fixitstitch

TCT minutes April 21, 2014

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Present: Neal, Vince, Lisa, Patricia

April 21, 2014

Report from Vince about FUMCOT: Vince reported about recent encounters with a homeless person that has been frequenting FUMCOT’s doorstep. The congregation was ultimately forced to declare the area off limits for the homeless because of this person’s belligerent behavior. They also had discussions about the Baywatch Apartments and the intent of the managing agency to make it low-income housing. This will certainly have implications upon the homeless population of Tacoma. Whether this will be for good or ill cannot be said at this point.

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A Tent City in Tacoma, Part 1

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This is Part 1 of a 2-part series. Click here to see Part 2
Editor

Have you ever pondered on the homeless and how they fit in the society we have now? The plain answer is that they do not fit in. Homeless people are forced to live on the fringes of society, forced to live under oppressive systems without any say in how they are run. Their critics scream at them to get a job, yet homeless agencies forbid them the tools to do so.

Established social service agencies expect no protest or complaint when they tell their clients they cannot take their personal belongings with them into the shelters. The shelters expect them to adhere to a meal schedule that forbids the possibility of a job search. The shelters expect them to come at specific times, or they don’t get a bed. This makes taking night jobs impossible. In short, the homeless are denied the rights that Occupys all over the country have been fighting for.

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A Tent City in Tacoma, Part 2

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This is the second in a series of articles on a tent city for Tacoma. The first can be found by clicking here. Based on my past experiences in tent cities, a Tacoma Tent City could well be organized and governed as follows:

Camp Organization

  1. The responsibility of electing leadership and establishing permanent rules within the camp shall fall upon the residents of the camp at the time by a consensus vote (consensus as determined by the camp as a whole).
  2. The responsibility of enforcing rules, resolving disputes, establishing temporary rules, and coordinating ongoing and day-to-day operations of the camp shall fall upon an executive committee (EC), comprised of five primary members and two alternates. These executive committee members shall be elected once a month and shall not serve a term of more than two consecutive months.

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