Tacoma SDS

At 1pm today several hundred homeless residents of the emerging shantytown were told they must leave the area and those who would not would be arrested.

Several hundred homeless and allies were present to demand their right to safe temporary housing while media outlets from a half dozen outlets flocked around police spokespeople. Cops and journalists commiserated and joked with one another while homeless residents of Nickelsville worried about whether they would sleep in jail tonight or risk sleeping exposed and alone elsewhere in the city.

According to their website (www.nickelsvilleseattle.org): "During the One Night Count of January 2008, 8439 people were homeless in King County. 5808 had shelter through existing programs but 2631 were without, a 15% increase over last year. 34 homeless people have died outside this year alone."