Tent City Tacoma – (I highlighted in bold a the specific needs that Patricia would like someone to help with.  Also, this discussion started with a plan to put a tent city on the Salvation Army Parking lot, and ended with Martha indicating a more limited number of individuals and doing Safe Parking at the site. –ed). 

• Patricia Menzies –pmenzies48@gmail.com - feeling rushed for time (sorry about that, tried to put too much on the agenda again –ed.)
• Martha is ready to file for a permit to host a temporary shelter
• Who wants to help her manifest this first tent city in Tacoma?
• We don’t need to reinvent the wheel – they have these in Seattle – we’ve visited them (info about them at http://www.sharewheel.org/Home/tent-cities -ed.)
• The area is big enough for a temporary shelter for up to 100 people.  Can do a full temporary shelter for 100  people. 
• What does that look like?  Go to Seattle to see one – perhaps tent city 3 or tent city 4.  We have photos we will share (I put a note in for myself to get photos, but I didn’t do that. I’ll see if Patricia can send us some –ed.).
• There is great community support – but some in the community don’t want tent cities.  Se we need to be very vocal in support.
• Questions – what about liability or insurance?  Do we need another policy?  Will they sue the church? 
  • Dozens of churches in Seattle have hosted tent cities – they haven’t lost their churches
  • Need someone to contact the churches and see what they do about liability.
• There are some pallet houses – the city has 30 or more of those
  • Need someone to find the pallet houses. James - stored in the fire department – talk to Tory Green with the Fire Department
• Need  a nonprofit we can slide under to receive money or submit grant through
• Need to contact tent cities in Seattle – they have inventories of tents and canopies and such
  • Need someone to get that inventory so we can start to get the supplies
• Figure out the logistics –
  • Neal – One thing we need to implement is a 3 tiered system
    • Tier 1 – host
    • Tier 2 – administrative organization – people who back this, make it happen with administration, finances, logistics on moving things around. 
    • Tier 3 – residents at the tent city – screening process needs to be consistent with those of share wheel – no active warrents, sex offender, restraining orders.  Otherwise, no real restrictions.
  • Another concern is the on-site leadership or management – leaders would be elected out of the camp residents.  There is an executive council that operates the day-to-day stuff at the camp – where things are located at camp – how to distribute tents, and simple decisions like that.  Long term decisions – should smoking or pets be allowed – are all made by the camp as a whole.  This is how many of the organizations do this, and hit has proven successful for decades. 
  • From the Sponsor end – need a “provider-plus-one” approach.  That means that at any event that communicates information on the status of the camp, there are always more residents present and making decisions than members of the sponsor organization (the number of residents should equal the number of providers plus at least one extra resident – the plus-one). 
  • Patricia – Even though it looks kind of cookie cutter, each camp can decide on more restrictions, or can decide to be a family camp.  Each camp can decide to be adults only, or only at risk youth with carefully screened youth.  They must use “scientifically based” reasons.  Please don’t have shut doors for sex offenders – review each case individually to make sure they really can’t be a safe resident. 
  • Neal – absolutely agree – want each camp to make its own rules.
  • ready to work anywhere it Tacoma. 
  • Neal – want an organization like “Greater Seattle Cares” (http://greaterseattlecares.org/ ) that manages resources going in to Share Wheel that runs the encampments. 
  • Lavada – when you talk about rules and regulations.  Will rules be written down?  Neal – absolutely.  That would be part of the job of the liaison between the tent cities and the sponsor organization. 
  • Neal – Staff coordination is the job of the liaison from the sponsor organization.  Sponsor liaison will work with outside agencies, and will bring residents in to conversations as needed. 
• Maureen – this is very exciting – might talk to Trinity Presbyterian as a nearby sponsor option.  Work with groups that may be in opposition to bring them on board.  Patricia – we want a group that is
• Martha – probably not going to have tents – going to do just safe parking to start off with 5 to 10 cars, which could be up to 40 people.  Cars make people feel safer.  Want to pave the ground for other organizations.  Looking at safe parking, using Y for showers,
• James – will have a breakout session next week on this topic.   We said we’d rally around the first site sponsor.  Thanks everyone.