Pictures in slideshow of December freeze 2008 at Camp Quixote.

 http://campquixote.org/?page_id=21

http://campquixote.org is up and running. I could only afford to get a hosting package for 25.00 a year. Next year I will put it on my server, and give the Website more space and bandwidth. Thank you for visiting! More development on the way!

Your gently used furniture is needed to aid disaster victims who experienced loss in the recent floods in our area. In some cases, families are still in need of help from the December 2007 flood disaster.

Please bring furniture to the parking lot of:
Olympia Christian Reformed Church
2121 Log Cabin Rd SE
Olympia

The mission of the Furniture Bank of Thurston County is to provide furniture at no charge to families, individuals and non-profit organizations in need. Furniture will be collected at the Harbor Wholesale Grocery trailer. Residents of Camp Quixote, a tent city for the homeless/houseless, will be on hand to help unload your donations.

Donated furniture must be GENTLY USED, clean, no stains, no rips, no peeling pain and no odors. We are accepting beds, dressers, sofas, chairs, dining tables and dining chairs. We will NOT accept incomplete bed parts, such as headboards or box springs without mattresses, sleeper sofas, sheets or blankets, appliances or electronic devices.

Questions: Donna Kelly at the Furniture Bank of Thurston County 360-705-1756

SATURDAY, NOV. 1 - 5pm
Hosted by Camp Quixote at
St. John’s Episcopal Church - 114 20th Ave SE in Olympia
With speak out and potluck to follow.
There is no charge to get in. Free childcare available.

Willie Baptist is a formerly homeless father who serves as the Scholar-in-Residence for the Poverty Initiative at Union Theological Seminary where he is responsible for the new Poverty Scholars Program training dozens of low-income leaders to become Scholars-in-Residence for other seminaries, universities, and religious institutions. Coming out of the Watts uprising and the Black Student Movement, Willie has worked as an organizer and leader of the United Steelworkers Union and the National Union of the Homeless. He is former Education Director of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union and currently serves as Coordinator of the University of the Poor.

These events hope to encourage dialogue on issues facing poor and low-income people in Olympia and around the US and on building a movement to unite the poor and their allies to fight for an end to poverty.

There is no charge to get in. Free childcare available.

The Close the Gap Coalition is seeking volunteers to help eliminate unsheltered or “street” homelessness. The Coalition aims to boost the volunteer base for existing programs to an extent that opportunities for capacity growth open up.

Advocates for the houseless-homeless-mobil homeless (rv-car campers) continue their grassroots efforts in Lacey and Olympia, as evidenced by recent Olympian and olyblog reports.

• Olympia council to discuss RV parking rules tonight Eugene, Ore., tells how it successfully controlled problem
• Lacey ban on tent city challenged
• "We all have a part..."

[Posted on The Olympian's Web site]

Published June 02, 2008
Lawsuit challenges Lacey's new law on homeless tent city
THE OLYMPIAN

LACEY -- Advocates for the homeless have sued Lacey to overturn a law that bans a tent city and instead requires churches to shelter the homeless indoors.

The lawsuit claims the City Council did not follow a proper procedure before it approved the law April 24 with a 4-3 vote.

Panza, a nonprofit group that supports Camp Quixote, Olympia’s tent city; Selena Kilmoyer, Panza’s secretary; and three residents who attend churches in Lacey -- Elizabeth Penney, Ronna Smith and Donald Stern -- filed the lawsuit in Thurston County Superior Court.

The lawsuit contends that while the city posted meeting notices and held public hearings and other meetings both before the Lacey Planning Commission and City Council on a draft law regulating temporary homeless encampments, no such steps were taken for a later draft that required faith-based groups to shelter the homeless inside their churches.

As a result, supporters of the law were uninformed that Lacey churches don’t have adequate room to both shelter the homeless and minister to their congregations, Kilmoyer said.

For more on the story, see The Olympian Tuesday.

A little while back I referred to a lawsuit that is making its way through the state court system that might impact Lacey's new homeless ordinance.

Tomorrow (sometime after 9a) the state Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case between Woodinville and Northshore United Church of Christ. A few years ago, Woodinville passed an ordinance restricting how churches can host homeless camps. Basically, the church is arguing that the city doesn't have any business telling them how they can practice religion as it relates to their helping the homeless.

How the Supreme Court decides (at least I think this) will have a lot to do with whether Lacey is sued over their ordinance.

The arguments will be live on TVW and I'll post them here after they're on the internet.

Anyone know the typical turn-around on a state Supreme Court case?

Some of my oldest friends from Camp Quixote are moving on. The couple that recently got married - the husband recently moved back to Yellowstone where he's a cook, and got a job for his new wife. She hops a bus to join him tonight. The card shark who always beat me (and everyone else) at hearts is moving back to Alaska next week. His heart condition is getting worse and he'll be spending time with old friends and his doctor. The guy who always gave me a (toothless) grin as he entered and left, has headed back to family in Florida to get away from the Olympia drug scene - he was afraid he might slip back into old habits. The guy who always teased me and everyone else with his quick smiley humor got trained to work in a nursing home, for which he's absolutely perfect - always cheerful and friendly to everyone. He moved out of the camp awhile back. Some of residents have found apartments and jobs in the area and visit the camp periodically. Others are starting to talk about their next steps. I am happy for my friends, but I'm also going to miss them. The camp won't be the same without their wonderful spirit.

I'm beginning to recognize the new faces, but they're a little more quiet around the volunteer hosts while they get used to their new surroundings. Unfortunately, some have come and gone quickly because of not being able to abide by the camp rules.

Right now the camp is located near the Unitarian church, over on the Westside. We could really use more volunteers, even people who can only work one shift would be great. If you're interested in making a tangible difference in our community, please contact me.