Ho-Ho-Hobo Wreaths Tell Stories

Above: Ahmad, 26, makes a wreath at the Ho-Ho-Hobo holiday wreath stand at the tent city on the corner of State Avenue and Franklin Street. 

Ho-Ho-Hobo Wreaths Now Available 

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Ho-Ho-Hobo is back! 

This year, the holiday wreath stand organized by Walker Stephens and other volunteers is located in a tent encampment on the corner of State Avenue and Franklin Street in downtown Olympia.

Wreaths are available for a sliding scale donation starting at $20. Each wreath, some classic, some funky, has a tag with the name of the person who made it. 

Stephens hung out near the stand and explained the concept: $5.00 goes immediately toward the person who made it, $5.00 goes toward the person who sells it, $5.00 goes toward Stephens’ gas and wreath-making supplies, and the rest goes into a community pot. 

At a meeting held weekly on Wednesdays, 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. at 115 Legion Way SW, everyone decides as a group what to do with the extra funds. The meeting is open to everyone regardless of previous involvement or housing status.

Each wreath tells a story. Sometimes, the person is there to tell it in their own voice.

Ahmad, 26, has been homeless for a few months. He has lived in Olympia since he was 11.

“I’m a slacker, a freeloader, but I do need help. I’ve had close calls and eye-opening situations,” he says, working on a wreath at the Ho-Ho-Hobo wreath making stand.

He allowed Little Hollywood to tell his story because he thought it would help others.

Spelling his name, Ahmad says his name is Muslim.

“I still have yet to find myself in a religion, but I believe in a Father/God/Mother  Nature. We are like gods and nature. I actually think there’s two – not just one.”

“I dabble, I use, I’m a smoker,” he volunteers in the next sentence, his voice soft.

“I was looking for a place to stay between the (Union Gospel) Mission and the Salvation Army...sometimes you don’t have the energy in the cold weather. It’s freezing. If you’re not prepared for it, it can take quite a bit of a toll on you. Someone died over there you know,” he said, pointing to the tent where a woman with health issues lived and died last Sunday.

Like many downtown residents, he discovered the tent encampment to be something of a haven. Like a city, it’s a community. While we spoke, people were coming and going, checking in with each other.

“This kind of stuff (the bustle of activity) is perfect because it shows you a way to hustle with the bare necessities. We can make music. We can use this parking lot for haircuts and things that could get people more income. It generates a lot of ideas. Everyone here has their story. Different walks of life in here, you’d get different responses. I haven’t been here that long….

When asked what happened, Ahmed said he got kicked out of the house by his mom in July. He had a tent, but he gave it away to someone he said needed it more than he did. Ahmad is staying with a friend.

“Then I got in trouble at Walmart for shoplifting. I tried to go back home but my mom and I didn’t agree. She’s at that stage in her life – she’s reaching a time limit, like, if you don’t get certain things done, that’s going to affect other things. The world has changed in the 26 years since I’ve been born, and we see things differently.

“She’s done some things that I’m not very familiar with – she works two jobs, she raised me by herself and I always saw her as a strong woman until I started getting in trouble with the law. She didn’t really know certain things that I was doing, and our communication was affected by it. 

“She never told me that she took out mortgages and loans for her house, so her house went into foreclosure and she’s looking at going out into the streets. This is what she’s experiencing. When the real estate owner took it under his name, we weren’t able to stay there any longer,” Ahmad said, his thoughts drifting away.

“She wants me to be the best I can be,” he added after a long pause.

Little Hollywood asked him if she knows where he is. He said yes, but he hasn’t spoken with her. He has spoken with his sister who brought him clothes.

“That’s what made me rethink where I’m at because they gave me a few things.”

Asked if he knows how to get services, he says he does. He said he is eating and has a place to stay at the camp.

“I just get bored. I’m able to work. I’m able-bodied…. I can pretty much do anything,” he said. 

I watched him choose cedar boughs and holly for the wreath and slowly wrap wire around them.

“You look like you are creative,” I said, and meant it.

“I’ve done landscaping - a little bit of everything. I like working with my hands. I want to go to school and get a degree in engineering, like mechanical engineering. I want to build machines. That would be cool,“ he smiled.

