Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Nickelsville 11yr old??
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November 15, 2011 at 9:43 pm #601264
happywalkerParticipantDid anyone catch a segment on King 5 news over the weekend regarding the 11 year old homeless boy from Nickelsville? It mentioned how his Mother fled an abusive relationship with him and ended up homeless. He just stood ther in front of the camera, wet and teeth chattering and said he just wants a home. Have you ever camped in the rain, were cold, wet and clammy? Can you imagine NOT being able to dry off and get warm? It must be miserable day in and day out. Living in a cold wet tent. He looked like such a sweet boy, certainly not asking for much. Haunting.
November 15, 2011 at 9:48 pm #740587
BostonmanMemberI didn’t see it but I agree. The fact we can’t help people like that is beyond belief. That 11 year old is going through things no kid should need to live through.
November 15, 2011 at 11:58 pm #740588
kootchmanMemberYea. But we have little green bicycle boxes being painted all over the city. Can we prioritize or what? Maybe a referendum? The city shall not spend any money until there are no homeless children. No Pea Patches, No Arts Council, No Neighborhood grants, No traffic circles, nada… not a thing. Or… the salaries, entertainment and travel,, funds shall betaken directly from the compensation of the mayor, city council, their staffs…until no minor child and guradian(s) is/are without code compliant, safe housing? I’d say “both side of the aisle” would go for that. We can’t have it all, but we can the necessities… then argue about the goodies.
November 16, 2011 at 2:19 am #740589
casabobaMemberThank you for leaving out “bike lanes” & “viaducts” in post (# 3). Including them would have diluted the point you were making.
NO people young or old should have to live in the poorly named abyss named ‘Nickelsville.’
November 16, 2011 at 2:37 am #740590
kootchmanMemberI am not that generous…but the children are defenseless. Let’s see that mayoral bicycle coordinator … 100K salary, add 40% benefits, the staff ans support… why that is the rent for ALL the homeless kids in N’ville… Every one. With money to go to the next tent city.
November 16, 2011 at 4:18 am #740591
munchkin22MemberWe’re with you Kootchman. Except for “basic” pea patches. At least those generate wholesome food for those that can least afford it. We heard that water and sewer infrastructure for NV would cost $36K. Drop in the bucket for the city and it would give those kids stuck there a bit more comfort until their parents found a way out of there.
Spent most of yesterday trying to find shelter for a newborn and his mother and came away empty handed and without help. She found a helping organization in another county. Not in Seattle, not in King County. What does that say about us as a greater community? “Whatever you do unto the least of these, you do unto me”
The kids in left in NV at the moment seem to be ok in spite of their circumstances. They know how to tease us back and interact well with the adults. We know of only 2 boys left, the 11 yr old and a 13 year old. The families with younger children seem to have found alternate living arrangements outside of NV. That’s a good thing.
November 16, 2011 at 4:58 am #740592
miwsParticipantm22 is correct.
There are only two minor children currently left at NV. (Although the one is actually 12)
They’re both very bright, and good kids, and have become buddies, right down to the occasional minor squabble. ;-)
Considering their circumstances, they both seem to be handling it pretty well.
They even enjoy helping out in Camp, whether it be getting gravel in and spread out, or hauling in firewood.
Mike
November 16, 2011 at 5:13 am #740593
WSBKeymasterJust dropping in. Looks like KING must have picked up this story on seattlepi.com, unless it was the other way around.
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Sign-of-grim-times-Kids-in-Nickelsville-2255880.php
A question I haven’t figured out how to ask, and in what context, but it haunts me to some degree …
The much-debated DESC project in Delridge to house 75 homeless adults will cost $14.5 million, and who knows how much operating budget. Most if not all of the cost is public funding – city, county, state, and private funding traded for tax credits.
Having been at Nickelsville the day of the city council tour/meeting and heard that the cost of a Simple Sturdy Structure was in the hundreds … less than a thousand certainly … so 75 people, perhaps, could be housed for less than $75,000, I wonder if there isn’t somehow a middle ground between a $14.5 million apartment building and a bootstrapped camp.
Don’t know the answer, don’t even know who to ask, but as both these storylines wind through WSB discussion and coverage, I often wonder. – TR
November 16, 2011 at 5:28 am #740594
TDeParticipant“We can’t have it all, but we can the necessities… then argue about the goodies.”
I agree.
November 16, 2011 at 1:15 pm #740595
Talaki34Participanthttp://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/
http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/workshops/seattle/
http://www.resourcesforlife.com/small-house-society
Maybe find a city planner that is willing to donate time to design a plan for NV using homes (?) that are like the above. Incorporate a sewer/water system to community facilities (bathrooms and kitchen/dining) and some sort of electrical heating/lighting system (Solar tiles?) to each small home. Look at other facilities to. Closed down schools? What about a weekend or two given by Habitat for Humanity and us to put up homes like these?
Make living in NV an active way out of homelessness. Utilize retired teachers to educate, look for people in the trades who might be willing to train. Get them a small post office so they have an actual place to reference on job applications and couple it with a call center. Get the Community Colleges involved. What about private and public social welfare agencies having some sort of space that they can use on site.
The possibilities are endless.
November 16, 2011 at 3:08 pm #740596
JoBParticipantI was told by someone who is doing research that the cost to install water and sewer to Nickelsville includes a “nuisance” fee that the county can waive.
it could be considerably cheaper than 36K.
In the meantime, winter is fast approaching and 100+ people sit in a field with no reliable heat source, no reliable water source and overflowing portable toilets.
Today, 2 of them are kids.
