A new city-approved tent encampment could soon house up to 100 people in South Seattle near South Othello Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way.
The camp would be the third to open under a law approved by the city council last year, which allows nonprofit organizations to open encampments on city-owned or private land. The city then helps fund case managers and sanitation services at those camps.
Two city-funded encampments are already open on city-owned land in Ballard and Interbay. The new encampment would be located on two next-door properties owned by the Low Income Housing Institute at 7544 Martin Luther King Jr. Way South and 7529 Renton Ave. South. Eventually, LIHI plans to build a food bank and 100 affordable apartments on the land, but would run the encampment while securing funding and permits for the housing project. It’s unclear exactly when the encampment will open, but likely by the end of the month. Mayoral spokesperson Viet Shelton says the city will be “working as quickly as possible to expedite the permit” necessary for LIHI to open the encampment.
At last count, 4,505 people were living unsheltered in King County, almost 3,000 of those within Seattle. At least 66 homeless people died living outside in King County last year. Encampments are an emergency response to a crisis.
“Seattle’s emergency shelters are full and there is not enough affordable housing,” LIHI Director Sharon Lee writes in a letter notifying neighbors about the new camp. “It is not safe for homeless families and individuals to live unsheltered and unprotected on the streets of Seattle.”
Lee also lays out specific plans for the Othello site:
To give you more detail, the facilities will include a security booth at the entrance, a kitchen tent, a food pantry, a community tent, a donation tent, a row of tiny houses facing MLK Way S., a tent for counseling, rows of tents, porta potties, hand washing stations, trash collection and recycling area, and children’s play area. Fencing surrounding the property will be screened. The services provided by LIHI social workers include helping residents obtain: identification, employment, education, food stamps, transportation/bus tickets, healthcare, counseling services, and stable housing
LIHI will hold a community meeting about the encampment Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the New Holly Gathering Hall.
