CAMP SECOND CHANCE: Long-discussed capacity expansion finally about to happen

There’s long been talk of adding more tiny houses to Camp Second Chance in southeast West Seattle [map] – the sanctioned encampment on the city-owned Myers Way Parcels has room for them. At tonight’s monthly Community Advisory Committee meeting, details finally emerged. Camp Second Chance will be adding 26 new units in the next several weeks. Twenty of them will represent added capacity, at the north end of the camp, where a large canopy – recently lost to wind – once covered the tiny-house-building operation that has since become the Hope Factory in Georgetown/SODO. The other six will replace existing tiny homes that have fallen into disrepair. More big news at tonight’s meeting: The water and sewer service has been worked out. It will be hooked up to the new hygiene trailer once the kitchen is moved to a new concrete slab, where it will have a sink with hot water. The kitchen move will in turn facilitate a new laundry building, with three washers and three dryers. Another site improvement: Community Advisory Committee member Grace Stiller‘s group Weed Warriors has led a project to clear more area, creating a walking path near the camp. Finally, two stats from the past month: Nine people moved out, going into permanent housing, and the camp had three 911 calls, all for medical problems.

The Camp Second Chance Community Advisory Committee meets second Tuesdays, 6 pm, online. Email c2ccacchair@gmail.com if you’d like to get notifications.

7 Replies to "CAMP SECOND CHANCE: Long-discussed capacity expansion finally about to happen"

  • John Walling April 12, 2022 (9:00 pm)

    My notes from the CAC meeting for Camp Second ChanceScott Harris – LIHI – C2C manager – 1.5 FTE added for 3rd shift and weekends – staffing is almost completedJosh Castle – LIHI – Advocacy and Community Engagement Director    Improvements coming to CSC to be completed by end of May 2022        Water and sewage lines connect to city lines        26 new tiny house, 6 are replacements for for old houses        ADA compliant hygiene trailer with 4 complete bathrooms with showers        New laundry facility with 3 washer and driers        New kitchen        New office for LIHI staff    Under development:       Sand Point Cottages with 36 units for permanent housing          https://lihi.org/2019/07/29/announcing-sand-point-cottage-community/          More News coming in LIHI newsletter on 4/13            https://lihi.org/newsletter/     newsletter signup + newsletter archive    Median stay for King County temp villages was 114 days in 2021

  • taproot April 12, 2022 (10:11 pm)

    Good news to hear, awesome work!

  • neighbor April 13, 2022 (8:36 am)

    What can we do, as a community, to facilitate a rapid expansion so that all of the occupants of roadside tents and RVs can be offered more suitable and humane shelter? I’m guessing that would require hundreds of tiny homes in short order just for West Seattle, but I believe our community would engage in a really big way if there was a chance to get people into shelter and clean up the roadside encampments.

    • WSB April 13, 2022 (12:01 pm)

      Part of the challenge at present seems to be that the new Regional Homelessness Authority leadership is not a big fan of tiny homes, or so the regional media has reported.

  • flimflam April 13, 2022 (12:24 pm)

    Is this camp permanent now? It’s definitely been there for years…

    • WSB April 13, 2022 (5:31 pm)

      I’d say more indefinite than permanent. There is no longer a requirement for renewing permission.

  • Better late than never April 13, 2022 (2:07 pm)

    More of this could have happened earlier around Seattle if it was really seen as a “crisis” not just heard as a “crisis.”  Glad some additional humane services such as access to sewer and warm water is being added.

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