“I believe in fate and right now God or whoever is up there is making it work,” Ahmad said, continuing to make the wreath. “I usually don’t talk so much.” 

Above: Ahmad is almost finished with his wreath.

Holiday Wreath Supplies Needed

Ho-Ho-Hobo is accepting donations of markers, ribbons, materials for name tags, plastic ornaments and miscellaneous, beautiful and funky decorations for decorating wreaths. 

Supplies can be dropped off at the red Ho-Ho-Hobo booth in the tent city on the corner of State Avenue and Franklin Street. The booth is open from 10:00 a.m. until dark every day except Wednesdays. 

Other wreath vending locations are being planned by organizers. 

On Saturday, a Ho-Ho-Hobo booth did brisk business outside the Capitol Theater during the annual Duck-the-Malls holiday bazaar.

“We earned $450 today outside Duck the Malls - a record! That’s after paying out $180 to our sales team and the folks who made all those wreaths!” Stephens reported after the event.

As for the name Ho-Ho-Hobo, the name was created by and for the street community who make the holiday wreaths with love and humor.

Someone working on a wreath burst into laughter when Stephens added, “The only people who complain about the name are housed people.”  

For a previous story about the Ho-Ho-Hobo wreath stand, go to http://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com/2016/12/ho-ho-hobos-peoples-holiday-stand.html 

Above: Wreaths are available by donation at the Ho-Ho-Hobo wreath stand in the tent city at the corner of State Avenue and Franklin Street.

Update on Olympia Homelessness Issues

Above: A home in a tent city at State Avenue and Franklin Street on a city owned parking lot in downtown Olympia. In the background is Billy Frank Jr. Place, an apartment complex operated by the Low Income Housing Institute.

Code Blue Declared, Winter Survival Events, Volunteer Training Available

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Calling it a “Code Blue” public health emergency, the Thurston County Public Health Department activated its hazard shelter plan on Tuesday. 

As temperatures dropped into the 20s in the evenings this week, the emergency increased overnight bed capacity for an additional 130 beds.

The shelter network includes the Salvation Army, St. Michael’s Church, Community Youth Services, and the Family Support Center, Union Gospel Mission, the Yelm Community Services Center.

The plan is intended to accommodate people who might not survive in outdoor camps, doorways or cars, and highlights the urgency to address and coordinate Olympia area homelessness issues.

At a tent city on the corner of State and Franklin Street, the Olympia Fire Department has allowed residents on the lot to have contained fires to keep warm and actively educating them about safe fire containment methods.

In November, the city counted approximately 310 individuals sleeping outdoors or in tents in downtown Olympia. There are many more living nearby in wooded areas, under bridges, and along railroad tracks. 

A several hour study session with briefings by area social service providers to the Olympia City Council Tuesday night helped councilmembers get a much clearer picture of what has become a multi-pronged approach to homelessness issues.

Above: An Intercity Transit bus with a Little Creek Casino advertising slogan, Live a Little, lends itself to a bit of irony as it passes by a tent city on the corner of State Avenue and Franklin Street in downtown Olympia. 

Above: The city is preparing a site with space for 80 tent sites on a parking lot on Olympia Avenue and Franklin Street behind Intercity Transit in downtown Olympia. The site has been marked with 10x10 painted squares and is expected to be available for use within days.

At State Avenue and Franklin Street, a tent city has sprung up on a parking lot adjacent to Billy Frank Jr. Place, a low income housing apartment complex.

Due to a September ruling by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, cities cannot clear homeless camps without giving them someplace to go.

The city is preparing another parking lot nearby as a site with space for 80 tents on Olympia Avenue and Franklin Street behind Intercity Transit. The city is calling this a temporary housing “mitigation” site. 

Wooden pallets will be provided so tents are not on the ground, along with sanitation services and dumpsters for garbage collection.

A modified shipping container, provided by the Port of Olympia, will be available for secure storage of belongings. Plumbing, electrical, and two tiny homes as camp posts will also be available on site.

The Union Gospel Mission will provide support as the camp host.

