A homeless man in Abbotsford, B.C., in 2013, near where chicken manure was unloaded to drive off a camp’s residents.Jeff Vinnick/The Globe and Mail
The city of Seattle is looking to authorize three semi-permanent homeless encampments that would serve up to 100 people each as part of a strategy to address what the mayor calls "a full-blown crisis."
Under Mayor Ed Murray's proposal, the encampments would be located on either private or city lands, at least one mile from each other, and within a half-mile of a transit stop. Each encampment would be required to move locations every 12 months.
"Permitted encampments are not, in my view, a long-term strategy to end homelessness," Mr. Murray said when announcing the proposal, "but organized encampments have less impact on our neighbourhoods and provide a safer environment than what we see on our streets today."
Last year's annual homeless count found more than 2,300 people sleeping outside or in cars, the Seattle mayor said, adding that it's a 30-per-cent increase from three years earlier.
The city currently has four semi-permanent homeless encampments hosted by religious organizations. However, they are not city-sanctioned and are technically required to move locations every 90 days, deputy press secretary Mike Gore said.
The proposed legislation goes before a land-use committee on Friday; if approved there, city council will vote on it Feb. 2.
Vancouver has had its own experience with homeless encampments, such as the unsanctioned tent cities that sprang up during the Winter Olympics in 2010, for Occupy Vancouver in 2011 and at Oppenheimer Park last year.
The 2014 Metro Vancouver homeless count identified 1,803 homeless people in Vancouver, with 533 of them out on the street.
At a Vancouver city council meeting this week, Green Councillor Adriane Carr referred to organized tent cities in both Portland and Seattle – noting they could provide some dignity as a stop-gap measure, particularly for youths not comfortable in shelters – and asked whether city staff have ever contemplated a similar model in Vancouver.
Brenda Prosken, general manager of community services, replied by saying the city has had "very preliminary discussions" with service providers regarding housing specifically for youth. Ms. Prosken declined to be interviewed Wednesday, but said in an e-mail that while the city will be monitoring the developments in Seattle, "we are continuing to focus our efforts on getting the homeless indoors, and building more affordable housing."
Ms. Carr said she is considering raising the idea for debate at a future council meeting.
"In tackling the issue of homelessness, it's important to look at every possible option," she said in an interview on Wednesday. "It isn't a [replacement] for real homes. It's not a long-term solution. But as long as we have shelters, I think it's reasonable to look at tent cities as an alternative."
She noted that the Portland, Ore., tent city she visited, called Right 2 Dream Too, had well-maintained outhouses, a kitchen and a computer room with a printer. Many residents were youths.
Meanwhile, the Abbotsford Dignitarian Society is proposing a mini village about a mile from the Fraser Valley city's centre that would comprise, at first, about a dozen eight-by-12-foot standalone units. The site – modelled after Portland's 14-year-old Dignity Village encampment – would offer shared on-site laundry, shower and bathroom facilities, hooked up to a nearby water main and sewer.
Paul MacLeod, president of the society, said the model is aimed at serving a population that doesn't fit into conventional housing by meeting them where they are.
"We believe that we need to supply an alternative to normal housing and put them into some place where they can at least stay warm, have a place to do their laundry, keep clean, get something to eat and still have that [while] living outside," he said.
Businesses and churches have expressed interest in donating time and money, Mr. MacLeod said. The group is waiting to hear about a possible two-acre site off the Abbotsford-Mission Highway before discussing the idea with the city further.
Abbotsford made headlines in the summer of 2013 after city workers dumped chicken manure near a homeless encampment in an apparent effort to drive out its residents. Around the same time, police were accused of slashing the tents of homeless people and releasing bear spray on their belongings.