News Aug 21, 2013 at 4:00 am

Nickelsville Campers Have Less Than Two Weeks to Leave, but Their Numbers Are Only Growing

Comments

4
The city and its citizens have no obligation to support Homelessness By Choice as a lifestyle. In addition, those that are paying any attention know that SHARE / WHEEL, the group that runs “Nicklesville” is a cult.
6
Small towns have no freebies, hence no homeless. States without large homeless outreach have less homeless. Feed them and they will come.

On the corner of 47th and Roosevelt for two days they have had the road blocked - A crew of state workers. They tore up a flawless sidewalk with wheelchair wells in the necessary directions and replaced it with the same...except containing yellow rectangles with knobs in the middle. How many dollars spent for nothing?

I'd rather give some bums a sandwich than feed the union trough for jack shit.
7
Stiffy said:
I'd rather give some bums a sandwich than feed the union trough for jack shit.
Ah, a "union" hater... But you previously said:
Feed them and they will come.
So, you are against paying folks with actual jobs doing actual things a livable wage (and good health insurance with a decent retirement plan) because they are the dreaded union members, but you're just peachy keen shifting that money over to feed bums that do not contribute to society, and have no plans to ever get a job?

You must be a Tea Bagging Libertarian blinded by the purple Kool-Aid to common sense and reality. Actually, my guess is that you are under 25, and therefore still pretty much ignorant.
9
"Not a pretty photo op during election season."

Au contraire - you overestimate the sympathy for the homeless. There are plenty of voters for whom that would be the deciding factor in voting for McGinn. Have you read the Seattle Times comments? McGinn should drive the lead bulldozer. He'd be mayor for life.
10
@7 No, he's just a troll.
11
I hear there are lots and LOTS of agricultural jobs in central Washington. If they are good enough for the “Sanctuary Citizens” that so many Seattleites seem to support, they are good enough for these bums. Except these bums don’t want to work.

Society is not obligated to pay for these people’s chosen lifestyle: Homelessness by Choice.

If they truly wanted to “get off the streets”, there many ways to do so, and many REAL homeless folks have done so.
12
One of the things to remember about Nicklesville is that it is run by SHARE / WHEEL. To remain in “good standing” and continue to live in Nicklesville, its populous has to attend many meetings, pan-handle sufficient goodies for the annual SHARE / WHEEL “charity auction”, spend all day selling “Real Change”, attend more meetings, and so forth. As the Seattle Times (sorry) revealed in their SHARE / WHEEL expose, failure to do any of these things results in expulsion from the camp for 30 days.

Things like actually getting a job get in the way of these Nicklesville Homeless by Choice folks meeting the requirements of their cult leader Scott Morrow. Here’s an article from the Seattle Weekly, though if you search The Google, you’ll also find a series of articles in the Seattle Times.

http://www.seattleweekly.com/home/947180…
13
I occasionally drive by nickelsville while running errands and from the outside you can see panhandling on all four corners, a population of rail running late teens with dogs, the trash heaps and refuse from those who were deemed undesirable in nicklesville in the surrounding greenbelt.

Every article I read about the place features someone who has moved there recently from out of state to cash in on the free-attle rumors of services, like this plan to relocate these people.

The time when nicklesville moved from a protest to a lifestyle was long long ago. They are now eating their own tail by blocking food lifeline.

Wheres Mars Hill offering to take all these people in?
14
@6 "On the corner of 47th and Roosevelt for two days they have had the road blocked - A crew of state workers. They tore up a flawless sidewalk with wheelchair wells in the necessary directions and replaced it with the same...except containing yellow rectangles with knobs in the middle. How many dollars spent for nothing?"

Actually, by state or Federal law (I forget which code specifically) any new projects of a certain scope must be fully ADA compliant. That's what you just saw happen and it cannot be avoided. Almost all intersection crossings in Seattle are not ADA compliant. The knobs are for blind people I believe.
15
If we close our eyes and pretend we don't have a problem, we won't have a problem anymore.

"Homeless by choice" is a myth made up by people who enjoy bullying the lower classes. This city wouldn't suddenly become a shining Amazon wonderland if only those people would stop coming here to take all our money.

I have yet to meet a family of people who have relocated from far away to Seattle because our services are better than the services they get where they're from.

Nicklesville isn't filled with some group of people both so energetic as to remain in a cult and so lazy they'd rather live in filth than work. They don't research health and social services on the internet then relocate. These aren't college grads choosing career paths.