City manager Steve Hall warned councilmembers that the site will be better than the scene at the State and Franklin Street lot, but it will not be city managed and will not have food drop-off capabilities, cooking tents or medical supplies.

The intent is to have two such sites with the total capacity of 140-160 people.

New Crisis Response Team, “Familiar Faces” Programs

A new mental health focused crisis response team funded by the recently passed Public Safety levy lid lift will begin work in downtown Olympia. 

Its work is broad-based and will operate with the Olympia Police Department as another community policing option, diverting individuals from jail or hospitals.

The crisis response team will collaborate with a new, grant funded street outreach and system navigation program called the “Familiar Faces” program.

The program will offer personal services to at least 15 to 20 individuals known to need the most care. The individuals, most of whom are street dependent in downtown Olympia, were selected using a vulnerability index by members of the Olympia Police Department’s walking patrol, the Downtown Ambassadors, and social service providers.

The primary goal is to connect individuals to services, divert unwanted behaviors, manage immediate crises, coordinate case support for specific individuals, and improve the safety of their physical space.

Two individuals called “peer navigators” will work with these individuals most of the day and be reachable through evening hours.

The program will be patterned off a successful program in Eugene and operated in collaboration with Catholic Community Services and Recovery International, an organization that has over 25 years of experience.

In the future, a van will be available for use as a citywide mobile crisis service and transport individuals to wherever needed such as shelters and health centers.

The Familiar Faces program is funded through a $106,000 grant that expires in June 2019.

Briefing on the Providence Community Care Center

Providence Community Care Center (PCCC) on the corner of State Avenue and Franklin Street has been in service for one year. It operates Sunday through Friday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. and closed on Saturdays.

Their briefing included representatives from the Center, Interfaith Works, SideWalk, Behavioral Health Resources, and the Olympia FREE Clinic.

The PCCC's day room provides clients ongoing connection to shelters and other services, hygiene and hospitality services such as restrooms, showers, laundry, bag check, water, coffee, distribution of hygiene supplies. There are also chairs, tables and couches for respite.

In October, the PCCC saw 2,728 guests, 207 of whom were new.

Of the total number seen, 115 were enrolled in coordinated entry, 161 sought mental health services and 62 individuals sought physical health services. The building facilities provided 803 showers, 258 loads of laundry, and 1,160 bags were checked. Twenty-nine individuals found housing or housing placements.

The building sees an average of 101 guests per day, but staff said that number is likely to go up as the weather gets colder. The Center is not intended to be a day warming shelter.

It was anticipated that the Center would be funded for ten years, but a representative of the Providence Foundation said they could fund it for only three or four more years.

The Providence St. Peter Foundation is funding the deficits of the Center including the building lease and operating expenses, which is approximately $300,000 per year or $25,000 per month.   

Interfaith Works

Meg Martin of Interfaith Works gave a report on the day warming shelter in operation at First Christian Church on Franklin Street.

Three support staff and one floor manager is onsite six days a week, who facilitate crisis management, hygiene and hospitality services and connection to services. 

It is being funded in 2018 by the City of Olympia, City of Tumwater, Thurston County, private funding, and Interfaith Works.

Funding in 2019 for the day warming shelter looks much better, Martin said, with Thurston County providing $200,700. There is a $35,300 gap in funding, but Martin says she is very pleased overall and gap funding will be sought in a myriad of ways.

Emergency Housing Ordinance Update

The city recently passed an emergency housing ordinance that allows for the establishment of temporary emergency shelter sites on faith-based, non-profit or government properties, subject to a permit.

Tentative plans for three faith-based sites are underway, said Keith Stahley, City of Olympia community planning and development director. The sites will be co-sponsored by the city and faith communities in which the city will help cover costs and provide technical assistance toward their operations.

Plum Street Tiny Village, Martin Way Permanent Housing Site

Meanwhile, the Plum Street Tiny Village is taking shape and will open in mid to late January at 830 Union St. It will provide space for 40 individuals. Twelve tiny homes have been built and more than a dozen are under construction.

Plans for permanent housing site are also underway at 2828 Martin Way and may open in 2020, said Stahley.

