Anitra/seattle

An introduction to Elaine Simons, "house mother" of the homeless youth group Peace for the Streets by Kids from the Streets.

A high-school student's sensitive account of his one-day tour of homelessness.

A documentary on homeless teens living on the streets of Seattle: KIRO 7, 10PM, Tuesday June 23, 2009.

Seattle has more shelter and services for homeless people than any other city in the US, because Seattle has the most highly organized and activist homeless community in the US. More than half of Seattle's growing number of homeless people are still left outside. Homelessness is a national problem, and it will take systemic changes at the national level to end it.

Seattle city government still puts obstacles in the way of people providing shelter for themselves, as in encampments and hand-built structures like Nickelsville (although that is changing, as the economy forces realism even on the unwilling).

Seattle is not really a city full of liberals. Seattle is a city full of people who call themselves liberals. Just as, east of the mountains, you can find a lot of people who are not really conservative -- they just call themselves that.

From the Real Change blog: a first-hand account of the Nickelsville move, from Cydney Gillis.

The 50 or so Nickelodeons had a final meeting last night before going to bed. Their decision--to move in the early hours this morning instead of last night in the dark, when people would be tired and could hurt themselves.

When they got up this morning at 3:30, they struck their tents and had another meeting, this time calling for men with strong backs to step forward and be the first to caravan in cars to Nickelsville's new, top-secret site--which turned out to be right back where they started last September, this time on the state-owned portion of the grassy lot at Highland Park Way and Second Avenue Southwest, where they are hoping the governor lets them stay permanently this time.

Photo of Nickelsville at new site. From the page: "The shelter is again on land enclosed by West Marginal Way Southwest, Highland Park Way Southwest, and 2nd Avenue Southwest. This time, however, Nickelsville sits on state land, an adjacent parcel to the city land it occupied Sept. 23 to 26 of last year. Residents and organizers said because they are on state land they are hoping Gov. Chris Gregoire will trump the mayor and let them stay."

Nickelsville, a homeless encampment in Seattle with ambitions to be an eco-village of handbuilt shacks, has moved to what the residents hope will be their permanent location. The state land they occupy now is right beside the city land they were arrested on last September. At that time, Governor Chris Gregoire tried to negotiate with the city to let the campers stay. Nickelodeons are hoping that she will let them stay now, now that she, and not Mayor Nickels, has the authority. (Photo is from an intervening stay in the University District.)

The New York Times looks at quirky Seattle.

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said on TV that most of the people in the homeless encampment "Nickelsville" aren't really homeless; he says they are "advocates" doing a political stunt! Tim harris of Real Change homeless newspaper took a video camera down to Nickelsville and found a lot of very vocal homeless people who can bloody well advocate for themselves! They gove the Mayor an earful in a 7:30 minute video.