Not surprisingly, homeless tent cities won’t be where the activists live

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray selected three “preferred sites” for city-regulated tent cities and, not surprisingly, none are near the Capitol Hill neighborhood, where the many activists calling for tent cities live. Funny how that works.

The sites are located in Interbay, the Industrial District and Ballard (right near a high-end salon, Portage Bay Cafe, and the Ballard Locks).

“Permitted encampments are not a permanent solution to the crisis of homelessness we are experiencing in Seattle,” Mayor Murray said in a statement. “These encampments will provide a safer community environment than sleeping under a highway overpass or on a park bench. Residents will have improved access to services and we hope to open the door to permanent housing as quickly as we can.”

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These tent cities do provide a safer environment for the homeless accepted into the communities, but what is often ignored is the safety for the citizens who live in the area with these tent cities.

I often hear some folks demonize Seattleites who aren’t keen to the idea of living or working next to a tent city. They’re called out as insensitive to the needs of the homeless and labeled NIMBYs (“not in my backyard”). But most of these folks attacking tent city critics have never actually lived next to a tent city and they never will.

I did live next to a tent city. I know what it’s like and no, it is not pleasant.

These tent cities tend to have rules on who they will let in and who they won’t. Understand that tent cities attract the homeless and only so many can fit in their communities. What happens when one is rejected? They can stick around the neighborhood. And if they’re rejected because they might be violent or suffer from an untreated mental illness, it can be dangerous.

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Take, for example, the mentally ill homeless man rejected from the tent city in Queen Anne that I lived a block away from. He would roam the alleyway of my apartment complex at 3 a.m. almost daily, screaming the most obscene word you can think of (yes, that word) at the top of his lungs, waking us up and scaring a number of people. He stuck around for several weeks.

You’ll inevitably hear someone who doesn’t have to deal with tent cities argue that you’re treating the homeless like lepers and that you should welcome them with open arms into your neighborhood. When they tell you that, ask them why they’re not inviting the homeless to camp out in their backyards or in their living rooms. The reason they won’t is because it’s dangerous. But I guess they’re OK with other neighborhoods taking the risk.

I am not against the concept of tent cities (I even think they should get free WiFi), so long as they’re not smack in the middle of major business districts or residential zones.

I take this stance not because I’m insensitive to the homeless, but because I’m sensitive to the needs of everyone (including the families who want to feel safe and the businesses that don’t want to lose customers over safety concerns).