West Seattle weekend scene: Pancake breakfast raises $2,300

| Highland Park | How to help | Nickelsville encampment | West Seattle news

Thanks to Kevin McClintic for that photo from the “Nickelsville” encampment’s pancake-breakfast fundraiser Saturday morning at West Seattle Church of the Nazarene. The fundraising total is in: $1,800 plus a $500 pledge, wrote Peggy Hotes on Facebook, saying about 20 people from the encampment pitched in to make it happen. She also writes that’s two-thirds of their monthly expenses. If you’re interested in helping, ongoing requests for encampment needs are often posted by WSB Forum members who volunteer there.

The encampment has now been at a city-owned site in Highland Park for more than nine months, in a sort of legal limbo – it didn’t ask permission, but the city has said it won’t evict them, nor will it provide utility hookups. The Highland Park Action Committee community council has been pressing the city to take a stand one way or the other, with Nickelsville on the agenda for its last several meetings (including presentations by camp residents); HPAC’s next meeting is this Wednesday, 7 pm, at Highland Park Improvement Club HQ (12th/Holden).

coffee February 26, 2012 (3:15 pm)

So the city makes money off of utilities I can’t figure out why they will not provide them. Strange. Why doesn’t the city take one of the closed schools and convert it to some type of housing and then lease it out? I know it would be a zoning issue but at least the building would not sit empty.

a February 26, 2012 (3:41 pm)

I sure hope that whomever had breakfast there didn’t bring home bed bugs.

interrobang February 26, 2012 (4:10 pm)

Big thank you to everyone who helped with the pancake breakfast! Simply amazing!

I do hope the city decides to aid Nicklesville — Unfortunately, there is a great need for operations like this and from my understanding they run a pretty good operation on their own accord and deserve the support.

@Coffee, sadly, I think that the problem with leasing a closed school is the people who live near the closed schools? Not that they’re in the wrong, they’re very much allowed to have concerns and feel how they do about the situation — but the benefit of the current location is that it isn’t right next door to anyone. While there are homes nearby, the proximity would be much closer. I don’t know what for a fact, but I could see there being a lot of opposition to that sort of a move.

metrognome February 26, 2012 (4:32 pm)

once the city allows utility hookups at the current site or allows them to move into an empty school (which would first have to be renovated to meet occupancy requirements), the city assumes a huge liability. If you’ve never worked for a government, it’s hard to understand the potential ramifications of this liability, but it’s the taxpayers who eventually pay the bill.

Jim P. February 26, 2012 (4:50 pm)

Using a currently unused school would not work either. The amount of money needed to transform a place meant for limited day time use into a facility that would be legal to house people would be major.

I doubt they have enough cooking and shower facilities along with other sanitary needs to do this without excessive expenditure.

You can’t easily pitch a tent in a concrete floored classroom and setting up barracks and reasonable security would take a lot of work and probably bring out other people who would claim these people are being warehoused and treated like prisoners.

And there is the issue that many people feel it is not the obligation or responsibility of the city to provide free housing to people at taxpayer expense. Especially when these things turn into long-term or permanent encampments.

Without disdaining those who are at this pass through no fault of their own, there are many who would happily stay this way the rest of their life if basic shelter and food were being provided free of charge.

Cclarue February 26, 2012 (6:36 pm)

Great!

Jiggers February 26, 2012 (7:41 pm)

Imagine if that can hppen once month? Anythings possible.

JoB February 27, 2012 (11:12 am)

Jim P..

you are right.
there are many who would happily live off the dole for their entire life.

but is using them as the excuse to turn out backs on those who have found themselves homeless because of misfortune the answer?
i don’t think so.

right now the majority of the programs that are designed to house the homeless actually ensure that they will stay homeless by denying them any secure place to store their belongings or the resources to effectively utilize the services that are available to them by kicking them and their belongings out the door early in the morning and locking them in after dinner.

if you are ill, that means you can not work and attend medical appointments and stay in a shelter.
you can’t hold down a swing shift job either.

if you can’t wash and change into presentable clothing you have a difficult time securing any job.. let alone one that “works” with your restrictions.

lets go further.. lets say your misfortune led you to bad choices and you are in a recovery program that requires daily attendance.. you can’t attend the program, keep down a job and make it to the shelter by check in time…

that leaves places like Nickelsville or the streets as your option..

so much for a hand up…

I don’t think Nickelsville is the answer..

but it is a temporary solution until we come up with a better answer.

Mike February 27, 2012 (6:09 pm)

Not that it’s fun work, but there’s a need for people to help in the agricultural side of the state. It’s so bad trying to get hired help they’ve resorted to hiring prison inmates. http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/11/03/2254922/prisoners-helping-pick-eastern.html
.
People complain about illegal immigrants ‘taking American jobs’, well… here ya go! Thousands of openings just in the apple orchards. We also have wheat, onions, spuds and much more.
.
Just a thought for anyone living at the Tent City down off of West Marginal Way, they could look into these possibilities and live well over there on minimum wage (which they’d be paid more than in these jobs).

Sorry, comment time is over.