Additionally, the city is providing funding to move two existing shelters to a 24/7 operation: Community Youth Services Rosie’s Place will open its doors to youth during the day, and the Salvation Army is upgrading their building on Plum Street to provide a place for individuals during daytime hours.

Ending the evening on a high note, Mayor Pro Tem Nathaniel Jones said that he feels the city has “matured” and that there’s a “buzz in the community” that the city is finally taking on the issue of homelessness.

Tye Gundel, a volunteer social worker with Just Housing, sat in the audience through the evening’s reports. Just Housing distributes food and supplies to encampments in the downtown area and beyond and meets with individuals in need on a regular basis.

Gundel says that the point-in-time count for homeless individuals is known to be 40 to 50 percent higher than those who are actually counted in one 24-hour period each January.

“The biggest piece that’s missing is all the people not fitting into the city’s so-called mitigation camps, so that’s where we’ve been putting our energy - with those who are living in the woods and other places,” Gundel said on Thursday. 

“We’re working closely with the city and other social service providers on strategies but there’s a lot of uncertainty. The city is telling us they’re not going to do sweeps unless they have alternative locations. We’re hoping that’s true. We’re also hoping the downtown business community understands and continues to work with everybody,” said Gundel.

Upcoming Events, Volunteer Opportunities

Just Housing is offering an opportunity to learn more about encampments at an Encampment Support Workshop on Saturday, December 8, 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at United Churches of Olympia, 110 11th Avenue SE, Olympia. 

Organizers will discuss why encampments exist, the challenges of residents and their neighbors, and how community members can get involved in supporting the survival of unhoused community members. For more information, go to https://www.facebook.com/events/375233946211006/

A Winter Survival Supply Drive is being held Saturday, December 15, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. at United Churches of Olympia at 110 11th Avenue SE, Olympia. Survival supplies will be distributed to those living unsheltered in Olympia. Blankets, tents, tarps, sleeping bags, handwarmers, gloves, jackets, socks, hats, batteries, camp supplies pallets, flashlights and baby wipes are most appreciated. Monetary donations can be made at paypal.me/justhousing

The next work party at the Plum Street Tiny Home Village is scheduled for December 15 at 830 Union Street SE, Olympia. For more information, email tinyhouses@lihi.org and put Plum Street Tiny Home Village in the subject line. Assistance will be provided to those with little to no construction or painting experience.

Interfaith Works and Sidewalk conduct regular trainings on how to volunteer with the homeless. For more information, go to Interfaith Works at http://www.iwshelter.org or call (360) 915-7306. The emergency shelter hotline is 1 (844) 629-7373.

For updates about homelessness issues from the City of Olympia, go to olympiawa.gov/homelessness

For more information and photos of the Plum Street Tiny Village, the Martin Way permanent housing site, homelessness issues, downtown Olympia, Just Housing and other area social services providers, go to Little Hollywood and type key words into the search button.

Above: Tye Gundel of Just Housing accepts a donation of several bags of large men’s jackets and other warm clothes, socks, and shoes Thursday morning.

Olympia Tiny Home Village Takes Shape

Above: City of Olympia Councilmember Clark Gilman, left, and Scott Bishop, in green vest, lead a team in positioning a side wall for a tiny house at the new Plum Street Village for the homeless on Saturday. Yul Gamboa, a social worker with Molina Healthcare, is in the blue shirt. 

“Housing rights are human rights...this is direct action. Where is our morality if we don't help?” - Yul Gamboa

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Like an old-fashioned barn raising party, about 65 volunteers came together to get a lot done on Saturday.

The task at hand was to build tiny homes with porches and a community kitchen and meeting space for 40 homeless individuals at the new Plum Street Village in Olympia.

It is called the Plum Street Village because it is located at 830 Union Avenue SE near the intersection of Union and Plum Street, adjacent to the Yashiro Japanese Garden.

At least six of the tiny homes will have ramps and be accessible in accordance with the American Disabilities Act.

On November 27, the City of Olympia approved funding and leasing agreements with LIHI to operate the village, which is expected to open in January 2019.

