Sammamish may get a "Tent City" soon (Seattle: 2013, high school)

[Hemlock140]

The Forbes "friendliest city in the country" may soon be welcoming a homeless camp for 3 months, at a church right across from Skyline High School and nearly next door to the Library and skateboard park. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.


Tent City 4 could come to Sammamish : Sammamish Review – News, Sports, Classifieds in Sammamish, WA

[tobester]

FYI -

We had a tent city at our church in Seattle for 3 months and there were zero problems! Our church families fed the residents a meal once a week and it was a great experience for our children providing meals for those in need. Don't worry.

[Bimmerfanboy]

I hate to sound like a bad guy but I really dislike this idea. I live ~10 minutes from Skyline High School and wouldn't like seeing this happen. I just don't think Sammamish is the right place for this, especially when it's within feet of a couple schools and next to a library. No I don't think homeless people are going to jump out of their tents and kill people, but I'm just bewildered as to why somebody would think of putting a tent city in a suburban community. Never in a million years did I think such a proposal would come up. It's just bizarre.

If society wants these people to get better, there must be opportunities for them to work and raise their standard of living. The retail jobs in Sammamish are very few and occupied mainly by local students. There is far more economic opportunity for the homeless in Seattle.

Also, people move to Sammamish and other suburbs because they can afford to live in a location that's clean, free of crime, and has good schools. People want to stay away from all the problems of large cities. This idea is just absurd.

[Hemlock140]

I have more experience with the street homeless of Seattle where I work, and the old Nickelsville encampment, but from what I have seen of other tent cities it's not something I would worry about either. We are about 2 miles from there, and I go by the location twice a day. It's so close to the police station that I'm sure it would be well managed. I am more interested in seeing how our city council handles this. They did not sound very enthusiastic but none of them have come right out and said they were opposed to it.

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by Seatown1

I hate to sound like a bad guy but I really dislike this idea. I live ~10 minutes from Skyline High School and wouldn't like seeing this happen. I just don't think Sammamish is the right place for this, especially when it's within feet of a couple schools and next to a library. No I don't think homeless people are going to jump out of their tents and kill people, but I'm just bewildered as to why somebody would think of putting a tent city in a suburban community. Never in a million years did I think such a proposal would come up. It's just bizarre.

If society wants these people to get better, there must be opportunities for them to work and raise their standard of living. The retail jobs in Sammamish are very few and occupied mainly by local students. There is far more economic opportunity for the homeless in Seattle.

Also, people move to Sammamish and other suburbs because they can afford to live in a location that's clean, free of crime, and has good schools. People want to stay away from all the problems of large cities. This idea is just absurd.

Why is there more economic opportunity in Seattle? You realize Seattle is already saturated with a significantly less law abiding homeless population, right? You guys are getting the 'cream of the crop' so to speak. Sammamish is probably significantly under-panhandled compared to most areas of Seattle so there appears to be some untapped economic potential out there - Especially with the median household income being as high as it is.

Isn't the real issue with the church that decided to sponsor this? I'm sure nobody could have foreseen that a Catholic church would start doing charity work right in their own backyard, but now that they have it's time to tell them to take their Jesus lovin' elsewhere. Maybe you can go down and explain to the Father that Sammamish is a place where people move so they don't have to deal with the kind of folks he chooses to associate with.

[sean98125]

Seattle needs to start telling the rest of King County that we're full up for social services for the indigent and that its time for other communities to step up. We've been the dumping ground for the county's problems for far too long.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by sean98125

Seattle needs to start telling the rest of King County that we're full up for social services for the indigent and that its time for other communities to step up. We've been the dumping ground for the county's problems for far too long.

It's not really about Seattle, this is a tent city for the eastside homeless, which has been in Kirkland, Bellevue, Redmond and Issaquah.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by mkarch

You guys are getting the 'cream of the crop' so to speak. Sammamish is probably significantly under-panhandled compared to most areas of Seattle so there appears to be some untapped economic potential out there - Especially with the median household income being as high as it is.

I have lived in Sammamish 20+ years and have never seen a homeless person or other panhandler. These people would live on the church property but would not likely be panhandling. In fact, many of them do have jobs, the bus service being a factor with a stop right there in front of the library for access to Issaquah, Bellevue and Seattle via the 269, 216 and 219.

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

It's not really about Seattle, this is a tent city for the eastside homeless, which has been in Kirkland, Bellevue, Redmond and Issaquah.

That's why Seatown1's response was puzzling - It's not clear why moving the Eastside's homeless to Seattle would give them better economic opportunities. My hunch is that's not really why he suggested it.

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

I have lived in Sammamish 20+ years and have never seen a homeless person or other panhandler. These people would live on the church property but would not likely be panhandling. In fact, many of them do have jobs, the bus service being a factor with a stop right there in front of the library for access to Issaquah, Bellevue and Seattle via the 269, 216 and 219.

Good to know. Next time I get panhandled in Ballard I'll be sure to mention that the competition is considerably lighter out east of Lake Sammamish. j/k

[flyingsaucermom]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

I have lived in Sammamish 20+ years and have never seen a homeless person or other panhandler. These people would live on the church property but would not likely be panhandling. In fact, many of them do have jobs, the bus service being a factor with a stop right there in front of the library for access to Issaquah, Bellevue and Seattle via the 269, 216 and 219.

Really??? I've lived in Issaquah for less than two years and I see panhandling/homeless all the time (especially around the Pickering Barn). Maybe they're are all one-in-the-same, but we also get a fair number of hitchhikers. I'm sure it's because of Issaquah's immediate proximity to I-90.

Truth be told part of me wouldn't like it. As others have pointed out, some of us move to the Eastside to be in socioeconomic and cultural bubbles: We like our lives existing within a regulated homogenized system. Judge it if you want, it doesn't matter. At the most fundamental level our physiological organization requires homeostasis. I think human culture and societies (economic and social systems) try to scale this impulse.

Ultimately as long as safety isn't compromised, it doesn't matter to me. I just hope whatever they plan to do is effective.