Nickelsville, Day One

``I'm a homeowner now.''
That was the gleeful exclamation of a Nickelsville resident after hammering in the final nail to set up his new tent at Nickelsville's (tenth) newest site. There was some humor in the statement but one more member of Seattle's homeless community could sleep with something over his head.
It's been a long and ongoing journey for the homeless encampment named after former Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. Fortunately, several of the original residents who made camp in South Park almost a year and a half ago have found housing. But the Nickelodeons who put up tents at the Greater Baptist Church on 2425 S. Jackson St. represent only about 60 of the 3,000 plus homeless in the greater Seattle area.
As the campers, who now include several couples and even a couple of dogs set up camp, Richard, one of the original Nickelodeons questioned whether things are much better with Nickels out of office.
``We want to talk to the new Mayor (Mike McGinn) about finding a permanent place for Nickelsville,'' said Richard. ``We talked to him once, before he took office, but since then...''
The latest Nickelsville site is a little larger than there previous home at New Hope Chuch but still much too small for Nickelsville to reach its ultimate goal of 1,000 campers. Without a permanent residence, Nickelsville will probably just move to another temporary home in 90 days.
Throughout its existence Nickelsville has relied on the kindness of strangers to keep going. Currently on the wish list are bottled water, blankets, nails, and 7x7,
8x8 tents.
Visit Nickelsville behind the Greater Mt. Baptist Church, one block East of 23rd Ave. in the Central District.