While living at the village, residents will meet with LIHI case managers to obtain permanent housing, health care, employment, treatment, education, and other services.

To learn more about the project, the city is holding a public meeting on Thursday, December 6, 6:00 p.m., Room A, at The Olympia Center, 222 Columbia St. NW.

Above: Shane Oprescu of Olympia operates a chop saw at the Plum Street Village work party on Saturday. She was responsible for creating 60 sections of wood, each 14 ½ inches long, to be used as support pieces under the community kitchen and meeting space, seen taking shape behind her.

Volunteers came from all over: Joint Base Lewis McChord, the Veterans Administration, local schools, churches, the Lions Club, and local nonprofits. Others were simply individuals who read about the opportunity to help.

Carpentry and painting were new experiences for some, but there were plenty of coaches on hand to show volunteers what to do. 

Shannon Noel, Tiny House Village painting director for LIHI, demonstrated painting techniques.

“All the paint we are using is donated,” Noel told Little Hollywood. “We take all the random exterior paints that people have donated and create new palettes. The colors are rich. Some tiny houses come pre-painted, but we have a say in how they are painted here,” she said.

Luke Reynolds, Tiny House Village Essential Needs Coordinator for LIHI, supervised the day’s activities. Two carpenters with ANEW, an apprenticeship and non-traditional employment program, led the work parties, ensured area safety and provided volunteers with structured assignments.

Several Olympia city councilmembers participated with the effort. In the morning, Mayor Pro Tem Nathaniel Jones helped build several porches. Later in the afternoon, councilmembers Lisa Parshley and Jessica Bateman painted.

Councilmember Clark Gilman put his extensive experience as a carpenter to work all day, teaching skills and directing volunteers to do whatever task was needed. Gilman is a member of the South Puget Sound Carpenters Union Local 129.

Some tiny homes for the village are being built off-site. Reynolds said some of the homes are being built by Unitarian Universalist Church members and by pre-apprenticeship program volunteers at Purdy Womens Correctional Facility in Gig Harbor and Cedar Creek Corrections Center in Littlerock.

Each tiny house is about 8 x 12 in size and costs about $2,500 in materials to build. Each will have electricity, an overhead light and a heater.

Above: Dennis Urdaneta, a U.S. Army servicemember at Joint Base Lewis McChord, and his son Ayden Urdaneta, 11, straighten out a nail and helped with whatever was needed at the Plum Street Village work party on Saturday.

Yul Gamboa, a social worker with Molina Healthcare, said he has little carpentry skills but came to learn and help with the project.

“Housing rights are human rights - that’s my conviction. Society should make housing available just like insurance. It’s the same thing. If people are living in the streets, that means we’re not doing our work as a society. This is direct action,” said Gamboa.

“Where is our morality if we don’t help? We can all end up here at some point. I’ve been in really bad spots in my life. We want every human to live a life of happiness, no matter what,” he said.

According to LIHI and the Washington State Department of Commerce, there are currently more than 40,000 homeless individuals living in either shelters or out of doors in Washington State. More than 7,000 of these individuals are part of a family with children.

In 2015, LIHI started building tiny house villages as a response to the homeless crisis and as a replacement for tents. There are currently eight tiny house villages in Seattle. These eight villages support over 1,000 residents annually.

For more information about how to sign up for future work parties, sponsor a tiny house, or donate materials, email the Low Income Housing Institute at tinyhouses@lihi.org and put Plum Street Village in the subject line or contact staff at (206) 276-3552.

For previous stories about the Plum Street Village, go to Little Hollywood at https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com and type key words in the search button.

Above: A mid-day group photo of volunteers at the Plum Street Village site on Saturday.

Olympia Tiny Home Village for Homeless Approved

Above: The City of Olympia approved the funding of a tiny home village for about 40 homeless individuals at 830 Union Ave SE, Olympia. It is expected to open in mid to late January.

Help Build a Tiny Home Event - December 1

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

The City of Olympia has approved funding and leasing agreements for a tiny home village for the homeless at 830 Union Ave SE, Olympia. 

The agreements were approved at the city council’s meeting Tuesday evening.

The City of Olympia owns the property and will lease it to the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) and provide the organization $1,018,326 for the one year operation of the village.

