Nickelsville Sprouts up on West Marginal

In case you haven't heard, Nickelsville is a modern version of a "Hooverville" and according to their website, they've set up on West Marginal near South Park:

For the last five months we have been planning a safe, sanitary, permanent shelter for up to 1000 of the homeless people living on the streets and the green belts of Seattle. Now the time has come. Nickelsville is now up and running at 7115 West Marginal Way SW on bus route #23, Highland Drive stop.

I also got this e-mail this morning with the official announcement:

As the clock reached 4 AM, energized hands constructed tents, poured coffee, and directed news media. Friends car-pooled from all over King County to support Nickelsville.

Over a hundred tents now stand. We need your help! Come show your support and stand in solidarity with those who have no choice but to sleep outside.

Head over to Nickelsville anytime! Before or after work, during your break - we hope to see you there...

They've gotten some press thus far: [Updated] West Seattle Blog who says the location is on one of the proposed jail sites, NW Cable News, the Seattle Times (a whole two sentences--to be followed by their editorial vitriol soon, to be sure), the Weekly's blog, and on Tim Harris' blog, giving us the most comprehensive account:

When we arrived at slightly after four this morning, the advance guard was still hacking a trail through the blackberry brambles into the Highland Ave and Marginal Way site that led down the hill from the small parking lot. Piles of pink sat in wait, and the tents went up in the dark first by twos and three and then fives and tens as more people arrived. The atmosphere was a bit tense as we raced against the expected arrival of the police. Organizers maintained cover by asking cars that pulled into the lot to discharge their loads and repark elsewhere. As the sun came up, the site was bathed in gold and god rays reached down to kiss the site with radiant light.

The police never came. Nickelsville supporter and El Centro de la Raza Director Roberto Maestes was one of the first on the scene along with Scott Morrow. The site, he thought, was on Duwamish land. This we speculated, might add an interesting wrinkle to the common expectation that police would soon arrive in force to deliver the standard five minute warning before clearing the area...

...The cops never came. By noon, Mayor Nickels had informed an inquiring media that the site would soon be posted for clearance in three days, per city protocol on homeless encampments. I guess the protocols are good for something. In three days, hopefully, enough supporters with plastic in their pockets and little to lose by risking arrest will arrive to act in solidarity with the homeless and help hold the fort.

Please understand that this isn't a "protest." It's a survival strategy for the hundreds of homeless people who have nowhere else to go. This year's one night homeless count found 2,631 homeless people surviving outside after the shelters were full...


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