Homelessness continues to be a crisis in our region as well as the nation. UW students, staff and faculty continue to respond in a variety of ways including by welcoming back Tent City 3 to the Seattle campus for 90 days during winter quarter 2021. UW hosted TC3 for the first time in winter 2017.
Tent City 3 is a self-managed community providing safe, secure temporary housing to individuals, couples and families, rotating locations every three months. While not a solution to homelessness, organized encampments provide safe spaces for people to sleep, eat and live. Many TC3 residents work. Often the camp includes families with children who have no other place to turn.
Tent City 3 will be hosted in the same location as it was in 2017, parking lot W35, situated between Wallace Hall and the Fishery Sciences buildings off NE Pacific St. near Brooklyn Ave. NE.
The request to bring Tent City 3 back came from the Tent City Collective—a group of UW students and faculty working with Tent City 3 residents. TCC’s proposal for hosting TC3 centers on academic, clinical and service learning opportunities in line with the UW’s educational mission.
In light of the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s TC3 residency will be different. Tent City 3 already works with King County Public Health to access to testing and contact tracing for the TC3 community. As part of the agreement with UW regarding the residency, TC3 will provide a COVID-19 prevention plan. It’s likely that UW course connections with TC3 will be virtual, utilizing iPads, except for clinical courses like those from MEDEX.
If you would like to learn more, please visit https://www.uw.edu/community/homelessness/. The site includes an FAQ. As with the previous residency in 2017, the memorandum of agreement between UW and Tent City 3 and the project operations and safety plan will be posted there.
The Tent City Collective is always looking for students staff and faculty who want to help. You can connect with TCC via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tentcitycollective/
If you’d like to contribute food or supplies during TC3’s stay, please visit the TC3 website here http://www.sharewheel.org/tent-city-3.