Small Towns Set Examples for Big Cities When It Comes to Tent Cities

by Josie Raymond · 2010-09-30 13:48:00 UTC
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Three cheers for Puyallup! That's Puyallup, Washington, a town of just over 30,000 that recognizes the rights of the homeless better than much larger cities.

The Puyallup City Council voted this week to approve an ordinance that will allow religious groups to host tent cities and other camps. The camps can be inside or out and must include water, toilets, garbage cans, some screening from neighbors and a no-tolerance policy for drugs, alcohol and weapons. The measure will undoubtedly make winter easier (though not easy) for the estimated 400 homeless residents of Puyallup.

Local homeless advocates hope that any tent cities that spring up in response to the new ordinance will look a lot like Camp Quixote, a democratic community in nearby Thurston County. It operates year-round, and is known as a go-to resource for people in need and service workers, but it also has to move on a regular basis.

This is a major step for people in Puyallup, but it could definitely go further. The ordinance stipulates that these church-sponsored tent cities can only serve 40 people and can only stay in one location for 90 days. Also, just one camp can operate at a time. And, of course, it applies to religious groups but not secular groups who might have a similar interest in setting up camps. When there are 400 homeless people, a camp for 40 obviously isn't going to cut it.

Still, it's a good example for nearby Seattle, the home of the inspiring self-governing tent city named Nickelsville. Nickelsville, a relatively young but sophisticated camp, is forced to continually move even though, its organizers say, there are 70 pieces of land in Seattle that would be suitable permanent locations.

What's not up for debate is the fact that camps provide shelter when shelters don't, that homeless people are capable of and eager to begin practicing self-governance, and that tent cities can change lives — even when residents have to pack up and move every few months. To see inside Nickelsville, watch these videos that fellow blogger Indy just made with residents there.

Photo credit: Cory Doctorow

Josie Raymond is a Change.org editor who has reported from the streets of the South Bronx, written for several magazines that folded (not her fault) and fixed thousands of typos.
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