Fast Facts
Selected location: Parking lot W35
When: 90 days, starting December 17, 2016, so as to largely coincide with the 2017 winter quarter
- Community feedback at least 2-to-1 in favor
- Hosting is based on safety and operations plan requirements, and a permit has been received from the city
- Up to 99 people – families and individuals – will be able to stay at any one time
- No taxpayer or tuition funds will be used
- Consistent with TC3 code of conduct, no weapons, alcohol, drugs or violence will be allowed, and security will be coordinated with UWPD
- Faculty encouraged, but not required, to incorporate service learning into courses
- Participation in related activities will be voluntary for students and residents
Winter is approaching, and with it the need for shelter for our neighbors who find themselves without permanent housing only grows.
Earlier this year, at the request of the Tent City Collective – a group of students, alumni and Tent City 3 residents – our University engaged in a public process to assess whether we should host Tent City 3 for 90 days during the winter quarter. As a result of your feedback, and thanks to the work of students, faculty and staff, in June it was announced that the UW will indeed host TC3.
The move-in day for TC3 residents at parking lot W35 will be December 17, and they will depart March 18, 2017. This will largely overlap with the winter quarter, aligning with our University’s academic mission by providing the opportunity for educational connections – from courses to service learning projects.
I want to thank the faculty who have already organized educational connections via the Carlson Center. Additional opportunities to connect classes and service learning with TC3 residents will continue to be facilitated through the Carlson Center.
If you would like to help in other ways – whether that’s by assisting with the move, collecting needed supplies or simply providing a meal for the TC3 community – I encourage you to check out TC3’s interactive calendar in order to find and schedule the right opportunity. We have also established a Community Advisory Committee that will meet regularly during the time TC3 is on campus. Those meetings will happen Thursdays at 4:30 p.m., in UWPD’s meeting room starting Dec. 8.
I also want to thank the many people in our community who have been working to create and implement the operations and safety plans for hosting and to obtain the city permit. As was pointed out when we began this process, TC3 was chosen as our preferred partner because of its good track record and its code of conduct that prohibits alcohol, drugs, violence and registered sex offenders. For the safety of all involved, including TC3 residents, the TC3 community’s own safety procedures, which include regular walking patrols, are being coordinated with UWPD.
Organized tent cities are by no means a replacement for permanent housing, but they do provide a safe place for families and individuals to live until they secure stable housing. TC3 will provide shelter and security for up to 99 people and is just one way in which the UW is contributing to solving the many intertwined issues that lead to homelessness. From scholarship to direct service, our University is helping tackle this pernicious challenge.
I look forward to welcoming the residents of TC3 to our campus, and know that our community will demonstrate the same welcoming, open spirit that it has throughout the lead-up to this opportunity.