, Brandy says ‘I just gave up. I figured if I didn’t own anything, there wouldn’t be much for anyone to take.’
Now, many years later he says, ‘I don’t have any hope of ever owning anything again. And it’s really difficult to go back to living inside after you’ve been living outside for a really long time; at one time it would’ve worked but now it’s too late to make that adjustment, I get claustrophobia real bad when I try.’
Kimberly, who also has claustrophobia, has tried to get subsidized housing but can’t pass the screening barriers.
Brandy has been living off of this particular city trail for close to 3 years. We asked him about the problems with the trash and a large camp that is very visible from the trail. ‘I make sure my area is clean and can’t be seen from the trail. When other people move in I warn them, I explain to them that you need to camouflage your camp’ he said.
‘But that person didn’t listen and there was nothing I could do. I’m angry because this is our home and if we can’t move the police will destroy it and haul what little we have to the dump.’
This is the first camp we have visited, and we hope to visit a few more and post their stories here. There is no one size fits all solution to this problem, and we don’t know what the solution is for Brandy, Kimberly, and Newt. But until there is a solution it seems to us a very unnecessary and cruel hardship to force people to move when there is no place to move them to. Especially when the people being forced to move are not the ones causing the problems.
So far, the date for eviction has not been firmly set but we are expecting the evictions to begin before the end of this month (April). In the meantime. we are encouraging everyone to contact Rhenda Iris Strub on the Olympia City Council to express your concern that people are being forced to move without the provision of a place to move to. Together, our voices can make a difference.
Rhenda's phone number - 360 753 8447
Rhenda's email address - rstrub@ci.olympia.wa.us
If you have any thoughts and ideas on possible solutions please contact us and let us know, as we will be attempting to present some ideas to city officials as things progress.
Update:
During the middle weeks of May city officials evicted all campers from their meager homes, including Brandy's. Any gear that could not be carried away by the evicted campers was confiscated and thrown in the trash.
It's likely that we will see many of the evicted on the street when they come to try and put their survival gear back together for their next camp.
We hope that you will keep the names and numbers of the city officials and continue to call them to encourage them to find a better solution.
Mailing Address: PMB 108 1910 East 4th Ave. Olympia, WA 98506-4632
Phone Number: 360-705-0291 Email:info@citygatesministries.com
Copyright City Gates Ministries 2007. All rights reserved.