The Plum Street Village is expected to serve a minimum of 40 homeless individuals.

LIHI is a nonprofit developer and operator of over 2,200 units of affordable housing in the Puget Sound region, including ten tiny house villages in Seattle.

The Village will be located behind the Lee Creighton Justice Center (the former Olympia City Hall) and adjacent to the Yashiro Japanese Garden. 

A final site plan must be approved by the city prior to construction and is expected to open in mid to late January. The public will be offered an opportunity to tour the site before it is occupied.

To learn more about the project, the city is holding a public meeting on Thursday, December 6, 6:00 p.m., Room A, at The Olympia Center, 222 Columbia St. NW.

Representatives of the Low Income Housing Institute will be available to answer questions at the meeting.

The village will accept single adults and couples without children. Each tiny house will be 8’ x 12’ in size, insulated with electricity and heat, windows, and a lockable door. The village will also include a security house, a communal kitchen, meeting space, bathrooms, showers, laundry, a case management office and 24/7 staffing. 

LIHI case managers will work with village residents to help them obtain housing, employment, health care, treatment, education, and other services.

LIHI already owns and manages four buildings in Thurston County: Billy Frank Jr. Place, the Fleetwood Apartments, Magnolia Villa and Arbor House.

Beginning in 2019, the City of Olympia will host a public process to determine how the community will respond long-term to the impacts of homelessness. 

The city declared homelessness a public health emergency in July and is involved in a variety of efforts addressing transitional and permanent housing options.

Help Build a Tiny Home

A Tiny Home Build Day sponsored by the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) will be held December 1, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Plum Street Village, 830 Union Avenue SE, Olympia. Four tiny homes will be built. 

The Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) will provide lunch and all equipment, but suggests that if you have carpentry tools, bring them. Assistance will be provided to those with little to no construction or painting experience. 

To sign up, go to www.volunteersignup.org/BFPB9 or email tinyhouses@lihi.org

Jones Announces Run for Olympia Mayor

Above: Nathaniel Jones, Olympia Mayor Pro Tem, announced on Wednesday that he is running for mayor of Olympia. The position is currently held by Mayor Cheryl Selby. File photo from January, 2016.

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Leadership and transparency are top priorities

Olympia Mayor Pro Tem Nathaniel Jones announced on Wednesday that he is launching a campaign for mayor of Olympia. 

The position is currently held by Mayor Cheryl Selby.

In a press release, Jones stated that he will restore confidence in the city’s direction and ensure that community members are not shut out of key decisions.

Jones has served as Olympia’s Mayor Pro Tem since being elected to the city council in 2011. He was reelected to a second four year term in November 2015. Among other assignments, Jones serves on the council’s Land Use and Environment Committee.

Regarding the homeless, Jones called for “compassionate accountability and effective management of unacceptable and unhealthy conditions” at tent encampments in downtown Olympia.

He also touted his role in creating final adjustments to the “Missing Middle” ordinance which changed zoning and land use rules to accommodate more housing options city-wide. The ordinance was adopted by the council on November 5.  

He also referred to his role in restoring Olympia’s downtown walking patrol and the launch of a mental health crisis response team.

Jones left his position at the state Department of Enterprise Services about 18 months ago to focus on city issues.

Regarding the mental health crisis response team, Jones told Little Hollywood that there will be a city council study session on the initiative on December 4. Implementation of the plan is expected in January.

“Trained first-responders will deescalate and address non-criminal disruptions without police. This will free up police to do their job and provide far more appropriate help to people in crisis. There’s a focus on downtown but the team will be available throughout the city,” he said.

Jones said he will have a campaign kick-off at a later date.

“It’s too early in the calendar for that now - heck we’re still counting (election) ballots. I announced now because I think it’s only fair for others to know what I’m doing,” added Jones.

Just Housing, Homeless Camp Residents Organize

Above: Michelle, a former medical assistant, lives at the Nickerson encampment for the houseless off Eastside Street in Olympia. She has gastroparesis, a digestive system disorder, and other chronic illnesses. 