But the inability of existing programs to find suitable housing for homeless kids has not changed… so kids will continue to come to Nickelsville.
Hopefully, their stay won’t have to be a long one.
November 16, 2011 at 3:11 pm #740597
JoBParticipantTalaki34
the possibilities are endless
the resources of local citizens who are providing the only “services” at Nickelsville now aren’t:(
The good news is that every person who becomes involved belongs to a network of other people and that network is slowly beginning to interest other organizations in Nickelsville.
In time, that will produce results
November 16, 2011 at 6:40 pm #740598
365StairsParticipantRedirect the proposed $14.5 million to a fund that renovates to code and maintains existing abandoned locations for useable living spaces with real utilities already there.
Much like Nville has real structure – these available spaces would have clear rules for living there.
There are many available structures in the city to make better use of…
November 17, 2011 at 12:59 am #740599
JoBParticipantNovember 17, 2011 at 1:04 am #740600
JoBParticipanttoday i attended a meeting where 3 very passionate young men spoke about carbon negative heating and cooking stoves…
during the break we began brainstorming some of the other challenges of living in an open field and by the end of the break we could have solved many of the functional living issues at Nickelsville for a fraction of the funds available to help the homeless…
but… even that fraction was out of the reach of the participants..
this weekend the first carbon negative heating/cooking stove will be installed at Nickelsville. Next week there will be a workshop for residents to build 5 more.. bringing the total to 6.
it’s a start.
November 17, 2011 at 1:37 am #740601
Betty TMemberI saw thw Nickelsville bit over and over. I felt it was good to let the public know the situation. Yes, I go there every weekend and both those boys are very polite, well mannered and eager to always help. Yes they’re having a rough time but at least they are still with their mother.
What’s with these mothers whose babies are “disappearing”?
I did hear a neighbor of mine comment that they shouldn’t have put the kids on TV. Anyone else feel like that? I felt King 5 was trying to help.
November 17, 2011 at 2:23 am #740602
DBPMemberNo, those kids SHOULD be on TV. The public should know who is living at Nickelsville, and why.
However, any publicity Nickelsville gets should be aimed foremost at pressuring citizens to pressure local government to formalize its relationship with the place. That will be the best thing for the kids and everyone else who lives there.
What you DON’T want is a relationship with the media where every time King 5 needs a “human interest” story for the holidays, they just trot on down to Nickelsville with their cameras rolling.
Back in the day, they used to call that “pimpin’ the poor.” Don’t know what they call it now . . .
I do hope everyone who makes any kind of contribution to NV this holiday season also takes the time to contact City Hall and tell them that what NV needs more than anything is to be made PERMANENT. Otherwise, the City can send in the cops to tear it down any time they feel like it, “Simple Sturdy Structures,” “carbon negative stoves,” and all.
Think it can’t happen here? Ho Ho Ho!
Tell me . . . exactly how long was it between when Mayor McGinn gave his warm-n-fuzzy statement about Occupy Seattle and when he sent the cops in to tear down tents and start throwing people out? Three days maybe?
Before you go building anything else on that property, better get permission first. Otherwise, it’s a crapshoot.
–David
November 17, 2011 at 4:42 am #740603
JoBParticipantDavid..
the good news is that everything being built on that site is portable.. it can be moved.
the simple sleeping structures can be collapsed to a flat pack… or moved with a forklift..
but… you are dead right
the most effective thing we can do as citizens is to put pressure on city hall and the city council to legitimize Nickelsville and provide them with basic services.
November 17, 2011 at 5:16 pm #740604
365StairsParticipantWhat is the current and projected use of the former middle and temp high school located on Delridge?
Dream sequence.. if this space was available…it could easily be converted (for a lot less) to viable short & long term housing for literally hundreds.
Add in managed structure, living space rules and oversight / enforcement…
There are dozens of empty spaces available that could be considered. The city should NOT have to spend millions…
November 17, 2011 at 5:52 pm #740605
JoBParticipant365
i think it is slated to be once again occupied by schools…
they tore down the empty middle school up the hill from Chief Sealth to create tennis courts and a park.
nice park.. but it would have made a very good shelter:(
There is empty miltary housing in Discovery Park
November 17, 2011 at 7:27 pm #740606
365StairsParticipantWell…not sure what possessed me into this and not sure if it helps, hurts, or is indifferent….I’m traditionally not an activist of any sort…
But I emailed the mayor’s office with this link and asked the question if there would be consideration for re-purposing empty sites for the priority short / mid term usage of displaced families / individuals.
IF I get a response…I will share.
If this is not the avenue desired…sorry.
November 17, 2011 at 8:04 pm #740607
happywalkerParticipantI think the old Boren Middle School is a great idea. It has bathrooms,heat,doors a ROOF. A permenant address for residents that need one for mailing purposes. Let’s see what we can accomplish.
November 18, 2011 at 8:02 pm #740608
Talaki34ParticipantI put an inquiry in about using closed public schools here in West Seattle for some type of housing for the homeless. The information I received was very helpful, but unfortunately not the best of news. “There is an ongoing need for space in the public school system and all avenues will be looked at including possible re-utilization of the closed schools.” (This is just my take on the conversation, no quotes included)
This doesn’t mean that somewhere outside of West Seattle there would not be something available. Maybe someone could speak with the church group that took over the old firehouse in Lake City. They may have some knowledge of resources that we have not thought of.
November 19, 2011 at 4:51 am #740609
hopeyParticipantre: whether the kids should have been on TV
Watching that news piece was certainly sobering and eye-opening for the 11 year old who lives in my house. It inspired our family to brainstorm about a practical donation to Nickelsville sometime in the near future.
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