Public Meeting Tonight to Discuss Hosting Tent City 4 in Sammamish

The public is invited to an open meeting tonight at 6:30 pm, at Mary, Queen of Peach church in Sammamish, to discuss the church potentially hosting Tent City 4, a homeless community that moves from community to community every 90 days.

Mary, Queen of Peach church is located in Sammamish at 1121 228th Ave SE, across 228th Avenue from Skyline High School. 

Anne Royse Ginther, the church's Patorial Assistant for Youth Ministry, says “Mary, Queen of Peace may be Tent City 4’s last hope right now. Tent City 4 had accepted an invitation to stay at Temple B’Nai Torah (TBT) of Bellevue starting in October, but when they went to file the permit paperwork, they found no room at the inn. Turns out a homeless camp run by a different organization called Camp Unity, had already taken up the time permit space in Bellevue for this time, and now Tent City 4 has no place to set up camp.”

“Our Christian faith calls us to serve the poor,” says Father Kevin Duggan, Pastor of Mary, Queen of Peace. Father Duggan says, “We are grateful for the wide range of support from the greater community, and feel compelled to seriously consider this matter. No doubt that at this meeting we will have some concerned citizens, especially those who may not have seen a tent city or worked closely with homelessness before, with good questions and we believe most of them will have their fears allayed when they learn more about it.”

More information on tent city is available here. Ginther says the decision regarding whether the church will host Tent City 4 could be made as soon as next week.