‘Not all encampments are eyesores:’ Man’s makeshift White House catches the eye

In Seattle’s SoDo neighborhood, using spare slabs of wood and white paint, a “White House” was constructed among a series of homeless encampments. No more than seven feet in height, the “replica” of the president’s official home and workplace in Washington, D.C., is adorned with similarly styled windows, cobbled-together pillars for the front porch, a white picket fence and gold hinges sutured onto the walls to create a functioning door.

Why? The owner of the property believes just because he’s homeless, his temporary home doesn’t need to be an eyesore.

“I wanted to prove not all encampments are eyesores. I call it ‘throwing together,’ but it’s really called ‘hacking,'” the resident of the White House replica told MyNorthwest and AM 770 KTTH.  “I don’t sit there and mess with c*** but like this side window needs my time over there, but I’ll eventually get to it. I got carpal tunnel (syndrome) bad working long periods of time. If I work on it all day, at night, I’ll find myself trying to twist my fingers off.”

The homeless man asked to remain anonymous and not have his name revealed. He has previously been identified as “Danny.” He revealed he worked for Purcell Painting & Coatings and was a part of the Space Needle remodeling crew from a few years ago, but the work put too much of a physical burden on him.

“The needle gunning, the grinding of the paint stuff, it f***** my hands up bad where I’d get up in the morning and I couldn’t even open the door,” he said.

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His previous labor-intensive work, like working on the State Route 520 (SR 520) bridge and other significant construction projects, took its toll on him on top of a myriad of family issues.

“I just fell into a whole bunch of stuff with my family,” he said. “My mother passed away due to drugs, and my sister robbed me and my brother for a bunch of money. Girlfriend c***. All of this happened after my mom passed away, everything. To the point where I said, ‘You know, I’ll stay right here.’ But everything I’ve done here, nobody is helping me. I almost feel like if somebody did, they would get organized crime down here.”

SoDo homeless people’s relationship with SPD strained

The man’s relationship with police and homeless outreach programs has been strained as of late due to what he calls “consistent harassment” from Seattle Police Department (SPD) officers constantly patrolling and sweeping the area, forcing him to relocate time and time again. He even claimed that officers and other government workers are responsible for throwing out homeless people’s belongings.

“The cops don’t care about nothing to do with the homeless and the people that are supposedly there to help us out, they don’t (care) either,” he told MyNorthwest and KTTH. “I don’t steal and I don’t lie, and all these cops down here know it. I help people out as much as possible, and I’ve basically been getting screwed over. They treat me like I’m some animal. It’s literally five to eight cops that stand in front of me, it just don’t make sense.”

He referenced a homeless neighbor of his, Steve, and his fight with police and government bodies. According to the creator of the White House replica, Steve has had his belongings trashed and thrown out by garbage crews at least four times once he left his encampment for the food bank or to go on another errand.

“There’s a lot of people down here that are trying to get out of here, but it’s hard when your stuff gets thrown away,” he added.

He cited the Food Bank and programs like food stamps as things that should be able to help people in need, but have failed to be productive.

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“At the Food Bank, there’s a lot of people who have homes and cars that show up in packs,” he said. “Can’t get much. And you can’t get c*** from food stamps right now because of the price of everything.”

Instead, private businesses like Rack Attack and Blazing Bagels have been the most helpful, according to the White House resident, as they have offered water and day-old food to nearby homeless people.

Are tiny homes a solution?

As for living in a tiny home village, the resident in the replica White House compared that feeling to a prison.

“They want to put people in a tiny home (village) that you have to sign in and sign out of,” he said. “You’re in a cage, and most of them from what I hear, the people that are in there, they have rooms to do all their drug stuff in. ‘It’s OK, just go continue to do what you’re doing. We don’t have a problem.'”

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He told MyNorthwest and KTTH he’d consider moving into a tiny home that had some sort of space for him to continue to build stuff, like his White House home, but would have a tough time due to feeling like he’s in jail.

“Everybody I know that’s been in a tiny home, except a few people, they’re all back down here and have been kicked out because they didn’t sign in or out one day or something stupid,” he added. “I kind of feel embarrassed about being down here to a point, but it’s hard to get out of here. And I try to stay mellow because I do somewhat have a temper, but I’m not going to explode. But the way the cops show up and literally stare at me like I’m some kind of caged animal, it’s hard for me to concentrate. I don’t enjoy it. 100% I’m getting harassed.”

Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.