By Invitation, Little Hollywood Visits Nickerson Camp

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

“I had two closets full of shoes!” Michelle laughed, but then paused. “It almost makes me want to cry,” she added.

Michelle, a former medical assistant, has lived at the Nickerson homeless encampment, a wooded, 2.5-acre property located on Wheeler Avenue off Eastside Street in Olympia, for about three months.

She has always worked, and is waiting for her Social Security disability benefits to start.

From Pierce County, Michelle became homeless after a divorce, but says she is healthier now in spirit than she was while married.

Her decline into chronic illness began after colon surgery in August, 2014. She has gastroparesis, a digestive disorder in which the stomach cannot empty itself of food in a normal fashion.

Then she suffered her first heart attack in July, 2015.

She needs regular colostomy supplies but has no address for them to be delivered. Instead, she uses sanitary pads as a heavy duty, makeshift bandage for her stomach so she doesn’t soil herself. She is in pain, which perpetuates vomiting.

“I’m used to being the one who takes care of others, but I’m resourceful,” she says. “I grew up on a farm in Lewis County.” 

Michelle is just one of nine residents at the Nickerson Camp who has a story, illustrating how easy it is to slip into a life of homelessness and lose access to the everyday conveniences of modern life.

Above: A meal of ravioli at the Nickerson Camp.

Nickerson Camp History

The city recently bought the Nickerson encampment area for use as a future park.

Camp residents were served a 72 hour notice of eviction on July 12. The area has been a homeless encampment for many years, but this was the first time this specific property had been served with such a notice.

Last month, Olympia city council members put off the eviction until further notice.

It was the same evening the council declared homelessness a public health emergency and the optics didn’t look good to take action on both actions on the same night.

Then, on July 24, the city announced the proposed locations of two city sanctioned sites for the homeless. A council finance committee met July 31 to discuss financing options for those sites and other homeless response efforts.

Councilmembers will hold a study session on August 21 to discuss those financing options, which include current operating and capital budget monies, and the possible use of Home Fund sales tax dollars, parks funds, and emergency reserves from the city’s operating budget.

City manager Steve Hall says the Nickerson site is not an ideal site for a permanent camp due to the environmental sensitivity of the area. In reality, hundreds of Olympia residents are living in wooded areas around Thurston County and all of them are environmentally sensitive.

Residents of the Nickerson Camp are interested in being part of the solution.

Prior to the eviction notice being served, they had collected numerous bags of trash to take off the property. The bags have been removed by members of Just Housing, an all volunteer advocacy organization, without the assistance of the city. 

With boots-on-the-ground, the group works directly with the homeless on daily and long-term solutions to local homelessness issues and urges councilmembers to adopt realistic, cost-effective approaches to managing the city’s unhoused residents.

Above: Tye Gundel of Just Housing takes a call while sitting at the Woodland Trail trailhead near the Nickerson Camp. 

Tye Gundel of Just Housing visits the Nickerson camp and other homeless encampments several times a week. She not only listens to residents, she washes their laundry at laundromats, brings needed supplies, and facilitates communication among residents, councilmembers, the faith community, and other community social service providers.

“City staff and councilmembers are gradually taking steps to embrace some of our ideas,” Gundel said diplomatically this week.

Gundel has suggested numerous goals, policies and procedures regarding local homelessness since the group started its work advocating for open 24/7 restrooms in November 2016.

Recently, the group created several half-inch binders, one for each city councilmember and some for staff, chock full of solid local research and practical strategies. Gundel gave them to councilmembers prior to their July 24 study session on homelessness.

For example, Just Housing provides suggestions for regulating camping rather than imposing an outright ban.

One approach includes a “shelter-in-place” plan to working with existing encampments, in addition to the creation of alternative legal and safe encampments, like the two recently proposed emergency housing locations.

People will camp even if it is banned, because some people have no other choice, says Gundel.

The study session fell flat, as Just Housing and other community social service providers were not offered a seat at the table and the material did not appear to be used.

Now, as the days inch toward cold weather months, councilmembers are increasingly interested in making sure community partners and social service providers are included in future conversations.

In the meantime, Gundel will continue her efforts.

