The fate of Nickelsville: Part one.

One mile south of the West Seattle Bridge, Terminal 107 park has been home to a homeless camp named Nickelsville for one year now. Sarurday the residents and its supporters celebrated its birthday. Wednesday, the port police will clear it out and arrest those who refuse to move on.

Some believe Nickelsville is a political stunt. It’s organizers have been accused of using the homeless – as one reader of the West Seattle Blog put it – “as a political football.” The perception seems to be that those who live in Nicklesville are not being helped, that instead of trying to overcome their situation, they would simply rather squat on a public park, trashing it.

I learned about Nickelsville from the West Seattle Blog. I read the comments written on their post. I took notes, and I went there Saturday, September 26, for their one-year anniversary.

The first thing I noticed was the encampment was surrounded by a waist-high, orange fence. It was explained to me the fence served two purposes:

One, it keeps the camp contained. It let people know that they weren’t trying to take over the park.

Second, it is for safety. Even though those living there could step over the fence, no one apparently did. There is only one way in and one way out. Everyone who comes in has to go through the same way and pass security.

There are two residents on security 24 hours a day, according to three seperate people I spoke with about this. “You come in here and someone’s gonna meet you at the desk,”  James Greer said. Greer has been living here since March.

Security is part of the self-governance on Nickelsville. Security staff and the head of security are voted in by the camp. They enforce the rules and regulations of the camp, including their zero-tolerance policies.

Drugs and alcohol are not allowed in the camp. Violence and theft are also prohibited.

One reader of the West Seattle Blog posted a story about a sex offender found to be living at a homeless shelter associated with Seattle Homeless Housing and Resource Effort (SHARE). Accoring to Greer, sex offenders are also on the zero-tolerence policy. Whether a background check is performed or not, I don’t know. It seems more likely that they would only be aware of offenses occuring at the camp. This is something that I will look into.

The result of violating a zero-tolerance rule is the offender is banned for life.

Richard, the man who met me at the entrance of the camp, told me that a while back, “A guy came in, under the influence of alcohol, and threatened to light his tent on fire.”

Security responded and the residents joined in a “show of force,” as they put it. “He’s not allowed back,” Richard said, “if you’re under the influence, you’re permanently barred.”

There is an appeal process, but I was told that evictions are rarely overturned.

“Nicklesville gives people a place to go and be safe,” Richard said.

It seems that an organized camp like this, for many, is preferable to staying in shelters. “Most people carry their whole lives on their backs,” Greer said. When they set it down, sometimes “they turn around and its gone. Here, when you come back, your stuff is still going to be here.”

According to Richard there used to be 150 people at the camp. Now there’s about 70. He attributes it to people “moving, people getting jobs.”

Of the 70-something people living there now, Richard said there are 30 to 35 who work. And there are “more still looking for places to work and to live.”

Raymond, the head of security, was laid off from three jobs. He recently found out that he has bipolar disorder. “I thought I just had an attitude problem,” he said. To make money, these days, he uses his pick-up truck to gather scrap metal from automotive shops, and he sells it to scrap yards. He gets seven cents a pound for steel.

On Wednesday the Port Police will sweep Nickelsille.

“Let me ask you a hypothetical question,” Raymond said “Let’s say they shut us down. Do you think there are enough shelter beds for 80 people?”

One place where many homeless people go is the West Duwamish Greenbelt, a place they call the jungle. They say it’s a dangerous place where people can go to hide from police. There are drug dealers there, and murderers. “Homeless people have died there,” Greer said. “They should cut that all down.”

Last Monday, the Women in Black, a group of women dedicated to mourning the deaths of homeless people held a vigil there for six who died between June and August: Two commited suicide, two were murdered, and two were hit by cars – possibly while crossing from one camp to another.

Nickelsville “is about saving lives,” Greer said.

No one has told me what they’re going to do when the port police come. I don’t know how many will stay and be arrested. I don’t know where anyone is planning on going. I do know that I will be there to see what happens.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 28th, 2009 at 5:15 p.09. and is filed under Nickelsville. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.