Why a tent city?
“The advantages of a tent community versus a more traditional shelter facility are numerous. The fact is that most individuals are homeless for a period of less than a year. By their nature, communities such as Dignity Village are flexible and expandable, and are therefore able to accommodate fluctuations in demand. In addition, most cities are either unable or unwilling to devote sufficient funding from their budgets towards homeless shelters. Compared to conventional facilities, tent cities are cheap to construct. They also minimize impact on the site and are easily transported and moved when necessary. When combined with more permanent facilities such as kitchens, bathrooms, community centres, childcare facilities, and offices, tent communities are designed to meet the needs of the temporarily displaced. (It should be noted here parenthetically that the term “tent communities” is not intended to imply that the housing structures be limited only to nylon and metal pole construction. For example, Dignity Village’s proposal calls for straw bale multifamily dwellings with community-friendly front porches).
“Of course tent cities on their own are not intended to provide residents with permanent housing. Rather their purpose is to serve only as temporary shelters for people moving into more tenable housing arrangements. Existing homeless facilities should therefore be maintained as a diversity of shelters can be used to house the displaced. But in order to bridge the gap between supply and demand, communities such as Dignity Village are designed to flexibly accommodate the needs of the displaced during the interval that they lack permanent housing options*.”
Who will a tent city benefit?
A tent city of the kind we envision directly benefits those people commonly termed “rough sleepers” who are presently relegated to living in doorways, under bridges, and on sidewalks for whatever reason.
A tent city will benefit those homeless and displaced people who work or who seek work as it provides a safe place to store bedding and belongings while at work or seeking work.
A tent city will benefit couples or families who tend to make up about a third of tent city residents as there are few hostels or night centres that allow couples without children to sleep together.
A tent city will benefit single women, many of whom feel safer in a tent city than they do at some of the emergency shelters.
Indirectly, of course, a tent city will benefit the entire community, homeless and housed alike.
How are tent cities built?
Tent cities are built with a bag of tools and a book of rules and through the hard work of their residents, members and supporters. Some of the tools required in a tent city’s construction, of course, are the hammers and nails, shovels and watering cans used in the physical constructive work. But there are other tools also.
Some of the tools used in a tent city’s construction are being developed jointly by Dignity Village and Kwamba Productions who are community partners. In our campaign we’ll be using some of those tools from their Tent Cities Toolkit.
How does a tent city operate?
Tent cities operate according to a set of basic rules developed by the residents that may vary a little from place to place. Sometimes adapting to a particular area may require the addition of a special rule or rules.
A brief summary of a tent city’s rules would look something like this:
– Zero tolerance for drugs, alcohol, weapons, violence or abusive behaviour, physical or verbal.
– Everyone participates in the governance and maintenance of the encampment. Each resident must attend at least one organisational meeting a week and do one maintenance chore a day. If you cannot fulfil these obligations, you will have to find another form of shelter.
– Everyone is responsible for the maintenance and operation of the site. There’s no such thing as It’s not my fault? and pointing the finger of blame elsewhere. If the encampment or anyone living therein creates a negative impact on the neighbourhood, the encampment must correct the situation.
Where does a tent city get its initial infrastructure — tents, food, blankets and other necessities? Who pays the tent city start up costs?
Initial start up costs for a tent city are minimal and tent cities such as Dignity Village acquired their infrastructures incrementally in the course of development.
The Out of the Doorways campaign will purchase the first tents for our tent city and gather the sleeping bags and camp stoves, pots and pans, blankets and other items we’ll need to start out. These items will be acquired as donations and through successful grant proposals and benefits.
How can people live in a tent during the winter?
It isn’t great living in a tent during the winter. But the alternative for many people isn’t between living in a tent and living inside. The alternative is between living in a tent or living on a sidewalk, under a bridge, in a doorway, in an alley on a cardboard box — isolated and at risk.
Many people donate insulating platforms and tarps to tent cities, extra blankets, clothes, and other winterizing materials. And the residents look out for each other.
Does a tent city legitimise sub-standard housing?
Are we legitimising sleeping in doorways and dying under bridges? That’s the alternative to tent cities.
No one individual stays in a tent city forever, people move on to better options. And as people move on, other people in need move in to take their place and to stay safe and warm until they, too, find better options. In the tent cities in Seattle and King County, Washington, the average stay is about six weeks.
What is the impact of a tent city on a neighbourhood?
In the Sunderland neighbourhood of Portland, Oregon, crime declined by all indicators according to police statistics for two years running after Dignity Village located there.
To protect their own reputations and to continue being a positive influence in their neighbourhoods, the tent cities in and around Seattle, Washington, regularly do litter cleanups and discourage any illegal activity in their neighbourhoods — not just on the tent city grounds — such as aggressive panhandling and illegal drinking
*A Tale of Tent Cities
Ryland Auburn, University of Southern California, USA