Camp Quixote Open House -or- we may be homeless but that doesn't mean we're not civilized

Navigation

User login

Online users

Rob Richards
einmaleins
Austin American
makerofthings
makerofthings
einmaleins
wilson

Support OlyBlog

OlyBlog is run by volunteers who care about Olympia. If you like what we're doing, make a donation:

OlyBlog is powered by:

Who's new

Hylik
KybosInfo
radosintra
remitov
Kunstkamera

Camp Quixote Open House -or- we may be homeless but that doesn't mean we're not civilized

Submitted by Poor Peoples Union on Mon, 02/05/2007 - 5:39pm.

Well it's Monday, that means the city is going to have a meeting without us (again) to decide our fates without talking to us first (again). We're definitely used to this behavior from the city, but we're also tired of it. At some point today the city is going to have a meeting after which I assume we'll be contacted and given some kind of ultimatum. Being that we don't what is going to happen, I can't give any indication as to what our response might be. I can say with all definiteness that we do not plan to back down until the city negotiates with us about our requests.

Starting at noon today we are having an open house potluck welcoming the community down to spend the day with us. We've got a couple of bands playing this afternoon (The Pasties and I believe the Hail Caesar's as well) and food and festivities planned all day.

I can't begin to describe what an amazing experience the past few days have been. The outpouring of support from the community; businesses, churches, and individuals; has been what has fueled us these extremely cold and damp days. There hasn't been a single problem at the camp since we set up, people have bonded together to make this not just another place to lay their heads, but a home and a community. It's a community based on mutual respect and the understanding that everyone has a place and deserves acceptance no matter who they are or what issues they're facing.

If I could say one thing to the city it would be this: We are offended that you refuse to speak with us. THAT is the real 'poke in the eye' here. We are not here because we want the ordinance repealed, we're not asking for that. We ARE asking for a permanent site, and the creation of a services review board but that's not really why we're here either. We are here because we have never been invited to be a part of any conversation concerning our rights, our lives, our wellbeing and so on. What is the city's reaction to our action? They chose to once again ignore us, not talk to us. They chose to make phone calls to try and intimidate our supporters in the community. They chose to act offended, to repeat over and over again "this is not a way to start a conversation". WE HAVE BEEN TRYING to start a conversation with the city of Olympia for the last six months at least. We were at all the city council meetings and town hall forums. We were not listened to, once again we were ignored. The city left us with no option but to do something to get their attention. We have no plans to vacate the piece of property that we are on. We will stay here and we will only move when it is to a permanent location. We may be met with violence from the city in the form of the police, we are well aware of this. We have had many conversations over the last few months of planning and especially over the last few days about this. Everyone has agreed that to move now would be to give up everything. It's time stand, it's to stand up for community, it's time to stand up for our rights. Most importantly, and this is directed to the community at large, it is time to stand up for the kind of Olympia we want to live in. It is time to take real action and send a strong unified message to the city government that we DO NOT like the path that they have chosen. We must stand together for the future of Olympia and we must stand together for democracy.

I hope you will join us.

Rob Richards
Poor Peoples Union

Poor Peoples Union's blog
Login or register to post comments

I have to work, otherwise

Submitted by Mary Baker Eddy on Mon, 02/05/2007 - 10:56am.

I have to work, otherwise I'd stop by and meet you. It's ironic (is "ironic" the right word I'm looking for?) that being employed is keeping me from visiting Camp Quixote. I'm sure most if not all of the residents wish they were employed so they didn't have to live there.

Another well thought out post on behalf of the homeless

Submitted by hammered on Mon, 02/05/2007 - 7:31pm.

