Tonight the city held a community meeting in South Lake Union to discuss a proposed new tiny home village run by the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI). In attendance were Sola Plumacher of Seattle HSD, Tiffany Washington, director of Homeless Strategy at HSD, and Sharon Lee, director of LIHI, among others.

City officials spoke about the work LIHI does. The camps have staff and case workers to ensure community safety. A couple who had formerly been homeless were brought forward to tell their story. Everyone clapped politely.

Audience members were eager to ask questions, and passions were palpable. The first person to grab the mic asked point blank if the village was actually going forward or not. Plumacher dissembled, before finally saying that the decision had not been made. Why then was the permit already approved? No answer was given.

Another person asked simply if “drugs would be allowed in the camp.” Plumacher again refused to directly answer the question, saying the issue was undecided.

Sharon Lee, executive director of LIHI, finally said it would be better if people didn’t ask questions about the South Lake Union camp for which the meeting was ostensibly being held, because no decisions about it had yet been made.

At this point things grew heated. A man who identified himself as a recovering addict said what LIHI is doing is what is called in the recovery community “enabling.” Another resident of Licton Springs said that LIHI was lying about the impact of that encampment on the neighborhood. His voice rising, he said “everyone knew” that residents of the camp shoot up in their homes, and are given needles by camp staff. He recalled how several weeks ago Licton Springs residents discovered that SPD was undercounting crime in the neighborhood, and asked why the city “wouldn’t just be honest” about the impact of the encampments.

In response Lee brought up a recent article in the Guardian that said crime wasn’t generally connected to homeless camps.

A young mother, son in tow, explained that she had moved from Licton Springs to the SLU neighborhood to escape “feeling unsafe” in her own neighborhood. She expressed deep frustration that now the problem was coming to her.

A woman who identified herself as a survivor of sexual assault said with quavering voice that she was concerned for her safety. The camp, she said, would have a direct line of sight into her apartment.

Not to worry she was told, Licton Springs is the only camp that does not screen residents for sex offenders. Whether the SLU camp would screen for sex offenders was not explained.

Tiffany Washington ended the night by explaining that she grew up in a poor neighborhood where she didn’t have the luxury of avoiding the homeless, suggesting that residents’ misgivings were driven by their privilege.