Tent city to move on in 3 months

By Venice Buhain | The Olympian • Published February 19, 2007

OLYMPIA - A camp of homeless people and activists will be given 90 days to stay at the Westside Out of the Woods shelter owned by the Olympia Unitarian Universalist Congregation, the church said Sunday.

The majority of about 60 or 70 church members who attended a congregation meeting Sunday night voted to affirm the church board's decision to allow "Camp Quixote II" to remain at the Out of the Woods shelter on Division Street, board president Tim Ransom said. Out of the Woods normally is the church's shelter for homeless families with children.

The church will also hold a community meeting at 7 p.m. Feb. 26 to address any concerns that neighbors might have, Ransom said. The meeting will be at the church, 2200 East End St., Olympia.

"We're inviting neighbors into the discussion," Ransom said.

The approximately 25 people in the homeless camp moved to the lawn of the Out of the Woods Shelter on Feb. 9, after a week of camping on city property in downtown Olympia. The ­Olympia-based Poor Peoples Union started Camp Quixote on Feb. 1 in part to protest the city's pedestrian-interference ordinance, but also to be advocates for better services for the homeless, including establishing a permanent, self-directed camp.

"We've already started working on searching for a place to move to," said Rob Richards, the group's spokesman and one of its founders. "The entire time we're going to look for a permanent piece of land, that hopefully would be gifted to us. We're looking for permanent options, as well as looking for a temporary place to stay if we need it, to cover our bases."

After finding a permanent space, the group hopes to build 20 by 20 foot structures that can house people who are homeless, as well as provide space to pitch a tent and grow food, he said.

"What is missing now is people living in a community together, rather than being out in the woods," he said.

Temporary shelters often do not fit the needs of some homeless, he said, especially those who need help with addiction issues or those who need a home base for making transitions.

Richards said the group also hopes to host a community forum to address neighbors' questions about the camp or about its plans.

Venice Buhain writes for The Olympian. She can be reached at 360-754-5445 or vbuhain@theolympian.com.