Well, good luck on the taking a stand thing. But if everyone is gone from the camp during the day looking for jobs and doing other various things to get themselves out of this homeless predicament then who will be there if there is violence from the city? Oh yeah, everyone will be there because it's easier to have things handed to them for free, live for free, eat for free, take government assistance for free, clothing for free, rather than go out and find a job. I posted a comment on another entry explaining myself more clearly as to why I feel this way etc., so I will not bore you with it on this one. But I will say I've spoken with enough of the few actual Olympia native homeless and the many homeless from states far and wide who come here because they are given all this stuff for free and do not have to lift a finger. Keep up the good work because news has already spreads throughout the country on how easy it is to live for free here in Olympia, with what your doing now our population should be booming once word reaches the rest of the country on how you are all working to improve their ability to be lazy and not have to do a thing for themselves here.

Open house

Submitted by Poor Peoples Union on Mon, 02/05/2007 - 8:00pm.

I would like to extend a very special invitation to you. Please come down and meet people. Ask them why they don't just get a job. Take the time out of your day to spend an hour talking with the folks at Camp Quixote. If you choose not to, then your opinions are meaningless due to their myopia.

Myopia, had to look that one up, but I'm tracking now!

Submitted by hammered on Tue, 02/06/2007 - 12:51am.

I'm not going to argue about what you think of my opinions but I do want to point out I have and do talk to the folks and some who are now a part of your tent city. You will be right in saying I am not going to visit the tent city just to sit and chat with everyone, but I have and continue to do it on a regular basis while going about my day in the downtown. So, that is where I gather my information and come up with my opinions.

My better judgment says to ignore this post

Submitted by JulieM on Mon, 02/05/2007 - 8:00pm.

but I can't. It's difficult enough to find employment if you have an address, clean clothes, are physically and mentally healthy and don't suffer from substance abuse problems. In my experience with individuals that are homeless, most don't enjoy living outside, in conditions that are at best uncomfortable and at worst dangerous. The people you're criticizing may not have the resources or support system you do, so don't assume they are on equal footing to you. At the very least, do a little research into the causes of homelessness.

I think it's important to

Submitted by Norm on Mon, 02/05/2007 - 12:15pm.

I think it's important to remember that not everyone is as charitable as the next person. Some may look at such ideas as great, others may have a hard time swallowing them.

I truly feel that the "tent city" idea is great. I also believe that there needs to be help to bridge many gaps in this process. Hammered mentioned employment, and others mentioned how hard it is to get a job, and how much harder that becomes when homeless. Although some may not be able to work, the ones that can may need help getting on their feet in the application process.

Maybe this is already being addressed. I know BRAC does much to help out and Phil is great at explaining to me how many different things are addressed, this just happens to be one I haven't heard about.

A few years ago when I came

Submitted by Mary Baker Eddy on Mon, 02/05/2007 - 8:22pm.

A few years ago when I came as close to hitting rock bottom as possible without actually landing I would have been homeless if it weren't for the fact that I have a large family. And later on a new girlfriend who years later is my fiance.

Hundreds of applications with barely dozens of interviews. Nothing is more disheartening than to get a form letter telling you they hired someone "better suited" to scrub toilets in a hotel or wash dishes in a hospital.

I paid my dues in the temp agencies working a day one week, two or three the next, none the following, finally getting some longer lasting assignments after proving myself. I panicked when the transmission started to die in my car, I couldn't risk driving to Yelm or anywhere off the bus line for work.

It was just dumb luck that the agency found me an assignment practically within walking distance. It was just dumb luck that it was long-term, it was dumb luck that eventually they were wanting to hire me.

After over two years of applications to McDonalds and Jack in the Box failed to find me employment. My schooling and certificates and experience and references and pressed, clean clothes and tie meant nothing. Couldn't get the administrative and clerical work I was qualified for, couldn't get the remedial unskilled work I was experienced in. Maybe if I wasn't a white male I'd have had better luck but that's a rant for another day.

Some will ask why I didn't move away to find employment. How could I afford the gas to take a day to interview in Seattle or Portland? That's assuming I'd get an interview anyways. Besides, I could struggle for my life in familiar surroundings with a support network, or I could struggle for my life elsewhere cut off from any help.

Point is, it's hard enough when you have the roof and food and clothes and are hitting the streets everyday and not being picky. You can hardly concentrate when your stomach's empty and your electrolytes and blood sugar are whacked out of order. And if you have an ignored medical condition it can be even worse.

