help keep nickelsville high and dry

[JoB]

there is a front page story on the work party at Nickelsville this weekend.. but i wanted to add a note here.

I personally don’t think that Nickelsville will be in it’s current location long, but as long as they are, residents need to be able to keep their personal possessions and paperwork dry.

the big work party this weekend is an attempt to get every tent up on the concrete blocks that the city provided so that if the water backup overwhelms the sump pumps the camp will flood out but the residents will remain dry.

this will also reduce rat habitat under the tent platforms.

as of yesterday, their needs list included

yard waste size and strength garbage bags to bag up resident’s possessions while their tent is taken down and put back up…

plywood,

2x4s,

nails.. in the past i have bought what i think are roofing nails with the corkscrew ridges.. they hold better..

large tarps

bungee cords

duct tape

I have been asked in the past about donations to Nickelsville..

right now they are getting enough food and the meal calendar is working

and they have an abundance of clothing

but… they do need the materials to rebuild the camp so that residents are flood safe..

and they could really use another generator. They have cannibalized pumps that wear out to repair others as they break down, but they wear out quickly in this weather when they are run continuously.

i will try to update their needs list this evening after i have talked with people at camp

but someone else will have to do so this weekend as i won’t be available..

Whether you think they should be there or not

this work party is a good thing…

Nickelsville has received more support since they were flooded out the first time

but the rain keeps coming down

part of what was lost in those floods is the kind of personal paperwork that allows people to get both assistance and work…

and it is just now being replaced.

homeless people without personal papers have nowhere to go but our streets.

the slogan is Without Shelter People Die

it is also the reality

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[JoB]

Oh.. and in this cold they really need handwarmers

so that they can keep hands and feet functioning

think about it.. once they get cold there is no way to warm cold wet hands or feet back up..

the cheapest place i know to purchase those is costco and they can’t have too many..

they could also use thermacare style therapeutic heating pads.

in this cold it is too easy to injure muscles

and they respond quickly and favorably to the slow heat those provide…

and socks… there are never enough warm dry socks

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[miws]

Bump.

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[luckymom30]

Bump.

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[JoB]

I checked with camp sources this evening and there is still a critical need for everything I posted.

I will try to make a call in the morning to see if there is any updated info to post.

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[JoB]

OK.. I checked again this morning..and if they are going to reach their goal of getting the tents high and dry they are going to need more 2x4s, plywood, nails, large tarps, bungie cord & duct tape.

Hand warmers and therm a are style therapeutic heating pads would be a big plus. It’s cold out there and there are going tobe injuries.

If you want you can walk through camp and simply hand them to people you see working. I know that the camp regs discourage it but I often do it with both handwarmers and batteries and all anyone says is thank you.

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[JoB]

Sorry about hunt and peck poor typing from Phone.

I left a longer comment on frontpage sstory.

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[JoB]

Bump

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[JoB]

I spoke with someone in camp today and they worked so efficiently today that they are temporarily out of concrete blocks to raise platforms. Tomorrow will be cleanup work.

They should get another delivery of blocks this week so they can finish the job.

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[Betty T]

As Jo said the Food Calendar is working now. I’m only doing 2 Saturdays a month. It’ll enable me to provide hot lunches longer and of course COFFEE! With the cold, Ellen is providing morning coffee for them to warm up and get started. Anyone can take hot coffee and probably hot chocolate too. I always say it warms them up from inside out.

Glad to see the the volunteers turn out this weekend for the much needed help.

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[JoB]

I am going to try to go down to camp today to see how things are for myself..

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[dervish]

Hey JoB,

If I recall, you work with the folks at nickelsville regularly, correct?

I live in the area, and work at a fairly big company downtown, and we have a lot of generous folks here. I was thinking about starting a standing donation box here for Nickelsville… aside from the things they needed specifically for this clean up (which I didn’t see until now :/ ), Is there are a list of things that they can always use?

I seem to remember seeing one around last autumn when there was another flood/drive or something, but can’t find it. All I remember was socks was on the list. :)

Anyway, if you have this info to pass along, let me know, and I’ll see if I can mobilize the generosity of my co-workers this winter.

you can PM me or email me too: djdatapimp AT gmail

Thanks!

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[furryfaces]

Hi Dervish,

Thank you for doing this!

