Posted by unregistered user at 12/1/08 11:06 a.m.

But didn't you hear the Official Nicklesville Drunk Junkie Bum Coddler's position? Nicklesville residents are all completely screened for suitability and they are all just regular folk down on their luck through no fault of their own. Sure glad I'm not a naive Seattle liberal Christian.

Posted by unregistered user at 12/1/08 11:09 a.m.

I'm tired of church congretations voting to site homeless camps in other peoples' neighborhoods.

Posted by wh344 at 12/1/08 11:12 a.m.

Sounds like some bad actors slipping into the camp. Expect continued violence there. It will be like days of the '60's, when hippies were fighting cops in the streets. You could walk down University way after class, and smell whiffs of tear gas.

Posted by unregistered user at 12/1/08 11:15 a.m.

Didn't the UW recently have sexual offenders booted from 2 U Discrict rooming houses? Will they do the same for Nickelsville?

Posted by unregistered user at 12/1/08 11:44 a.m.

Common hard working tax paying people with rights over homeless people NO!!

Posted by nwcitizen at 12/1/08 12:15 p.m.

The system works. Nickelsville code of conduct requires anyone who is violent be evicted. Security did what every other citizen would do, called police to deal with a violent situation. The police did their job and dealt with the individual.

Posted by citizen at 12/1/08 12:32 p.m.

Amen nwcitizen.

Posted by unregistered user at 12/1/08 12:41 p.m.

great ... as if the U District wasn't enough of a mecca for freeloaders and deadbeats. There will be drinking, drug dealing etc. If not in the camp, then within 1/2 block. That's why these guys are living in tents to begin with, look what they've done for Pioneer Square. Thanks for being such a great neighbor UCC!

Posted by unregistered user at 12/1/08 12:46 p.m.

I've heard that some residents stay in these camps for 5+ years, collecting disability checks and food stamps the whole time. Rent payments would eat into the entertainment budget.

Posted by unregistered user at 12/1/08 12:53 p.m.

How many children does Nickelsville have living in their camp? Who is responsible for these children?

Nickelsville should not be able to invite children to live in their camp and then ask the police to arrest them if they misbehave.

How many sex offenders, felons, drug addicts, alcoholics, etc. live in the camp? Why are children allowed to live with these folks?

Posted by Panzo at 12/1/08 12:58 p.m.

Posted by unregistered user #223112 at 12/1/08 12:46 p.m.

I've heard that some residents stay in these camps for 5+ years, collecting disability checks and food stamps the whole time. Rent payments would eat into the entertainment budget.

I've heard that the moon is made of cheese, too.

Of course, I am in no way going to try and prove what I've been told because I really like cheese.

Posted by unregistered user at 12/1/08 1:08 p.m.

Panzo, do you know for a fact that it's not true?
You compare what I said to the moon made of cheese myth, suggesting that I am delusional or lying.
Sorry Panzo but you are wrong ...
FACT: a great many of Seattle's "homeless" are scam artists who blow their monthly checks on crack and alcohol binges. I have know quite a few of them personally. Several tent city residents have been quoted in the PI saying that they have lived in these camps for over 5 years.

Posted by You Big Weirdo at 12/1/08 1:24 p.m.

"FACT: a great many of Seattle's "homeless" are scam artists who blow their monthly checks on crack and alcohol binges"

Fact? based on what factual information? And if you think a disabilty check and food stamps are the ticket to good times and partyinfg you are delusional; or have not yet found yourself disabled or poor.

The Nickelsville folks took care of the situation. I think it's good; as the economy collapses further and more and more Seattleites find them selves homeless, it is a good things the hoovervilles are well organized and safe.

I'm all for the idea that if the vulgar, selfish, cakesniffing nouveau riche don't like Seattle they move. Move far far away. Maybe back to the midwest!

Posted by DFC at 12/1/08 1:27 p.m.

So a 17-year-old gets booted for not being able to follow rules and then becomes even more inappropriate in the cop car. She clearly needs some kind of assistance because she is a danger to herself or others. News flash: the cops are DOING THEIR JOBS when asked to deal with this the same way they would be DOING THEIR JOBS if these were neighborhood property owners making the same request. I do not see the big deal with this one.

As far as people living homeless for years, in some cases this is because of huge waitlists and the destruction of affordable housing. In other cases it is because for any number of reasons it just takes people a long time to get their act together and try to navigate all the bureaucracies involved to get help. Most shelters actually do not tolerate substance abuse; that does not make the dysfunction go away. In some cases it just makes it more visible as these people sleep on the streets.

Posted by grunt at 12/1/08 1:59 p.m.

Let's assume for a moment that these two incidents (over how many weeks??) is proof that Nickelsville is a bad idea and should be dismantled. What alternative do you homeless-haters propose?

