PORT TOWNSEND — After a 10-night stay at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds, a small homeless encampment will return to Fort Worden State Park’s campground today.
The tent city, which now includes four homeless men and one woman after several members left and other arrived, was created in March 13 after the closure of the Port Townsend Winter Shelter.
Since that time, it has shuttled between Fort Worden and the fairgrounds as both locations limit the number of consecutive days people can camp and neither is willing or able to extend that length of stay.
The group camped for 10 days at the fairgrounds, the maximum allowable camping time, before moving to Fort Worden for 20 days, then the maximum imposed by the state, and then returned to the fairgrounds April 12.
The group was considering moving off the fairgrounds for one day and then returning but decided to go back to Fort Worden because it has Wi-Fi and other conveniences, according to advocate Barbara Morey.
Morey is the treasurer for an advocacy organization, the Affordable Housing Action Group, that has raised the money to fund the campers’ stays.
As only one camp space is available at Fort Worden for the maximum 10-day period allowed at this time of the year, the group will need to consolidate space, Morey said.
After nearly running out of funds, the group received an influx of donations from the public and now has around $1,000 to pay for space, Morey said.
It was not known Monday how much the stay at Fort Worden would cost the group.
Morey is also affiliated with the Shelter to Housing Committee, an OlyCAP-sponsored group that is developing a long-term solution to the county’s low-income housing needs.
Both groups have upcoming meetings where these needs will be addressed.
The Affordable Housing Group will meet from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Friday at the Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 233 San Juan Ave., Port Townsend.
The Shelter to Housing Committee will meet at 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 29 at the Tri-Area Community Center, 10 West Valley Road in Chimacum.
After the group has stayed 10 days at Fort Worden, it can return to the fairgrounds, Morey said.
“This will go on until we either run out of money or they find a permanent place to live,” Morey said.
“Our goal is to establish a permanent shelter where homeless people in Jefferson County can stay year-round.”
Fairgrounds manager Bill McIntire said Monday that the camp “needs to get out for one day so I can clean the place up.”
He would not make an exception to the 10-day limit for two reasons.
In the past, homeless people have left campgrounds in bad shape, and he doesn’t like how he was approached at the beginning of the situation.
“They called and asked me if they could come, and I said no,” McIntire said.
“They came anyway, so I’m not changing my mind.”
In addition to managing the fairgrounds, McIntire is also the Fair Board chairman.
McIntire said that severe budget cuts have made it impossible for him to hire any one of the campers to work on the fairgrounds and that he was not open to trading labor for a campsite.
“We thought of that, but if I need to show them what to do, I may as well just do it myself,” he said.
Those wishing to contribute items to the tent city can contact the Boiler Room at 360-379-8247.
Cash contributions can be taken to any First Federal branch and deposited into an account in the name of “Port Townsend Tent City.”
For the group’s Gofundme campaign, visit http://tinyurl.com/PDN-tentcity
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
