The kitchen is closed.

It's a bit over a week since Nickelsville moved from my neighborhood - I miss the people and hope everybody is dry, warm and has a full belly, too. Present location of Nickelsville precludes my routine involvement, so now I'm only able to follow on Facebook or through emails, unless I'm as lucky as Lynnda who run into Jarvis on the bus the other day!

So no more direct reports, unless I visit, which I occasionally plan to do - there is no way to actually know how people are, without actually seeing them in their environment.  I know Lynnda is planning a visit shortly;  she will be in Nickelsville's  new neighborhood for something else and plans to drop off some firewood she has and never uses, but they are short of - have you seen that pic Pamela Kliment posted on FB where cardboard is burned with a caption 'needing wood'?

Again: Nickelsville's Facebook page, click here.

I will try to keep the pages of this blog alive by posting local stories about Nickelsville or issues of homelessness, as i find them.

Here is one very nice, from 'West Seattle Blog', although I loathe the premise of the article - that there is a separate category of people who are homeless, and the authors found one who is, surprise, surprise, just like the rest of us.  The truth is the people in tent cities are one of us, and we are one of them; there is no separation.

I'll assume that the authors knew the normal bias mainstream media has when it comes to the homeless people in our culture (quite sick culture of revering the rich no matter how they gained their goods, and blaming the poor people for their misfortune) and decided to work from that angle against the bias;  but I'd much prefer if they quit looking for 'special' homeless people and realized our common humanity.  With that small complaint, enjoy the article (most comments are refreshingly sane in support of Nickelsville, at least when I looked at them some 12 hours ago):


So you think you know who’s at Nickelsville? Read Mike’s story


May 20, 2011 at 10:22 am | In West Seattle news, West Seattle people | 67 Comments


(EDITOR’S NOTE: Shortly after the encampment that calls itself “Nickelsville” returned to West Seattle a week ago, two longtime WSB Forums members e-mailed with news that another longtime member and WSB site participant, whose many comments have provided humor and history, Mike aka “miws,” was among its newest residents; they helped him get set up there after he was evicted from his Morgan Junction apartment. We have met Mike several times over the past few years; we knew he was struggling, but didn’t know he had become homeless. We were glad to hear they wanted to tell his story, provided he gave his permission, which he did.)


Story by Joanne Brayden
Photos by Kevin McClintic
Special to West Seattle Blog

On Monday, Mike, who posts on the West Seattle Blog Forums as miws, became a resident of Nickelsville, the tent-city encampment that recently made news as it moved out of a city-provided shelter at old Fire Station #39 and back to an empty field in the industrial area along the Duwamish River at the eastern base of West Seattle, without the city’s blessing.

By Wednesday, Mike had already worked one shift as Security and voted in camp meetings that will determine the future of his new home. He hasn’t just settled in, he has become part of the community, and can’t stop telling everyone how lucky he was that Nickelsville moved back to West Seattle so there was space for him when he needed them.
The rest is here...