There are not enough spaces for them in the local shelters. They can't afford private housing. All the subsidized housing in Seattle is rented out and the waiting lists extend years into the future. So, where should the people encamped at Nickelsville go?

Posted by unregistered user at 12/1/08 2:08 p.m.

Posted by unregistered user at 12/1/08 12:41 p.m.

great ... as if the U District wasn't enough of a mecca for freeloaders and deadbeats. There will be drinking, drug dealing etc. If not in the camp, then within 1/2 block.
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Meaning the Ave will be - the same.
So what?

Posted by Panzo at 12/1/08 2:10 p.m.

Posted by unregistered user at 12/1/08 1:08 p.m.

Panzo, do you know for a fact that it's not true?

Nope.

That was my point.

I'm not defending homeless camps or debating whether those who inhabit them are merely modern hobos or truly needy.

I'm saying that it's easy to say and to believe things because they're in line with what you believe or desire.

Since I like cheese, I'll be believing that the moon is a large source of it. See how it works?

You don't know if what you said is true but you approve of its message so you said it.

Posted by unregistered user at 12/1/08 2:15 p.m.

ybw, pull your head out from under your silk sheets and smell the coffee.
I am a native Seattlite and as working class as they come. This is not the great depression, and I know more about life on the streets of Seattle than you ever will if you're lucky.
Educate yourself about what's really going on with these activists and tent cities and then come back and tell me I'm wrong.
Does the term "enabling behavior" ring a bell?
Many people do make the choice not to work and they should face the consequences.

Posted by Pedro_the _Lion at 12/1/08 2:17 p.m.

grunt "There are not enough spaces for them in the local shelters. They can't afford private housing. All the subsidized housing in Seattle is rented out and the waiting lists extend years into the future. So, where should the people encamped at Nickelsville go?"

Uhm, maybe back to the place they were bussed in from by the organizers of Nickelsville in their effort to make a political point? You know, the ones trying to "shame" the mayor for not doing enough about the homeless problem, despite the fact that we offer more services for the homeless (on a per capita basis) than any other major city in the U.S.

I agree with Panzo's point about refraining from over-generalizing and sticking to the facts. That being said, from what I have seen with my own eyes, Nickelsville is full of both modern hobos and the truly needy.

Posted by unregistered user at 12/1/08 2:20 p.m.

"So, where should the people encamped at Nickelsville go?"
back to their hometowns and out of "Freeattle"
The 3 people interviewed in the PI recently were all from out of state and moved here with no funds to support themselves. Why not just start a tent city back home?

Posted by Timothy Harris at 12/1/08 6:53 p.m.

Nobody who knows how desperate the streets have become and how perilous things are for the bottom twenty percent of us who struggle for bare survival would have much patience with the hateful, anti-poor diatribes I see offered here. It's easy to hide behind glib victim blaming attitudes when the pain the pain of this world is somebody else's problem. I'm glad that a few brave churches have stood up to remind us of our responsibility to each other. Poor people are being thrown to the wolves, and these are the bloodthirsty cheers from the colosseum.

Posted by doug m at 12/1/08 8:59 p.m.

I have just one question. If people are so worried about drinking, drug dealing, and places where cops have to deal with idiots, why do you allow Greek Row to exist?

The people in Nickelsville are by far better behaved and more neighborly than some of the other groups they live around.

Haters, you are looking ridiculous here, trying to use this situation to promote pathetic views based upon ignorance and fear.

Posted by grunt at 12/1/08 8:59 p.m.

Pedro- Okay, so I guess prior to Sept. 22, when all the homeless people were "bussed in" to launch Nickelsville, as you say, I guess there was enough housing and indoor shelter options for everybody? I mean, if we follow your reasoning, that's when this really all began--late September of this year, when the Grayhounds started rolling in? Yeah, I remember the front page photos in the P-I: all those bearded dudes stepping off, their worldly possessions slung over their shoulders, hanging in bandanas-tied-to-sticks. That was, like, the "invasion." They're all coming here to sleep in our parking lots. Man you're a genius.

Posted by unregistered user at 12/1/08 9:04 p.m.

I'm all for giving the poor a helping hand Tim Harris, but when it comes to drunks and crackheads downtown who harass me on regular basis I believe in tough love. I also don't agree with Seattle and King County govt's policy for making Seattle a sanctuary city for homeless from around the country. They love camping in our parks and taking full advantage of Seattle's anything goes and if it feels good do it ethic. There are about 10 feedings a day downtown so when you see a guy with a sign saying "will work for food" don't believe it. We're not doing anyone a favor by encouraging dependency. Yes we should have a campground - out in the apple orchards in E. WA, deport the illegals and there will be plenty of work.