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Property or Human Values at stake?
The following "Northshore Citizen" column appeared in the Bothell/Kenmore Reporter newspaper edition of May 19, 2004. (Editor's Note: Since the article was written, homeless residents of Tent City 4 have agreed to pitch their tents at the St. Brendan's Catholic Church in Bothell).
A really tall guy named Joe leaned way down to clutch the microphone and tells the audience “I’m Joe. I’m an ex pro basketball player and I live in Tent City. I’m thankful for a safe place to wake up in the morning so I can get out and look for work.” This was the rational, quiet voice of the homeless. There followed a steady stream of residents of north and east King County more fortunate in life but much less civil in their choice of words. They paraded to the “con” microphone to describe their opposition to Tent City 4 destined for public land next to the Brickyard Road-Interstate 405 Park and Ride lot between Bothell and Kirkland. The scene was the worship space of the Bothell First Lutheran Church, a public meeting held by County Executive Ron Sims and County Council member Carolyn Edmonds to explain the reasoning behind the selection of the first Tent City site to be located beyond the confines of Seattle. Co-pastors Marilyn and Michael Schultz Rothermel and their congregants had graciously opened their sanctuary. They had hoped for an evening of civil discourse in which those attending might find a foundation for neighborliness, not only to the homeless but also among those with whom they might disagree on this emotion-charged public issue. I applaud them for this most responsible show of social outreach and their respect for the needs of those “on the way up” from life on the street. I was saddened and disappointed with the rancor and outright rage, scorn and contempt railed against Sims and Edmonds. The jeers and bursts of shouting of the initial public “information” gathering carried over from the public outcry of the week before. The church was packed to standing room only. I would have preferred to be writing this column about 80 graduates of our high schools who will receive $110,000 in financial aid from a caring community through the Northshore Scholarship Foundation, joyously celebrating 20 years of such achievement. Or, it clearly would have been more popular to applaud a hardy band of community activists who have set about raising $2.5 million to complete a school district project to provide the community with a performing arts center. In light of the flap over Tent City, these subjects will have to wait for a future issue. Media circus focus is on 'process' I was not prepared for the ugliness of the public outpouring of anger, even hate, over the alleged lack of “process” in selecting the Brickyard Road site for shelter for the homeless. For days upon end the media covered this story. TV news chose sound bites over substance which seemed to provide further fodder fueling outrage among residents toward government leaders. Columnists and editorial writers in the print media provided perspective that vehement, conservative opponents must have found unappealing. Editorial opinion published in the region’s largest daily newspaper interestingly questioned only the political motivation of advocates for the homeless. It’s a story that simply won’t go away soon. Understandably, residents and officials from neighboring cities were justifiably concerned and weighed in with demands that the County Council and Sims should have done a better job of notifying and involving the public of the intent to approve the Brickyard site for Tent City 4’s 90-day occupancy. It may be that county budget cuts have eliminated staff that could have provided just such an early warning. But, complaints over “process” neglect did little to mask the real issue for those who would place concern for property values ahead of human values, would weigh a burdening tax load against “coddling” of the downtrodden, or would consider wetland preservation more important than the dignity and well being of others. Countless
opponents attempted to make it clear they had nothing against the
homeless. None, however, offered an answer for what could be done to
deter or eliminate the causes generally associated with the reasons
people are on the street without shelter, without hope, without means to
get back on their feet. Vows of personal or neighborhood concern were
not followed by evidence of compassion. Not since the mid-1960s has Bothell experienced such turmoil over such an important social issue. In that case a local homebuilder, his realtor and the financial institution backing his project had made it known unofficially that none of his homes were available for purchase by an ethnic minority. That revelation turned into another circus for the press and a focal point for residents who picketed in support of diversity in Bothell. In a much earlier time in Bothell, diversity referred to whether one belonged either to the Swedish or Norwegian Lutheran church, as neither group wanted much to do with the other in commerce, education or religious endeavors. By the time this edition of the Reporter has been circulated throughout the community, Tent City 4 will either have been established or delayed. My wish is that voices from both sides of this issue will give serious thought to the one constructive idea that came from the meeting at the Lutheran Church and that is the suggestion that a advisory committee or citizen task force be formed not only to deal with future siting of the next Tent City but to take the issue one step further to raise awareness that the numbers of homeless are growing – yes, even in north and east King County. Of those who find shelter each night, 11 per cent find it in our area. More forecast to be bound for 'street life' Only 4,600 of the 10,000 homeless in King County find shelter each night as it is. Human service dollars continue to be cut from governmental budgets at every level. By the end of this year, it is predicted that more than 2,000 people presently served by agencies caring for the mentally ill will have no shelter at all and may go without the medications so valuable and necessary to their very existence. Think of the burden on our hospital emergency facilities and, perish the thought, our jails, if this funding crisis becomes reality. Weigh this tragic prospect against the model conditions provided through a Tent City. Jackie MacLean, a one-time New Zealander, heads the county’s community and human services program. At the Bothell church meeting, Jackie provided a poignant quote, recalling that a homeless person found under a bush one morning in downtown Issaquah was asked if he wouldn’t rather live in Tent City. “Nah,” he said, “those are for those on the way up.” That’s what I would call positive testimony more revealing than the three hours of rancorous debate endured earlier this month in Bothell.
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