Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Before N-ville there was . . . H-ville
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September 10, 2011 at 10:49 pm #600533
DBPMemberSeptember 10, 2011 at 10:56 pm #734310
JanSParticipantSeptember 11, 2011 at 2:11 am #734311
christopherboffoliParticipantThere’s actually an interesting mock-up of a Seattle Hooverville shack at the Washington State History Museum (near the Museum of Glass) in Tacoma.
September 11, 2011 at 4:38 am #734312
miwsParticipantSeptember 12, 2011 at 5:35 pm #734313
DBPMemberAlthough there are many differences between H-ville and N-ville, there are some important parallels as well. The foremost of these, in my opinion, is the confused (and confusing) attitude of city government toward both of them.
Initially, the City’s attitude toward H-ville was quite hostile. Twice during the 1930s, police tried to remove the encampment by burning it down. When the residents rebuilt the second time, the City declared an uneasy truce. By 1941, however, city fathers decided they’d finally had enough, and H-ville (along with other encampments around town) was systematically destroyed.
http://www.seattle.gov/cityarchives/Exhibits/Hoover/default.htm
Will the same fate ultimately befall Nickelsville? I hope not, but much depends on what happens in the next year or so. As of now, Seattle has made some goodwill overtures toward the camp. But that’s about it. If the City moves ahead and formalizes its relationship with the camp it will be a very good sign, a sign of intent to establish something permanent.
And if the City fails to move forward? Well, it could be an equally bad sign, a sign that Seattle is once again (as in 1941) keeping all its options open.
Given that ad hoc tent camps represent a basic failure of cities to provide for their people, I can understand why city officials might not want them around, staring everyone in the face.
This is America, after all. Land of the winners.
Who wants to be reminded of failure?
September 13, 2011 at 2:58 pm #734314
redblackParticipantWho wants to be reminded of failure?
ooh! ooh! i do! i do!
’cause only when we recognize and face failure can we rectify it.
in a less-than-perfect but more-perfect-than-this world, the city, suppliers, labor unions, and citizens would donate time and materials to create a KOA-style space with pads and hook-ups for water and electricity, and a central island for storing and cooking food.
September 13, 2011 at 4:24 pm #734315
funkietooParticipantSpot on RedBlack. The City could hook into the sewer, electricity, and water lines (picture the building next door to NV—we know access exists.) If money is the (only) issue, put out Press Release asking for donations to pay for it.
Also…how about Port of Seattle/Other shipping container owners, donating some of their excess containers to NV? Suppliers, labor unions, and citizens could donate time and materials to create small sleeping rooms with one window and one outside door in each container. The rooms could vary in size based on # of residents per room–just like the tents.
These rooms would be easier to clean; warmer than the tents; folks could actually stand up in them, etc. Also, the kitchen and food storage area could be in a container. Crazy idea? Maybe…
Here are 46 photos of Container living–some are elegant; some are not…
September 16, 2011 at 8:08 pm #734316
DBPMemberThanks for the inspired thinking, r-b and funkie-t. If you EVER need any help bringing these ideas of yours to fruition, I am at your service.
Now then . . . While I was cogitating, I realized that Nickelsville confronts us with a dilemma. Or perhaps it is we who confront them with one.
On the one hand, NV residents need (and deserve to get) help both from the City and from the Rest Of Us. And that is as it should be.
—The City should be giving some support.
—The ROA should be giving some support.
—NV residents should be doing the rest.
However, please notice that wherever you have involvement from government, you also have bureaucracy and rules-rules-rules. For that matter, even where there’s involvement from well-meaning citizens you can still have hassles-hassles-hassles, as each well-meaning citizen reserves the right to judge and comment upon how NV is run. (Remember the Pets-and-Kids-at-NV flap? That is a but a taste of things to come.)
Until now, NV has welcomed the attentions of the City and the community. However, ultimately, there may be a limit to just how much of that attention they welcome. Especially when strings are attached, as they inevitably will be.
Conversely, there is a limit to how involved the City will let itself be, as long as NV residents are content to remain in a stable orbit around the event horizon of city codes.
Recently, I’ve been getting signals from the City that they don’t really WANT to formalize their relationship with NV, and that they are content to let the camp drift along under the control of an NGO that can be conveniently scapegoated if anything ever goes wrong.
:-(
I’ll have more on that issue later, in a separate post.
September 18, 2011 at 12:55 am #734317
JoBParticipantIt is unfortunate that politicians forget that their policies affect real people.
The policies that fueled our homeless population prior to this last recession had humane intentions.. allowing the mentally ill to live within our society instead of locking them away.
That intention might have worked out well for us all if it had been met with adequate community housing and support systems but in the interest of cutting costs we ended up dumping our mentally ill on the street with inadequate incomes and limited support.
we are now doing less for those who become injured, or evicted, or chronically ill and can no longer work.
Our safety net has failed and the people living in Nickelsville are living proof of that failure.
Yes, there are “professional” homeless activists in Nickelsville… that is if you can call anyone who lives in a tent and subsists on food stamps and/or public aid professional…
Yes, there are also bums at Nickelsville.. people who spend their first of the month income on temporary escapism (booze, drugs, gambling …) by the 5th and have nothing left to live on…
but mostly, if you go spend an afternoon around their fire you will find there are people who are down on their luck and need the opportunity to rebuild their lives.
Expecting them to do so without access to basic housing, water, electricity, sanitation, showers and the ability to maintain interview clothing is pure madness.
September 18, 2011 at 1:02 am #734318
funkietooParticipantSpot on JoB
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