SHARE to Homeless: "Camp Out or Get Out"

"In the Shadows of Society" by Taylor Hain , from our Flickr pool.

The local homeless advocacy organization SHARE is forcing its residents to participate in camp out protests in front of elected officials’ homes, reports PubliCola.

SHARE (which stands for Seattle Housing And Resource Effort) made news this summer in a series of overnight protests in front of city council members' houses. These "camp outs" were meant to persuade the council to give homeless residents funding for transport to and from SHARE's shelters. The council agreed, but with the stipulation that SHARE keep their shelters open year-round, something that SHARE says it doesn’t have the money to do.

PubliCola first reported on rumors that the protests were not-so-voluntary on October 15th. At the time, most of the evidence was based on interviews with homeless people involved in the protests. Now comes the news that SHARE memos specifically outlined a plan of action that forced shelter residents to vote for an ultimatum: either "SHUT DOWN" (the shelter) or "SLEEP OUT" (in front of elected officials’ homes). PubliCola has the most recent memo:

The memo, dated November 6, tells shelter residents that although the protests are "NOT mandatory," the alternative is to "take a hiatus from SHARE"—that is, find somewhere else to sleep during the time of year when shelters are crowded because of the rain and cold—"and come back when it is over with absolutely NO penalty whatsoever. Shelters may also elect to close down rather than participate.