Let's face it. If the people in Nicklesville make you so mad you're willing to bulldoze what's left of everything they own, you might consider talking with someone professional and leave internet commenting to people who aren't assholes.
16
It was a unanimous council vote. That includes O'Brien. But the Stranger can overlook this.
17
I say get more cash and create "Dime City"... Notice how effectively they have "spanged" a half mil in "spare change" from the City of Seattle? Good show, but I like the "nickel AND dime concept as a way of progressing the efforts....

Seems to make sense to let them stay close to the free food distribution center.. cut down on the travel and hauling....
18
It'll be interesting to see the breakdown of votes for McGinn if he does go through with bulldozing Nickelsville. If nothing else, I'm guessing a surge of votes for him in West Seattle.
19
I prefer our homeless citizens living somewhere with enforced rules and access to sanitation, because the alternative seems to be:

1. pitbull fights on Broadway
2. people taking dumps in highly visible spots
3. piles of refuse

At least in a recognized community these problems are managed. Poverty and homelessness must be hell...and I have often wondered how many instances of bad luck it would take for me to end up on the streets (probably not many). However, I'm much less sympathetic to sidewalk pooping and related. In this city it is not hard to find a public restroom from King Street Station to the LIbrary and on to Seattle Center, at the very least. And, there are tons of unattended dumpsters to throw your trash away. Even better when the community you live in has these "amenities" and isn't bulldozed.
20
@15 here's that family you were looking for:

Lisa Patterson, who moved into Nickelsville with her 14-year-old daughter in February after relocating from Indiana

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2…
21
Six Shooter said:
Homeless by choice is a myth made up by people who enjoy bullying the lower classes.
The Seattle Times story quotes several Nicklesville residents by name who say they are happy in Nicklesville and have no plans to look for work.

This is called "Homeless by Choice".
22
@15 (Six Shooter):

Either these people who reside at Nicklesville (and other SHARE/WHEEL"camps") who choose not to join society because they are satisfied where they are (or are unwilling to do what it takes to move on) *ARE* "Homeless by Choice", or Nicklesville *IS NOT* a Homeless Camp.

And if it's not a Homeless Camp, there is no question that it needs to go.

@19 (ShotSix):
1. pitbull fights on Broadway
2. people taking dumps in highly visible spots
3. piles of refuse

At least in a recognized community these problems are managed.
Nicklesville is not on Broadway, but it does indeed have everything you point out:

  • Dog fights

  • Piles of garbage

  • Piss and shit taking place not in Port-O-Lets


Stop by sometime and smell for yourself.
23
@19 (ShotSix):
I'm much less sympathetic to sidewalk pooping...
Try it sometime! Under the right conditions, it can be VERY refreshing, breaks those chains that "society" arbitrarily puts on you! Of course, I recommend loading up on MALT LIQUOR and COCAINE.

Well, if you're staying in Nicklesville, swap the cocaine for meth or smack...

Then just stroll on downtown, pick any convenient ally (or go for the gold, do it right on the street sidewalk), drop your pants and take a stress-relieving dump. For extra points, harass some tourist or local office worker for spare change, and if they refuse, invite them to watch.

Pull your pants up and walk away with your head held high (though you are not required to zip your fly). You're Homeless by Choice, damn it, you can do whatever the fuck you want, "society" be damned!
24
How many of these homeless people were born and raised in Seattle? I suspect not very many. Seattle has an international reputation for being a soft touch for people who can't hold a normal job. Why? Because people on welfare never vote Republican?

26
Why? Because people on welfare never vote Republican?
I've never voted Republican (life-long bleeding Liberal), and I believe in society looking out for less fortunate.

But there are limits.
27
Well, I know one thing that won't be happening. Those ex-residents who choose to stay within the SHARE constellation will not be looking for or maintaining sufficient employment to get out of their situation. SHARE does not support those sort of shenanigans. Gets in the way.
28
I'm *NOT* a religious person, but at least the Union Gospel Mission *ACTUALLY* wants to get these folks off the street.

SHARE (Nicklesville) is all about a Cult of Personality that goes by the name of Scott Morrow. Mr. Morrow’s obsession with a Socialist Worker Utopia pretty much renders SHARE a cult.

It’s interesting to note that during the days that Mr Morrow does not “slum it” at a SHARE facility, hes staying at his girlfriend’s two story ranch style house in Kirkland (she is a Kirkland schoole employee). In fact, if you know the address, Google Maps shows a SHARE van parked out front. On “official” business, no doubt.

