Homeless moving out of tent city in downtown Seattle
Sep 5, 2016, 8:56 AM
It’s officially move-out day for a big homeless tent city in downtown Seattle.
New indoor shelters will open all over town Monday.
About 200 people have been living in Tent City 6 at the plaza outside the King County Administration at Fifth Avenue and James Street for the last five months.
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The homeless advocacy group SHARE built the tent city in April to protest local officials cutting resources and shutting down a number of indoor shelters.
But SHARE leaders told KIRO 7 the city and the county will front the money to open 11 indoor shelters – with $50,000 coming from King County and $220,000 coming from Seattle.
Reaction about the move from homeless people has been mixed.
“I was going to go to a tent city, but it’s because it works with my husband’s work and I’m going with a group of really awesome people from here,” said homeless woman Lily Cox.
“Here, it’s like we can get a job. There’s no curfew so you can work at night if you like, and like I said, you are socialized with people that are like you, and you pull each other up, said Tent City 6 resident Courtney O’Toole.
Catholic Community Services will oversee funding for the new indoor shelters. Many will be located inside local churches.
Aside from the camp at Fifth and James, SHARE will also be cleaning up its Goat Hill encampment at Fifth Avenue and Jefferson Street.
