UPDATE: City of Seattle staff held a public information session Wednesday, April 26, in UW’s Fisheries Sciences auditorium on Boat St. in West Campus. Several UW students, staff and faculty attended, including parents with children in UW’s nearby childcare centers. At the meeting the shelter operator, Operation NightWatch, said they will not place people registered as sex offenders at the Boat St. shelter. City staff identified May 8 as the likely operational date and committed to relocating the shelter by the end of August so development can begin on the new Portage Bay Park.
University of Washington students, faculty and staff have made many contributions to understanding and addressing the homelessness crisis in Seattle and elsewhere. Our community’s engagement with this issue, including your support for Tent City 3, which recently concluded their successful stay on our campus, has been inspiring.
In this context, we want to make our community aware that the City of Seattle is planning to locate a temporary men’s homeless shelter at the Bryants Building adjacent to the University’s West Campus, possibly as soon as the end of April. Without question, the homelessness crisis has many complexities and no simple solutions, but the City’s plans for this shelter may raise some concerns, so we want to share the information we have about what lies ahead.
The Bryants Building was formerly the UWPD station and was transferred from the UW to the City to be turned into a park. It is still slated for demolition and the men’s shelter will be moved by the end of September to allow the park to be built. The shelter is designated for single, adult men to stay between the hours of 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. with a capacity of about 75 individuals. Occupants must secure a voucher to stay there — in other words, drop-ins are not permitted. The shelter’s operator, Operation Nightwatch, has a good track record operating at other locations in Seattle.
However, President Cauce has shared some concerns with the City of Seattle about the appropriateness of this type of shelter near certain campus programs, as well as the accelerated process by which the City selected this location and the lack of engagement that process has afforded our campus community. When the UW agreed to host Tent City 3, our process for defining project goals, operator expectations, conduct rules and choosing an appropriate site took place over many months and put a premium on feedback from students, faculty, staff and neighbors. The City’s site selection process for this temporary shelter was not as rigorous or deliberate.
In addition, this shelter will not screen for sex offender status, in contrast to the criteria for staying at Tent City 3. Although this is a difficult issue when it comes to safe shelter options for homeless men convicted of crimes resulting in sex offender status, the safety and security of our campus and the people who use it are the UW’s paramount concern, so we feel it’s important to share this.
As citizens and neighbors, we recognize the crisis we’re facing as a community and the difficulties we face in addressing it with equity and compassion. Our Regional & Community Relations team has been in ongoing discussions with the City about this plan and will remain actively engaged throughout the process.
If you have questions about this issue feel free to contact to contact the City of Seattle Human Services Department at 206-386-1001. The UW’s Office of Regional & Community Relations can be reached at regional@uw.edu.