From the ‘pet perspective’ we can say that healthy cat food, litter, litter, and litter, are always needed, as well as large, covered litter boxes. Did we mention litter? There are about 20ish cats living with their people in NV and 5-6 dogs. We encourage people to donate good quality food because it keeps the pets healthier and avoids medical conditions that cheap food often creates.

We are able to keep up on the dog food and other dog needs, but the cat food and litter get very expensive, hence we can only provide a portion of it.

Cat food brands that are decent to good quality are:

-Costco’s DARK purple bag, ‘Adult Maintenance’

-Felidade

-Nature’s Variety

-Wellness

-Arcana

-Nutro

-etc. These are type of brands that are found at pet supply stores like Pet Elements, Mud Bay, Next to Nature, The Feed Bag, Pet Pros, etc.

They are also in need of dog and cat leashes; cat harnesse, (all furry critters have to be on a leash); ceramic or metal food/water bowls; dog/cat toys.

Thanks for caring and if you need to get a hold of us for any reason, our email is furryfaces@hotmail.com

Thanks again. Cheers, The F3 Gang

Remember, It’s Hip To Be Snipped!

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[JoB]

also always needed:

commercial grade garbage bags

large tarps

batteries of all sizes both rechargeable and not

sanitary supplies for the ladies

socks

i am sorry to say that my brain is on empty today

hopefully miws will stop by and add to this list..

if not, i will try to do a better job in the morning.

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[miws]

Other ongoing needs are hand sanitizer, gloves, and folks to help with filling the Camps 5 gallon water jugs, and washing blankets.

Also, dervish, if any individual, or group wishes to take the Camp a meal, go to: http://takethemameal.com/ scroll to: Find A Meal Schedule . . . and enter Nickelsville in the box labeled: Search by recipient last name, and then enter 2012 in the box labeled Password.

Thanks everyone!

Mike

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[dervish]

Miws-

re: gloves. Winter gloves or work glove?

Anything else people need? I had to take a bit of a break, but am now back and working with our HR department to coordinate. Looks like the company as a whole may want to join in, not just employees on their own. Here’s hoping we can aim some resources their way.

Thanks!

-nmb

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[miws]

Hi again, dervish!

I’d say they could probably use both winter and work gloves.

Otherwise, here is the most recent Wish List, from the Feb 8th update on the Nickelsville Works FB Page:

OUR LATEST WISH LIST – February 8, 2013 – FEATURES FIREWOOD

Greetings from Nickelsville. Our nightly meeting last night ENDED the Moratorium on Split Wood (firewood} Donations to Nickelsville! Because we’re almost out and it’s COLD outside.

The MORATORIUM is still on for any sort of pallet, and painted or treated wood. Our present bread donors are giving us more than enough. No more bread needed.

We need duct tape, and our favorite kind is ‘gorilla’ tape. It doesn’t fall off. Gloves – since we are still doing a lot of cleaning – are also appreciated.

In terms of utilities, we need $$$’s now for the porta potties, dumpster, cell phone and etc. But in the long term – don’t stopp telling the Seattle City Council to recognize us so we can get water, sewer, electricity and police protection.

Our last official wish list on this Facebook Page was about a month ago. Dave, a man from the Health Department, has since given us a training on handling donations. He works a lot with Emergency Preparedness and his advice was very helpful.

While it may be easier on the spot to say thanks, and take everything, cleaning up the camp and having to throw out literally hundreds of pallets, pants, shirts, bagels & etc has taught us that’s a disaster in the long run.

Please, when you drop by, be patient with us when we find the expert in the area you want to help in (for example a Donation Coordinator for clothes, a Woodmaster for Firewood, a Structure Master for plywood, a Pet Master for pet food.}

We need to make sure we know what we are receiving, and make sure it is something we can put to use soon. Neither of us wants something to go to waste, after all.

It is also important to know who has donated things, and what has been donated. That is one reason why your contact information is greatly appreciated. Another reason is that while Donors are terrific, friends are even more important. And it is important to keep in touch with friends when something important happens.

Thanks again!

Mike

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[JoB]

dervish..

there is a never-ending need for batteries of all sizes for personal electronics..

and a never ending need for pay as you go phone cards so that people can keep low cost cell phones running..

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