Sammamish Comes to the Rescue-Tent City 4

Last night I had the pleasure of helping a group of women in our neighborhood community, make dinner for the residents of Tent City 4. If you haven't heard, the temporary encampment is behind Mary Queen of Peace, near City Hall in our town of Sammamish WA. I say pleasure because anytime you get to feel like you're helping someone in great need is a pleasure. Lending a neighbor your lawn mower, watching a friend's children while they work, making taco soup and Caesar salad for 60 people who are down on their luck and might not have a square meal without the generosity of others--it's a pleasure, especially because we drove over from heated homes, with full fridges, flush toilets, and running water. 

Coming in to this night, I had no preconceived notions about Tent City 4. I'd heard there was controversy and some Sammamish residents opposed the permit needed to have them in our town for the sixty days. (Which might turn into ninety days) But, as I told my seventeen year old son last night, "We can't form an opinion until we go there, see what it's all about."

We lugged our basket full of salad and extension cords (and books) down the hill to the 'city' which is more like a large group campsite. The whole thing is outside in the freezing cold. The security office, kitchen, dining hall and storerooms are situated in temporary huts on the right, and on the left is a fence that prevents any lookie-loos like myself from rubber necking at the tents and homeless people. Openings to the tent area are small and privately located which is a good thing because even homeless people living on charity deserve privacy.
After setting up twelve crock pots of delicious smelling taco soup with beans, corn and hamburger, and setting out huge tubs of Caesar salad, and corn bread donated by SAFEWAY, we got out of the way and waited for the dinner bell. Some moms brought teens and kids to help serve (and to later say "this is what poor looks like, not the absence of Xbox 1), and they were stationed behind the tables to tell diners what was for dinner.

It was pitch dark, with some lighting set up but not good enough to see the yummy soup. And it was cold. Last night the temp was 38 degrees. Not camping weather. 
While waiting to see where I might be needed I met a few people, including a woman who’d recently slipped on a wet plank and torn her ACL. She was cheerfully hobbling along, smiling and talking to everyone. I met an older woman who was shivering and obviously suffering from anxiety. And I met a very nice gentleman of about 50 years who'd just arrived from downtown Seattle an hour before. He hadn't had a good night's sleep in five days, he said, and was sifting through the huge pile of donated warm weather gear. While waiting to be processed and checked in (they go through a background check first), he found himself a nice warm coat, a blanket and some new gloves. He told me that the pickins were much better in Sammamish than anywhere he'd ever seen and was very grateful to get nice things. He didn't need such style but was happy to get something well made. Something that would last. As I listened to him talk, I couldn't imagine not having a good sleep in 5 days and still being able to stand up. And be grateful. He mentioned that he wasn't capable of remembering my name and I told him not to worry about it. Later I saw him getting dinner, and even later I heard that some of the teen volunteers helped him erect a new tent. Gosh I hope by now he's had a full night's sleep. Poor man. These Tent City 4 residents are individuals, with names, with mothers, some are mothers. They all have names. 

Most residents are men but the women I spoke to last night seemed very nice. I could've met them just as easily in line at Safeway and talked to them about the price of apples. While there a car drove up to drop off two bags of shoes and boots, another to drop off laundry that some kind-hearted woman had done for the residents because there's no laundry facilities. One of my friends brought new sleeping bags and blankets for anyone who needed them. I saw those go back into the tent area within minutes after they arrived. 

One younger man who stopped to chat with a volunteer by the corn bread had been at Tent City for only two months, had a job and just hadn't been able to make enough money yet for an apartment of his own, but with the help of the City, he hoped to be independent soon. I didn't get his name.
Most residents of the City are like that. Sixty percent of the sixty people work, most part time because that's all they can manage without an address, references, and transportation to and from work. Many of these people get up at the crack of dawn to catch a bus for another town for their job. Very few residents of this particular Tent City have been there for an extended period of time and most don't plan to be there long. They prefer the encampment to a downtown shelter for many reasons not the least of which is the fact that shelters kick you back out on the street at 5:30 a.m. for the day, a time that is the coldest in Seattle. At Tent City 4, you can leave your belongings there during the day while you work or hunt for work. According to one former resident who is now out and working, living on the streets in downtown Seattle doesn't give you a fighting chance to better yourself. Tent City 4 does. I saw a real camaraderie among everyone. You couldn't tell residents from workers, except for us Plateau moms who showed up with our kids in North Face jackets and Uggs. That felt wrong. 

After the dinner bell rang, a few people trickled out for dinner but we were told that most would eat later, when they got home from their jobs. Every night a new volunteer group shows up to supply dinner, either spearheaded by individuals like my group or as part of a church group, girl scouts and such. If you go online to find an opportunity to cook, you won’t. The slots are all taken. But they still need help--donations of breakfast food, blankets. Check the website at http://tentcity4.info/

In researching how Sammamish came to host Tent City 4, I was moved by the fact that Mary Queen of Peace Church stepped up at the 11th hour to help out. Bellevue was to be the location but ran into a legal snag and had to back out at the end of September. October 1st, the plea went out for communities to host. Father Duggan of Mary Queen of Peace Church stepped forward to say his congregation had voted to host the group on a small patch of grassy land behind the church. It hadn't been unanimous, but they'd open their hearts and their gates to the occupants of Tent City 4, given what the alternative was for the men and women of the encampment. October 14, just 5 days before the camp had to disband and move on from Redmond, it was looking good for the permit to go through. 

According to what I read the only time police have been called to the location was when two people under the influence of alcohol (NOT TENT CITY RESIDENTS!) were arguing over something at the top of the road. The residents know how important it is for everyone in their extended family to be on their best behavior, especially because they know how it felt to not have anywhere to go, there for about two weeks in October.

Last night a policeman was in attendance but was amicably talking with the residents, making sure an older woman was warm enough. He went somewhere and brought back a yellow tarp to keep the dampness from seeping up through her bed.

If you aren't sure if you're safe with these sixty people in the community, I suggest you put a bag of clothes together, get some breakfast groceries, buy a couple of warm sleeping bags, flashlights, pillows and do the drive through behind the church. You can drive right up to the office, unload your donations and be thanked, all within 2 minutes, then drive away.

If you’re lucky, you might even meet a nice person who hasn't slept in a few days and is so thankful to be included in Tent City 4 that he has tears in his eyes, and then you'll go home and put together a care package of food and pillows for the nice gentleman. 

Omar is his name.