“I have had some great meetings with folks about structure and organizing the camp. 

We are also continuing to look for a partner for a camp. So far, two churches are interested. Our next step is to arrange a meeting with some representatives from the churches, the city, the camp, and some of our folks to go through more of the details of how we should move forward,” said Gundel this week.

Nickerson Camp Residents Speak to Little Hollywood

Above: Micky Nelson, 34, a resident of the Nickerson Camp, has twice addressed Olympia city council members during public comment time, and has ideas for organizing the camp.

Little Hollywood visited the Nickerson Camp property, by invitation, with Gundel in late July and last week.

Many residents of homeless encampments do not want to or cannot live in an enclosed shelter or camp-like environment.

Mickey Nelson, 34, moved from Texas to Washington State in 2009. He and his girlfriend, Jackie Taylor, 39, have lived at the Nickerson Camp since January, making them the longest, consecutive resident campers on the property.

Nelson is a jack-of-all-trades and has worked in construction, remodeling, steel fabrication, welding, auto body, detailing, lawn care, dog services, and cook.

Nelson has back issues which began with a motorcycle accident, then a car accident, in which he was a passenger, three months later. He is on state disability and is reapplying for Social Security. He says he has a long standing mental health history and is a participant of Capital Recovery Center programs. 

Capital Recovery Center is a community nonprofit, peer-supported agency that has special programs such as Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH), a point of contact for adults experiencing homelessness who also suffer from mental illness.

Nelson says the camp is on good terms with its housed neighbors, and one neighbor brought them trash bags. He credits Taylor for cleaning up the camp, almost single-handedly. Trash is gradually taken off the property by individuals with Just Housing, without the assistance of the city.

“Evicting us off the property would push us back into downtown, or on other city property,” he said. “Since we have been here, foot traffic and noise has gone down. It’s a safe place for the sick, youth, pregnant women, and domestic violence victims.

“We are looking to be a camp that has a positive impact on society. Not all of us have the desire to live indoors because we’ve been homeless for so long. We have to do the best we can with the best we have.”

Nelson hopes to start a nonprofit whose mission it would be to purchase property for homeless people to camp on and use as a safe place.

He is co-director of InReach, an organization organized by the homeless community. In collaboration with James Joy of The Jungle, Olympia’s largest homeless encampment of about 200 residents, Nelson is creating a practical survival guide for the houseless. The guide would be updated every six months.

“I’ve done so many bad things in my life as a kid. Doing this is my way of atoning for the people I can’t ask forgiveness from, for whatever reason. I’m making it up to the universe,” he said. Nelson has an eight year old son and a 21 year old cousin living elsewhere.

“I want this world to be better than mine was,” he said.

Jackie Taylor, sitting nearby, was born and raised in Olympia, and patiently waited to tell her story. 

To relieve her stress and anxiety, she likes to bicycle at night.

“I don’t do daytime. I can’t be around traffic and people,” she says.

She says the state department of social and health services provides outdated information, such as telling women who are homeless to go to Bread and Roses, a former shelter for women that has been closed for years.

It is her goal to create a donation supply drop off center at the Nickerson Camp, similar to the one at The Jungle.

She also wants a more organized camp. All the area camps are currently self-managed through peer-support but Taylor wants the city’s support in establishing a resident list and process for approving people as new residents.

Taylor brainstormed a Nickerson resident code of conduct and her wish list for the camp: it must be clean and sober, no theft, no bullying, and no violence. She would appreciate it if the city would provide the camp a small dumpster and a porta-potty with a sink.

“This is my safe haven – a small community where people follow the rules and help out. I don’t want the city to spend a lot of money,” said Taylor.

Taylor says the Just Housing organization has been supportive of their work. “You couldn’t ask for anyone better,” she said.

Little Hollywood often writes about homelessness issues, and unsheltered, street dependent individuals. For more information about these issues, go to Little Hollywood and use the search button to type in key words.

Independent, local journalism takes time. If you appreciate community journalism and photojournalism, please consider a donation to Little Hollywood. A PayPal donation link is located on the sidebar of Little Hollywood’s main page at www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com. Other ways to donate are also available. Thank you!