IN THE NEWS

On March 12, the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) received word from the city of Seattle Human Services Department (HSD) that after “careful consideration,” Nickelsville may once again explore siting a village on the Brighton property at 7112 Rainier Avenue South. We’re reservedly thrilled about this news, as we’re almost sure that the handful of people who raised “concerns” to the city will still be opposed.

On the corner of Rainier Avenue South and South Orchard Street sits an empty lot covered in grass and black tarps. Surrounding the 10,000-square-foot lot is a partly rusted, barbed wire-topped chain link fence, with a hedge on one side. At the back of the property, a separate enclosure holds a large electrical rectifier box — the only sign of any active use.

Having regular access to a cohesive kitchen might not seem like a privilege, but it is for the residents of the Nickelsville Tiny House Village in Northlake. The kitchen is described by residents as functional — to a certain extent. Tired of these constraints, they’re collaborating with the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Seattle to build a new, secure kitchen.

If you are interested in helping Seattle’s homeless population this holiday season, don’t overlook the importance of something as basic as a clean, dry pair of socks. Many homeless service providers working in the Seattle area say they’re in need of basic supplies this winter like clean underwear, blankets and nonperishable food.

Since the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) took the reins of the region’s response to homelessness, representatives from Nickelsville, an organization composed of two self-managed tiny shelter villages, say officials have warmed up to its resident-run model as part of a balanced tiny shelter stock that could help get more people inside temporarily.

Two days before signature–gathering could begin for a ballot initiative on homelessness in Seattle, a coalition of homeless advocates has filed a legal challenge that argues the language that would appear on voters’ ballots in November is misleading.

The city of Seattle has agreed to keep open a tiny house village in Northlake it’s been trying to close for months, in exchange for an agreement from the village residents that they would leave.

Four years after it debuted in the winter of 2016 and became one of the models for proponents of so-called bridge housing in Seattle, the 22nd and Union Tiny House Village has been given one month to find a new home.

When employees from the Low-Income Housing Institute (LIHI) came to the Northlake tiny house village on Tuesday to tell the formerly homeless residents that their village would be closed in December, things quickly got ugly.

Andrew Constantino was always friendly with the people living on the street in his neighborhood. As a recovering drug addict, he said he understood what it was like to struggle -- he'd get to know the people he passed by and offer help when he could.

The residents and staff of Nickelsville got some unwelcome—but not entirely unexpected—news this week.

Tucked behind a Shell gas station on the corner of Ellis Avenue South and South Myrtle Street in Georgetown, the Nickelsville Tiny House Village is home to residents who can offer informed perspectives on the Seattle City Council's proposed Employee Head Tax (EHT). A large group of Nickelsville residents, from the Georgetown location and others like it across the city, attended the North Seattle Town Hall last week to participate in what they hoped would be a productive dialogue about the need for a more aggressive policy to fund affordable housing. Instead, they witnessed a screaming match that compelled the Council to scrap its agenda and adopt an open mic format and set strict time limits on audience feedback.

The Nickelsville Georgetown tiny house village just gained some additional family housing. Six new structures built by local high school students include two tiny houses “designed to accommodate a larger family” and three single-family tiny homes, plus wheelchair-accessible ramps.

When Mayor Ed Murray announced his plans to open three new homeless encampments throughout Seattle 18 months ago, the strongest opposition came out of the usually quiet neighborhood of Ballard.

Seattle police cleared out a homeless camp known as Nickelsville Friday. It’s been temporarily located on South Dearborn Street, near the freeway, since 2014.

The E Union Tiny House Village celebrated with a housewarming Saturday as the 15-unit Nickelsville and Low Income Housing Institute project on a Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd-owned lot welcomed neighbors and the people who built the little homes for a donation drive and tour with residents.

Matt Hannahs, girlfriend Desireé Hoffman and their six-year-old son Devyn have been Nickelodeons for the past 3-months as they work to get more permanent housing.

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and the City Council went out on a limb in March when they decided to allow and oversee up to three new homeless encampments for up to 100 people each on city or private land.

Asa Yoe is a mild-mannered 30-year-old with boyish features and warm eyes. He’s from Georgia, speaks with a gentle, Southern twang, and usually has a cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth. He makes good money fishing in Alaska every summer, then heads south every fall to pick up the odd construction job.

The Seattle Times published an editorial on Aug. 28 calling on the city to find shelter for the roughly 40 residents living in the Nickelsville homeless encampments. Murray responded to a Times inquiry on the situation last Thursday by announcing the formation of a Housing Advisory Committee to come up with long-term plans to address the shortage of affordable housing in Seattle. This is a good thing, but it does not address the short-term confusion caused by Nickelsville’s move to Little Saigon’s perimeter.

As snow dusted Seattle on Friday morning, demand for warm items shot up at a homeless camp in Seattle’s central area. Ken Kahaloha, a resident at the South Jackson Street camp and also its kitchen manager, rattled off a few: “Coffee, hot chocolate, soup and Cup Noodles soup.”

Richard Gilbert stood near the main security desk at Nickelsville in the mid-morning sunlight and counted to 17.

That’s how many times the embattled homeless camp has moved since it began Sept. 22, 2008, when a group of homeless people and their allies first occupied city-owned land at the corner of West Marginal Way Southwest and Highland Park Way Southwest.

This Sunday, the 13th of May, marks the one year anniversary of Nickelsville at its current site.

Six months after its return to a city-owned site at West Marginal Way SW/Highland Park Way, the encampment that calls itself Nickelsville is in a sort of limbo – legal, and otherwise.

A lot of cities view homeless encampments like weeds that have sprung up in the civic garden. Sacramento and Fort Worth, for example, have shut them down.

On Monday, Nov. 15, the homeless encampment known as Nickelsville moved for the next to last time to a firehouse in Lake City owned by the City of Seattle. Sometime next spring, Nickelsville will settle into a lot in Sodo, with a city-constructed facility featuring showers, storage lockers, eating space, and an office where campers will be connected with the services that they need to move on.

As the nation’s economic and housing crisis worsens, homelessness is also on the rise, and an increasing number of people are setting up roving encampments or shanty towns that are popularly known as tent cities. Seattle’s newest tent city is called Nickelsville. The encampment is made up of over 100 fuchsia tents and is named to protest Mayor Greg Nickels’s policies toward the homeless.