logo
book Subscribe to our Magazine
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
    • Grassroots Fundraising Journal
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Podcasts
    • Tiny Spark
    • Women of Color in Power
  • Webinars
    • Free Webinars
    • Premium On-Demand Webinars
  • Membership

Seattle’s Homeless Camp Residents and Support Nonprofits at Impasse

Rob Meiksins
April 8, 2019
Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
“Nickelsville all moved in at 25th & King.”

April 3, 2019; The Stranger

A few weeks ago, as NPQ reported, a battle loomed in Seattle between a series of small-home encampments sheltering people who are homeless, the nonprofit overseeing the villages, and the government agency providing the funding. Now, reports indicate that the fight among Nickelsville, the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI), and the city’s Human Service Department (HSD) is in full swing. As this conflict unfolds, some fundamental issues about the nature of the relationship between funder, service provider, and client have been brought to the fore.

To help address the growing crisis of homelessness in Seattle, a series of small-home villages were created. These are built on a known and accepted model of self-governance wherein the residents make and enforce the rules. Collectively known as Nickelsville, these villages are overseen by LIHI, which provides case management and other services and serves as the fiscal agent. HSD provides the funding and overall leadership. The recent struggle was over whether or not LIHI had the right to impose rules on Nickelsville with which the villages’ leadership disagreed.

Now, according to reports, Nickelsville residents and leaders have padlocked their gates and are only allowing LIHI’s case managers to enter. Apparently, about a week ago, LIHI posted notices at Nickelsville locations that they were officially severing ties with the villages’ communal government, would be taking over direct management of the three villages under its control, and would impose some new rules and expectations. The signs were immediately taken down. Following through with an earlier warning, LIHI has been gradually defunding the villages and their staff, which could threaten the existence of Nickelsville as an entity. In response to that threat, the gates have been locked.

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

A rumor among the residents is that LIHI plans to evict them. According to Sharon Lee who founded LIHI and has been its executive director since 1991, that’s not so; instead, the move is about bringing greater consistency to case management services and more fairness to the treatment of the residents, something she does not see from the current leadership.

One of those current leaders, Scott Murrow, believes this fight between his group and LIHI is actually being orchestrated by HSD and the city to suppress homeless activism. HSD have come out in support of LIHI’s actions but stopped short of saying they would force the gates open.

The number of people in Seattle who are homeless has reached a point of crisis. As NPQ has noted, “Seattle trails only New York City and Los Angeles for the number of people who are homeless.” The high numbers have strained homeless assistance groups and would appear to have disrupted long-term relationships. The inability of the city to pass measures—such as the business tax first passed then rescinded last year—to address the homeless crisis also hasn’t helped. Hopefully, the parties involved can find a way to meet both the nonprofit’s case management needs while also preserving residents hard-won self-governance rights.—Rob Meiksins

Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rob Meiksins

Rob has served in the nonprofit sector for over 30 years in roles ranging from intern to program manager, executive director to board director, and consultant. Starting out in professional theatre in New York City, Rob moved to Milwaukee to work with Milwaukee Rep as the dramaturg. Later, he started to work more and more helping people and organizations in the nonprofit sector articulate, and then take the next step towards their vision. Currently he is working on a new effort to establish an intentional process for nonprofits to identify their capacity-building needs and then learn about and implement the tools that will help. Ideally this is a partnership between nonprofits, consultants, and the philanthropic community to strengthen the sector we all see as critical.

More about: housing the homeless organizational conflictNonprofit NewsPolicyTaxes

Become a member

Support independent journalism and knowledge creation for civil society. Become a member of Nonprofit Quarterly.

Members receive unlimited access to our archived and upcoming digital content. NPQ is the leading journal in the nonprofit sector written by social change experts. Gain access to our exclusive library of online courses led by thought leaders and educators providing contextualized information to help nonprofit practitioners make sense of changing conditions and improve infra-structure in their organizations.

Join Today
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

NPQ_Spring_2022

You might also like
BIPOC Executive Transition in White Dominant Cultures
Ingrid Benedict and Weyam Ghadbian
Edgar Cahn’s Second Act: Time Banking and the Return of Mutual Aid
Steve Dubb
We Owe You Nothing: The Movement to Cancel Student Debt Gains Ground
Rithika Ramamurthy
Charitable Tax Reform: Why Half Measures Won’t Curb Plutocracy
Alan Davis
Green New Deal or Stale Old Tax-Break Scam? Getting Electric Vehicle Incentives Right
Greg LeRoy
Goodbye “Race Neutrality”—The Case for Race-Conscious Economic Policy
Dedrick Asante-Muhammad

Upcoming Webinars

Group Created with Sketch.
June 9th, 2 pm ET

Remaking the Economy

Wage Justice, Now!

Register
You might also like
BIPOC Executive Transition in White Dominant Cultures
Ingrid Benedict and Weyam Ghadbian
Edgar Cahn’s Second Act: Time Banking and the Return of...
Steve Dubb
We Owe You Nothing: The Movement to Cancel Student Debt...
Rithika Ramamurthy
WOMEN OF COLOR IN POWER
Women of Color in Power

Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Subscribe
Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Authentic Leadership
Reclaiming Interrupted Lineages

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

Independent & in your mailbox.

Subscribe today and get a full year of NPQ for just $59.

subscribe
  • About
  • Contact
  • Submissions
  • Advertisers
  • Newsletters
  • Copyright

Subscribe to View Webinars

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.