One wonders how long the city of Seattle will continue to pay for this cult’s political program.
29
It's a bit shocking how cruel some people are when it comes to issues of homelessness. Most people who are homeless are not there by choice. Many of them do not have full mental or physical capabilities, which makes it difficult to find work. And in today's employment climate, it's hard enough if you are fully capable. So the Times went in and found some people who are there by choice: that's their bias. If they wanted to, they could have just as easily found veterans, people who lost their homes due to the economic mess, and people who are drowning in medical bills. As far as Nickelsville goes, I don't think anyone really wants it to be the long term solution, but until we as a society (read: city) decide to take care of even the "least" among us, it is the the best solution. Everybody complains when the homeless are in "their" neighborhood, but few seem willing to allow them to create their own. What's a poor, tired person without a home to do in the face of such heartlessness?
30
@LL:
Most people who are homeless are not there by choice... As far as Nickelsville goes, I don't think anyone really wants it to be the long term solution, but until we as a society (read: city) decide to take care of even the "least" among us...
So, you have not read the stories in the Seattle Times and Seattle Weeklyv exposes (with names) of the many people of Nicklesville who are quite happy there and have no intention of moving on? You are not aware that SHARE puts in place many obstacles to people who live in their camps to finding and holding legitimate jobs? You have missed the clues that SHARE and Nicklesville are not actually about solving “homelessness”, but rather about a Socialist Utopia where Homelessness By Choice as a lifestyle is legitimate and the rest of society must pay for it?

The Stranger doesn't report these things, The Stranger's editorial bosses have a Point of View that prevents them from reporting the facts sometimes.
31
Because a large chunk of hiring and employment is done by firms who achieve the capacity to profitably employ people by way of state subsidy and tax-dodging (long-term permission of Microsoft monopoly, Amazon online sales tax exemption, Boeing contracting by US military) and lots of work is either meaningless or contributive to levels of production and consumption that the planet can't afford, I'm really not tripping on paying some people with hard luck to chill. If they did make it into the labor market they'd probably just replace some other broke people and make it even looser, which given the long-term fall in min and median wages vs productivity is hardly necessary.

The talk about whether there's an "obligation" to help these people is silly. My clothes were made by children. Obviously there are no obligations, obviously there is no God. Plant investment is low, hiring is slow. Money will not be more efficiently spent than on helping people eat and sleep safely.

If a lady and a 14 year old girl move here because living in a homeless camp, with its Babylon amenities, is worth the hassle of moving all the way from Indiana, then I am glad that they are no longer in the situation that they were in in Indiana.

I agree that spending on stuff like replacement of perfectly good sidewalks and forcing willy nilly employment for its own sake is ridiculous. If we want streets to be safe for blind people we need streets without cars, not sidewalks with bumps.
32
@Daws:
My clothes were made by children.
Mine were not, but than, I don't shop at WalMart, and I don't wear Nikes.

But do prattle on. As you swill your Fair Trade Rain Forrest latte.
I'm really not tripping on paying some people with hard luck to chill.
Is it "hard luck" to make a conscious decision that you don't mind the Nicklesville lifestyle and decide that you have no intentions of looking for work at all? Because the TRUTH is that most of these people are not looking to get "out" of "homelessness"
I agree that spending on stuff like replacement of perfectly good sidewalks and forcing willy nilly employment for its own sake is ridiculous. If we want streets to be safe for blind people we need streets without cars, not sidewalks with bumps.
I'm sorry, you're an idiot.
34
@32 (the Spam directly above):
my co-worker's half-sister makes $72 every hour on the internet.
Really? My brother's wife's sister's friend’s half-brother makes $400 an hour in San Francisco. I’m not sure what he does exactly, but it seems to often involve leather chaps.
35
It's interesting that The Stranger has removed this story from the Front Page. I guess the comments didn't live up to the Stranger's expectation of "outrage".
36
Give them all one way bus tickets to California this fall.
37
just as Andrew responded I'm alarmed that anyone can make $4705 in 1 month on the computer. did you see this web link... C­­­a­­f­­e­­4­­4.ℂ­­­o­­m
38
Their jobs were evicted before them!(or given to somebody for whom the employers/parasites can exploit even more).I'd like to see if anybody who works in gubmint (or receives any taxpayer money via block grants to "do social work") has any vested interest in forcing homeless citizens into a life of "Crime" simply to survive (such as the Prison-Industrial-Korpsepirate Komplex).O.O --- http://theyrule.net , http://www.inequality.org

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