Blinders firmly in place.

Submitted by Phil Owen on Mon, 02/05/2007 - 1:26pm.

I have often experienced serious difficulty in talking with people about homelessness, and particularly in talking about people experiencing homelessness.

The fact of the matter is that people believe what they want to. Rob has invited everyone and their neighbor to visit the tent city. I've invited the whole city to join us for dinner at Bread & Roses (Friday nights at 6:00, 1320 8th Ave SE). We have both specifically addressed our invitations to the people who are most critical of the homeless and of ourselves.

They haven't taken us up on the offer. One fellow recently told me he doesn't need to take the time to come and get to know us, because he already is acquainted with us. He then asked me why I don't "take a break from protesting and get a job". This question gave away the fact that he doesn't know me at all.

I wrote a little about this problem in my blog:

There are a lot of people, in fact I think this is true of most people, who do not see beyond the surface... beyond what can be noticed about a person with a momentary glance. They see someone dumpster diving. They see someone in poor health holding a sign asking for money. They see someone yelling obscenities at no one in particular or muttering paranoid delusions to themselves.

And, since they do not create the opportunities for themselves to get to know the homeless, they might never discover that the fellow in the dumpster has a college education, or that the person panhandling on the corner loves Dizzy Gillespie, or that the shirtless person muttering obscenities isn’t wearing a shirt because he gave it to someone who needed it more than he.

I spoke once with a business owner (and slumlord) who said he hired a couple homeless guys to paint his building. He complained that they did a half-assed job and then quit before finishing. He went on to opine that all homeless people are "lazy" and "leeching off the system".

I asked him the names of the guys he hired, and tracked them down to get the rest of the story. They were both on federal disability (meaning that, while they might be able to work, they weren't able to work in a regular and consistent fashion), and he was paying them less than minimum wage. He also treated them as though he was doing them some kind of favor.

He was disinclined to give up his opinion. It benefited him directly.

I spoke to another man who said he took a few minutes to get to know a panhandler. Their conversation began with his rather abrasive question, "Why don't you just get a job rather than bother everyone for their money?" You can guess where that conversation went.

We all do this in our own way. Opinions, particularly opinions about other people, have a tendency to be self-realizing. Opinions shape the way we interact with others, and when we hammer others with our opinions they are often inclined to return the favor.

The Canaanite's Call

Here's something I suspect

Submitted by Mary Baker Eddy on Mon, 02/05/2007 - 1:46pm.

Here's something I suspect about those who claim they were cursed at for refusing spare change. When they were asked I wonder if their response was something along the line of "Get a Job!"

I've been asked for change many times and most of the time I decline. I'll be honest, sometimes I had plenty of spare change I didn't need. But whenever I deline I just merely so "No" or "Sorry". Many times their response is "Thank you" or "Have a Nice Day"

The only time I ever had a minor confrontation was in Seattle. Not Olympia. The guy asked me for change, I said "sorry, I need it for the bus" and he told me he wasn't asking for my life story. Again, that wasn't in downtown Olympia.

a good community

Submitted by enpen on Mon, 02/05/2007 - 5:05pm.

On behalf of my daughter and myself I'd like to thank the residents of Camp Quixote for their warm hospitality today.

"Anybody who doesn't know that politics is crime has got a few screws loose."

OlyBlog.net

OlyBlog is devoted to citizen journalism, including hyperlocal news and discussion specifically about Olympia, Washington. If you care about this community and are tired of corporate media, then this is the place for you.

If you'd like to contribute, please register for an account. Here is a list of local news beats that need to be covered. You can post your news as a personal blog entry, and it will be reviewed (and possibly edited) for promotion to the front page. Once you've established a record of responsible blogging, you can become an autonomous user. You can also send news via email. All members of OlyBlog agree to abide by our comment and fair use policies. If you are frustrated about something said in a comment thread, go here.

Now playing at: